All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ [With Book] Joey Bada$$ Artist

On his sophomore effort, {|All-Amerikkkan Bada$$|}, Brooklyn MC {|Joey Bada$$|} continues to honor the golden era legacy of his forebears, while making a major leap in lyrical prowess that takes aim at the ills and injustices in America. Similar to e... Read more

On his sophomore effort, {|All-Amerikkkan Bada$$|}, Brooklyn MC {|Joey Bada$$|} continues to honor the golden era legacy of his forebears, while making a major leap in lyrical prowess that takes aim at the ills and injustices in America. Similar to equally politicized releases from the likes of contemporaries {|Vince Staples|}, {|Nick Grant|}, and {|Kendrick Lamar|}, {|Bada$$|} tackles police violence, institutionalized racism, and {|Donald Trump|}, while maintaining hope and tempered optimism for the future (Land of the Free and Devastated are standouts). There's a lot to unpack here, which makes {|All-Amerikkkan Bada$$|} an involved and rewarding listen. Powerful, relevant, urgent, and mature, his anger and frustration bleed into the delivery of every dense bar. On For My People, he asks Who will take a stand and be our hero?, while on Temptation he begs Tell me Lord can you help me/I said Lord can you help me? With production by {|DJ Khalil|}, {|1-900|}, {|Kirk Knight|}, {|Statik Selektah|}, and more, {|All-Amerikkkan Bada$$|} is drenched in the sounds of nostalgia and lush sampling, especially on the jazzy {|Kendrick-esque|} Y U Don't Love Me? (Miss Amerikka) and the old-school New York vibe of Rockabye Baby. Like an old {|Wu-Tang|} or {|Nas|} track, Rockabye creeps with a menace courtesy of West Coast rapper {|ScHoolboy Q|}. Other guests include reggae singer {|Chronixx|} on Babylon (which includes the great line If them heaven gates close/I'mma break off them hinges for my niggas); {|Styles P|} on Super Predator; {|J. Cole|} on the smooth Legendary (where {|Bada$$|} raps It's clear we living in hell/The life of a black male); and the {|Pro Era|} showcase Ring the Alarm, which features {|Kirk Knight|}, {|Nyck Caution|}, and {|Meechy Darko|} of {|Flatbush Zombies|} on an urgent, throbbing highlight. In case his position was unclear from the album title and artwork depicting Klansmen burning a cross in the desert and {|Bada$$|} hanging dead from a noose, he maintains a certain distrust for the powers that be and the so-called land of the free. On the final track, Amerikkkan Idol, he raps, I'm out for dead presidents to represent me/Cause I never knew a live one that represent me, pledging allegiance to the power more likely to advance him in America. An extended spoken word outro packs in a wealth of quotable wisdom from {|Bada$$|} that wraps up the entire album with a red-white-and-blue bandana. It's a call to arms for listeners to wake up, educate themselves, and fight for justice. {|All-Amerikkkan Bada$$|} is the sound of a young rapper finding a voice and higher purpose, an exciting and powerfully insightful statement. ~ Neil Z. Yeung Less