RIGHTEOUS MINDS
The first song I heard off 1999 was Righteous Minds.
It randomly played on my SoundCloud shuffle. I knew I was stuck when I heard the Holy Thursday sample and I can promise that I owe my journey to understanding the purpose of Hip-Hop to 1999.
That’s when real sample digging and discovery started.
They say there’s those artists that come around once in a lifetime and touch peoples’ hearts in a special way.
Joey Bada$$ is that artist for me.
After listening to Righteous Minds on repeat for days, I searched for the project it was on and listened back-to-back for months. The next song that caught my attention on an even deeper level was Snake$, so I did my research and found out there was a whole group of people to listen to.
The Pro Era fandom tragically began.
I only say tragically because the next day, I found out Capital $TEEZ passed away.
I remember crying hard that day and not understanding why.
I’d just started listening to this music the day before. How could it have touched me that deeply so fast?
Impact.
At that point, Infinity and Beyond was the first $TEEZ song I ever played on repeat. I found out he passed away while listening to it in my room, scrolling Twitter.
1999 makes you curious. If you already have it in your heart to love the art of Hip-Hop, it ignites a fire in you.
I had to know the root of every beat and all its samples.
I needed to know the producers behind this very crucial head nod I picked up on.
I had to know the meaning of every reference and double entendre.
1999 tells us why Blackness is unique in struggle and is the story of our strength and resilience.
Something like Illmatic.
Matter of fact, when I hear old heads describe how they felt when they heard Illmatic for the first time, it always sounds very similar to how I feel about 1999.
As Joey Bada$$ has grown, those stories have chiseled and matured with him. I still can’t find it in my spirit to skip anything.
From the more playful yet still lyrically enticing tracks like Where It’$ At?, Don’t Front, and Funky Ho’$ to the serious tracks like Suspect, Hardknock and Survival Tactics, 1999 really has a piece of everything for every type of Hip-Hop head and all I wanna know is who the fuck passed you the mic and said that you could flow?
Because he can
and he does.
Effortlessly.
WAVE$
It’s definitely the beat.
I almost assumed that I’d get lost in it and pay no attention to the words then his voice calmly rapped:
“Since ’95 mama been working 9-5.
And I know the landlord fed up with our lives.
So we pray to the Gods,
the Jahs and
the Allahs
to keep us safe and watch our lives.”
That’s really all it took for me to be unsure as to if I wanted to nod my head uncontrollably or take notes so that the next few times the track played, I knew every word.
This is when I started writing down the lyrics of songs as the artist rapped them.
Thank you, Wave$.
I owe you for teaching me to document my experiences.
Did I mention earlier that the first time I heard Snake$ I cried? Like serious crocodile tears. My own mom has been single mother all my life and my dad’s name isn’t even on my birth certificate.
We know who he is but I wouldn’t be able put a face to his name.
The first line was my story being told right before my eyes.
Hip-Hop can be overwhelming like that. The song doesn’t have to be melancholy to get a tear out of you if you love the crafting.
What I feel when I listen to People’s, Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt, 3 Feet High & Rising, Mecca and the Soul Brother, and 93 ‘til Infinity (my favorite) is exactly how 1999 makes me feel. It’s stronger because 1999 came from someone of my time and around my age so it makes more sense.
Falling in love with Hip-Hop is just as authentic as falling in love with another human being. We argue here and there but we always remember where our love came from and overcome the hardship. Sometimes, you’ll take one another for granted and then Lauryn comes and reminds you where Zion is.
It’s crazy because 1999 and All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ sound completely different but the passion and love remain the same.
You grow with the artist because, as every new album releases with its new set of listeners, you understand that the new sound is coming from new situations and lessons. It’s not always just the new fans and industry you think they’re trying to conform for.
So if anyone ever said Joey Bada$$’s music isn’t as good as it was or that he has not released a project better than 1999, they didn’t follow his vision or growth. If you did, you’d know he’s doing exactly what he said he’d do for exactly who he said he’d do it for.
BEASTCOAST
I feel like I waited so long for Summer Knight$.
This, for me, was the most interesting transition phase between Joey projects. Everybody in the Era was really active via social media and there was a lot of genuine support.
Niggas were reading, learning about their chakras and trying to be at peace within while waiting for the Summer Knight$ drop.
What a time to be alive.
The Underachievers & Flatbush Zombies were also a big deal for me at this time and the BeastCoast wave was dominating. Listening to all their music together worked well.
If you were a FBZ fan, you were probably an Underachievers fan too and if you were an Underachievers fan, there was no way you weren’t also an Era fan!
PEEP: The APROcalylpse? Indigoism? D.R.U.G.S.?
That was a great summer. Death of YOLO is playing and I’m smiling ear to ear right now.
“Celestial Nubians, knew them since I was a Brand Nubian and they influenced him.”
I was really absorbing all of the chakra talk and applying it to having a better and much more fulfilling life so that when Summer Knight$ did drop, I could really listen.
I remember Joey did a live stream on TinyChat playing Amethyst Rockstars and being so in awe by the beat. The anticipation of this drop was probably the highest it’s ever been for me. This is coming after $TEEZ’s passing.
I knew it would be something that he would be proud of.
I was initially the most captivated by Death of YOLO, Right on Time, 47 Goonz, Sit N Prey, Trap Door, and Satellite.
The Tweet sample on Right on Time is still my favorite.
#LONGLIVESTEELO
At first, I missed his face in the water.
I was actually listening to Reign for maybe the 47th time before I noticed. I guess it didn’t really matter too much because his presence could be felt the whole project but I feel it the most listening to Reign.
Maybe that’s why I noticed when I did.
