Something very interesting happened to Joey Bada$$ between albums: he found a focus for his narrative. Debut album B4.DA.$$ suffered from the weight of expectations on the young New Yorker's shoulders and stylistically fell between a nostalgia for a previous golden age of hip-hop and a reticence about articulating his own story in his own way.
All-Amerikkkan Badass makes amends in no uncertain fashion, an album which fully engages with the strange and troubled world we find ourselves in of late. Like many of his peers, Bada$$ has been energised by events from Donald Trump to police shootings and there's a lot of anger and ire in the lyrical wash here. Rockabye Baby and Land Of the Free don't spare the rod, both working up a fine head of steam set against that Bada$$ brew of soulful samples and throwback musical colours.
Many will be re-evaluating what Bada$$ is capable of doing on the back on this release as it sounds as if he’s just getting started.
