Joey Badass is getting ready to drop his highly anticipated sophomore album ABBA, and last month treated fans to the first taste, the seething, politically charged Land Of The Free. Today, he sidesteps his own album for a moment to release a brand new single Victory, released for The Courtside Project, a promotional collaboration between the NBA and Mtn Dew (more details here). It’s not his first partnership with the soft drink brand, having released Unorthodox with DJ Premier for them back in 2013.
“I’m excited to be a part of The Courtside Project,” he told Billboard, who premiered the track. “It’s the fusion of several different worlds — from basketball to music, style and art — that are not all separate streams anymore, they are interconnected. I always want to encourage the youth to be themselves and pursue their dreams, whether those are hoop dreams, Grammy dreams or PhD dreams.”
Featuring production from Kirk Knight and Adam Pallin, the track has a bright, trumpet-led instrumental and a bright, clear percussive rhythm. Badass’ verses are clear-headed and strong, with slick references to basketball and the game in general; “And this feels like victory, the competition looks slim to me” he seethes in the chorus, while the verses including references to Kyrie Irving, looking out at the crowd, teamwork, and doing it “just for sport.”
If this isn’t good advertising then I don’t know what is.
Image: Mtn Dew