Boom. There he was smiling at me through the water on the cover. Everything about Summer Knight$ honored $TEEZ and his light.
It was the official declaration of:
“In honor of the Pro $TEEZ, we PROceed.”
The Era did proceed with his lessons and blessings in mind.
Even with the release of All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, you still feel his spirit. It actually gets stronger every project.
Legends never die, they multiply.
HAZEUS VIEW
I was terrified for B4.DA.$$.
It was Joey’s debut album for the mainstream world to critique. I was worried because I didn’t want people to say,
“Wow, he’s fallen off since 1999.”
Even if he did fall off and give into something out of character, I wouldn’t have said that aloud. I would’ve taken my L and mourned in my room.
Just to give an age range, I discovered 1999 at age 15. By the time B4.DA.$$ dropped, I was 19 and in college away from home. There was a space on my wall dedicated to where my new record would hang right next to an Illmatic portrait and Earth, Wind & Fire record.
I was ready.
Save The Children played and the first thing I thought as voices began to toggle back and forth was:
From that point forward, through B4.DA.$$, I knew I would never have to worry about losing a fav to industry talk.
I still have the hard copy of that 2013 Freshman cover he graced along with Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q and Dizzy Wright.
I’m from East Las Vegas, so Dizzy Wright was also a big deal.
That cover meant everything to me.
CURRY CHICKEN
I like music that feels like home.
My heart’s been in Hip-Hop my entire life starting from when my grandma used to let me make her good pillow cases into wigs and dresses and sing the Isley Brothers on her countertops.
That’s what Curry Chicken feels like.
Every song is worth the listen, though. Joey hasn’t dropped a project yet with a skippable track (not up for debate). Escape 120 and Teach Me (two of my favs on B4.DA.$$) caught me completely off guard because I didn’t expect that twist in beat style to match so well with his flow.
Later, September 2, 2016 to be exact, Isaiah Rashad dropped The Sun’s Tirade and Don’t Matter made me appreciate Escape 120 even more because of the style. I thought about something Jay-Z said:
“That’s ain’t supposed to work. Not against these lush sounds and this live instrumentation. That’s what Hip-Hop is. It’s the emotion.”
No matter what Joey releases, it’s always going to feel like home because of the raw emotion. The love of Hip-Hop never dies. It’s a ‘til death do us part type of thing but because there is love there, that will live forever even after we’re gone.
“So don’t mourn me when I’m gone, celebrate my travels. Whenever you need me just take a plane to the astral zone.”
AMERIKKKAN IDOL
There was a rumor Kendrick was dropping DAMN the same day as All-Amerikkkan Bada$$.
If that had happened, I wouldn’t have listened to DAMN at all until months later. I can’t analyze too many projects at once.
It’s like reading a book.
One at a time is always better if you’re really trying to absorb the information. I do this thing where I eyeball a tracklist and guess my favorite before listening to the album in its entirety. I chose BABYLON because of how much I love Terrorist Threats.
I was wrong.
SUPER PREDATOR ended up being my favorite.
The term “super predator” was popularized by Hilary Clinton during a speech she gave to fight in the War on Drugs.
We know who actually put the drugs in these communities so… There’s that.
Those are the people that really have “no conscience and no empathy.”
Again, Joey Bad$$ has yet to release an album with a skippable track.
“Too paid and headin’ for the top like toothpaste.”
I thought I’d just throw in a little something extra to show my knowledge, but back to the topic at hand.
I wasn’t worried for All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ at all. They all become my favorite. It’s never about comparing to 1999, it’s about loving every project for what prospective it adds during that time in my life and loving each for their unique differences.
All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ contributed to a movement.
Around the time of that drop, I was just learning how to be an activist and it was getting hard fast.
I’d organized some of my first events and seen a lot of outright racism first hand. It helped me make sense of what I was seeing and understand that it was all systemic.
It pointed out major political issues but also pushed love of self and culture.
No matter what type of Black, it’s all beautiful, from the hood to the valley. You have to accept it all before you can truly claim to fight for Black culture.
That means that more than just the lives of Black, heterosexual men matter.
This album was exactly what we needed to keep pushing forward. After so many Philando Castiles, Sanda Blands, Rekia Boyds, and Trayvon Martins, you get pretty exhausted.
Hopeless, almost.
What is reading books doing if I couldn’t even save Alton Sterling or Oscar Grant?
Knowledge.
All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ reminded that, that’s the most important component.
DEAD PRESIDENTS
I really appreciated All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ on the ride from Reno, NV to San Francisco, CA for PRIDE Parade.
I had my favorites, but hadn’t fallen in love with every single track yet.
It was Joey’s version of Amerikkkan Korruption sprinkled with his own maturity, experience and style, but the messages were the same.
I’m just excited to see what my kids say 10 years from now when I’m driving them to school playing Wave$.
1999 saved my life quite a few times starting when I was at my lowest of lows listening to Snake$. From being 15 with 1999 to me now being 20 with All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, I can clearly see the growth.
“When I grew up, Hip-Hop grew with me.”
It didn’t take anything but me staying true to myself and what I believe. We get clowned now for identifying the differences between timeless Hip-Hop and temporary music, but even through that Joey Bada$$ stood true to his craft and friends.
I respect it and that respect presents itself in how much I advocate his music. In honor of the Pro $TEEZ, we PROceed.
CONCLUSION: DA SPECIAL LIST
Rejex wasn’t full of rejects at all.
Just classics that would’ve made 1999 entirely too long. I couldn’t leave it out so I decided to conclude with it.
Are your favs throw aways this good?
If not, get a new one and then think about what they’re actually doing independently to move the culture forward.
I wrote this while listening to every solo Joey Bada$$ project in order.
He’s a legend.
