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After 18-year-old rapper Joey Bada$$’s first two mixtapes gained him enough of a following to put him on the cover of XXL Magazine’s “Freshman Class of 2013” issue, hip hop fans everywhere were excited to see new material from the Brooklyn native drop this summer. While Summer Knights, the artist’s new mixtape, isn’t quite at the level of polished album material, it gives fans yet another reason to look forward to Joey Bada$$’s rise in the world of hip-hop.
Although the rapper’s musical style has often been characterized as “too ’90s” sounding to be successful in today’s rap game, there is no doubt that he’s finding his own niche. His relaxed flow doesn’t have the same type of energy as that of most mainstream artists you hear today, but tracks such as “Hillary Swank” prove that he doesn’t need an angry or eccentric style in order to put out enjoyable and creative music.
While the 70-minute mixtape is longer than most other pieces of work put out by today’s artists, there is a surprisingly small amount of filler on the record; I found myself smoothly listening through almost every song. “My Youth” includes more of a reggae feel to it, which fits nicely with Joey’s background as the first member of his immediate Jamaican family to be born in the United States.
Throughout the mixtape, Joey dives into subjects relevant to any other 18-year-old growing up in today’s world, including young love (see “Right On Time”) and just how to deal with the reckless lifestyle that most rappers characterize as “YOLO” (see “Death of YOLO”).
Perhaps the most interesting and touching song on the mixtape is “LongLiveSteelo,” where Joey laments and reflects on the death of Capital STEEZ, a fellow member of rap collective Pro Era, who took his own life last December. “If only we could vibe like one more time/Hear one more line or share one more rhyme/Even show me one more sign of destiny itself would be fine/But there’s no turning back the hands of time,” he writes, almost coming to terms with where he’s at in the mourning process.
The mixtape also showcases an impressive array of producers, including DJ Premier, MF Doom, Lee Bannon, and Pro Era members Kirk Knight and Chuck Strangers. While DJ Premier brings a very ’90s sound to the mixtape, Knight and Strangers both bring a more modern sound. It’s also worth noting that another recognizable name appears on the record in the form of Smoke DZA on “Death of YOLO.”
Easily the highlight of the mixtape is “Unorthodox,” where Joey teams up with legendary producer DJ Premier to create a track that is sure to go down as one of Joey’s best of all time, no matter where his young career takes him. Since its release as a single in January of this year, the “Unorthodox” music video (which was released in March) has amassed over 825,000 views, a feat not many other 18-year-olds can lay claim to.
In “Unorthodox,” Joey most notably raps about his loyalty to his Pro Era crew, and how he refuses to sign to a major record label unless he gets a $3 million contract offer (the same amount that Sony Music Entertainment signed A$AP Rocky to in October of 2011). Joey even released this single after he was rumored to have turned down an offer to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation record label this past winter.
As a whole, “Summer Knights” provides a relaxing and easy set of tracks to listen to, save for just a couple of filler tracks. The record also provides an exciting future for Joey Bada$$, as tracks such as “Unorthodox” provide more evidence that he is a force to be reckoned with in the rap game. While summer may have come to an end, “Summer Knights” gives fans something to wait on until his eventual studio debut in the winter of 2014.