First Impression x All Amerikkkan Bada$$ - Joey Bada$$
1.) GOOD MORNING AMERIKKKA
Nice lil intro. Sounds like the opening of a black movie. I figured Joey would be talking about the struggles of being black in America especially with the title and he’s doing just that with the intro. I’m looking forward to what else he has to say.
7.5/10
2.) FOR MY PEOPLE
Some positive music that isn’t corny. It starts off slow and then picks up with the positive tempo to let you know what it is. It works for Joey though. He flows well over the 90’s hip-hop beats and he shows that he can do so with even with an uplifting message.
7.5/10
3.) TEMPTATION
I guess you really can’t get away from singing rappers and I guess I should have accepted that by now. Thankfully, it’s just the hook and it’s not that bad. This keeps the same message of the album but focuses more on the darker, troubling part with Joey asking the Lord for help in the hook. The choir at the end helped and the skits at the beginning and end are powerful.
8/10
4.) LAND OF THE FREE
These 80’s synths and old G-Funk sounding beat. I haven’t heard these sounds in a minute. It’s refreshing. Joey is still comin through schoolin about the struggles in black America with bars. I can dig it. Joey snapped about half-way through the song. Also, no singing! I hope songs like this raise the bar in hip-hop. Probably not though.
8.5/10
5.) DEVASTATED
This been my jam since it I heard it as a single. Now, I see why it was a single. He’s singing more than any other song (so far), but it’s not bad. It also has the lightest subject matter (so far.) It is the most suitable to play at a party or other public gathering. The whole song is pretty chanty and fun. I want to see him perform this.
8/10
6.) Y U DON’T LOVE ME? (MISS AMERIKKKA)
If the song has a long bass line, I’m gonna fuck with it. This is no exception. This is one of those chill, late-night, smoking song. My favorite. Joey is asking why doesn’t America love him, which is a real question. The song is the shortest but this might be my favorite off of the album so far.
8.5/10
7.) ROCKABYE BABY feat. ScHoolboy Q
I’ve been kind of excited about Joey’s features. I knew him and Groovy Tony would do something crazy and they did. This is the darkest song on here (so far.) I haven’t heard a ScHoolboy verse in about a year or so and he came through with the bars. It sounds like a completely different song when he started rapping, in a good way.
9/10
8.) RING THE ALARM feat. Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight, and Meechy Darko
Bars, boy. This is what I’m here for. This bass line sounds like “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” by Busta Rhymes. Then Joey done messed around and flipped the beat throughout the song. I always enjoy that when the beats aren’t whack. Meechy Darko is the raspy voice dude from Flatbush Zombies. I don’t think they get the love that they deserve.
8/10
9.) SUPER PREDATOR feat. Styles P
Joey done got Statik Selektah and Styles P on the same track. This shit is dope. Nice and smooth smoking music. The title comes from what Hilary Clinton said about us one time. Styles sounds so young, like younger than he did 10 years ago. That’s great. I enjoy when older rappers come through and show what hip-hop is about.
9/10
10.) BABYLON feat. Chronixx
Joey slowed it down with this one. More singing but this time, I’m not really feelin it that much. At least it’s just the hook. Joey snapped on the 1st verse. This is a very emotional subject matter and he sounds passionate about it more than any other song. Ok so this Chronixx dude is a Reggae singer and I kind of expected it with the name (no offense) but this song would have been a lot better if he sung that 1st part instead of Joey. He knew what it was, which is why he snapped on the last verse.
7.5/10
11.) LEGENDARY feat. J. Cole
This song can go one of two ways: dope bars or a singing duet. I’m glad they picked the former. It’s still slow but the message is about legends never dying. This sounds like the Cole that was on DJ Khalid albums. The song is deep and will make you think while you vibe to it. Not too many songs can do that.
8.5/10
12.) AMERIKKKAN IDOL
The outro. Joey wanted to make sure that niggas know he can rap. It’s not even the fact that he has bars. It’s the fact that he has bars with a message and it doesn’t sound forced. He keeps the same message throughout the album. If the intro was about a good morning, this is about the late night after a long day of being black. He breaks down his message with a poem towards the end of this song. Powerful.
8/10
OVERALL: 8.2/10
The message of this album is about being black in America. It is a response to how this country has been treating us. Joey Bada$$ used his platform successfully to talk about this like protecting our women, serving the community, and the injustices that black people face everyday. He kept the message throughout the whole album without sacrificing the sound of his music. This was definitely better than his last album and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.
