By TJ Love
Back when Common was still nice, he had a line on Real Nigga Quotes that still resonates with me: in the day if you grew up on Marvin Gaye/Why all you singers ‘booty this’ and ‘freak me baby.’ 99% of wack music practitioners claim, in earnest, to idolize legends in their genre. If so, where is the influence of the good music they profess to love in their own product? One thing that separates Joey Bada$$ is that he not only wears his fandom on his sleeves,but it’s reflected in his music.
Summer Knights is his second official solo project and it cements his spot as a potential heir apparent for the East Coast. At 17 tracks deep, it sports production from heavy hitters DJ Premier, MF Doom, Statik Selektah, Oddisee and Alchemist in addition to equally dope in-house production from his Pro Era crew. Joey has completed the transformation from precocious, promising spitter to ferocious lyricist on the verge of his prime. Guest shots on the mic are kept almost exclusively in the Pro Era circle and as much as Summer Knights is Joey’s ship, his Flatbush cohorts’ contributions show and prove that they’re far more than just homeboy hangers-on riding his coattails.
Trapped In The 90’s types are gonna eat up Summer Knights and lick the plate clean. It’s boom bap on par with the best of the original flavor of the 90’s era. Ditto for the vocal stylings, which are a lot more Nas, Doom, Keith Murray, and vintage Jigga than they are A$AP Rocky or Spaceghostpurrp. Summer Knights opens up with Alowha and after a brief shit-talking intro, Joey slices and dices the Kirk Knight-produced gem with razor sharp bars and wordplay that ain’t no joke. My Youth, feat Collie Budz, is a neck-snapper and Joey doesn’t take his foot off the pedal with delivery befitting both the reggae vibe of the track and the crazy rhyme patterns he exhibits.
The rest of Pro Era has gotten better, too. Dessy Hinds, with an energetic and nasal deliver, coupled with super-slick cadence and punchlines serves as the perfect foil to Joey’s style, almost like Ghost and Rae. All three tracks he’s featured on Sit N Prey, Satellite, and Sorry Bonita are borderline insane, and Hinds really brings the best out of Joey and whoever else he’s in the booth with. 47 Goonz is a nod to 36 Chambers with dusty, RZA-esque production and tag team chemistry among Joey, Dirty Sanchez, and Nyck Caution. It more Wu-like than anything The Clan has made since forever.
Bada$$ may be the frontman for Pro Era but he’s aligned himself with the right heads; any of these cats is worth checking for on their own merit. He’s playing the role of Method Man right now but as they continue to develop and release more material people are gonna eventually find their own favorites, and they won’t necessarily be Joey Bada$$, which is a testament to how dope Pro Era is as a collective.
If anybody would’ve had next out of Pro Era, it was Capital STEEZ. His verse on 1999’s Survival Tactics was sublime and his talent was undeniable. Unfortunately Steezy took his life last Christmas Eve and LongLiveSteelo is a touching, genuine tribute that’s devoid of the tired ass tropes usually present in a ‘this is for my homies’ cut.
Joey Bada$$ does his thing on the ridiculously dope singles that were out prior to the release of Summer Knights, the DJ Premier-produced Unorthodox, as well as the Statik Selektah-helmed Word Is Bond. Joey is clearly a student of the craft, and his pen game is clearly a reflection of hours spent analyzing the minutiae of Nas, DOOM, and the like.
It’s refreshing that in 2013 there are still artists that know how to make solid, slip-free albums. Nostalgia isn’t the word for Summer Knights; excellent is. Keep in mind that Joey and company are either still in high school or fresh from it, which bodes well for all us ‘trapped in the 90s’ heads who won’t give props to inferior product in the name of “progress.” Pro Era achieves greater heights by standing on the shoulders of those who came before them.
4.25 Out of 5
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