Arguably the king of the East Coast at the moment, Joey Bada$$ has once again linked up with producer, DJ and friend Statik Selektah for the new track Ready, which may or may not be released on his up and coming LP, now announced to be coming out later this year.
The track definitely has a different feel to how we’ve heard Joey on his past projects. Similar to the Glass Animals feature, he is demonstrating a new flow and vibe, pushing the boundaries of his past styles. In the first verse we hear this newfound conflict:
“Niggas think because we conscious we don’t really get it popping”
“They got me mistaken.
Critics try to box me.”
In an interview with Noisey a while back, Joey touched on this further, saying, “You know what the biggest misconception about me is. How I can only make 90’s sounding music”.
“Cause I do real shit, that’s it. I do what I feel in my heart. I can do anything,” He said.
With this in mind, despite what may seem like a different pathway, Joey still maintains the high quality of lyricism that he has shown before. He discusses how the media restrains him and how his path to independent success will cement him in the game for a ‘real long time’. He just hopes you’re ready for what he’s about to do next.
With this hard, boom bap beat and several nods to his crew Pro Era, Joey also manages to bring up old beef and slip in a little diss towards Troy Ave, saying, “My nigga Kirk just outsold Troy Ave”
Recently, in parallel to his conscious music, Joey has now begun a university lecture tour speaking to students about his life and career as an upcoming, independent hip-hop artist.
He’s definitely having a good start to the year.
Image: RapGenius