The Roshua Review Feb. 2015. | Page 11

Buy It - Stream It - Ignore It

3 Spins - Pretty Good

Joey Bada$$

B4.DA.$$

Now available in stores and on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play

Best Tracks

Paper Trail$

On & On

Christ Conscious

Worst Tracks

Like Me

Piece Of Mind

Joey Bada$$ is dope; it's common knowledge he can rap his a**

off. Since the release of 1999, all eyes have been on him for his

debut album. B4.DA.$$ does not dissapoint. Joey starts off

strong, catches a hiccup, and got even stronger after recovering

from 4 back to back lack-luster tracks . The album is best when

Joey finds the right beat. "Like Me" is probably the worst song Joey

has made, and he should NEVER stoop so low again. (And yes, the

rumors are true: Raury killed Joey on "Escape 120.") At 17 tracks,

B4.DA.$$ is a solid debut from a great rapper. I still haven't been

made a fan, but I have found more respect for him as an artist

because of tracks like "On & On" and "Paper Trail$." Moving

forwad, I think Joey should focus on production,

experimentation, and making his projects more memorable. There's

not too much to criticize lyrically because Joey is such a keen

lyricist already. B4.DA.$$ is good, period.

ALBUMS