Joey Bada$$ - All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ ALBUM REVIEW

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The killing of George Floyd in Minnesota has sparked a civil war of sorts in America, with the riots and protests ravaging cities across the country and social justice becoming one of the biggest issues in America, if it wasn’t already. I was scrolling through Twitter, seeing the aftermath of all the lootings in each city, Cleveland in particular, since I’m from Ohio and it was one of the harder-hit cities in America. I follow some music accounts, and one of these posted about which politically-charged rap album is being revisited the most. Personally, I expected Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly, but while those were some answers, the replies were mainly dominated by Joey Bada$$’s 2017 album All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$. I never really understood behind the appeal behind Joey to me, but after listening to All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$, I just had to write a review for it.

All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ is a conscious hip-hop record. There are many different political undertones throughout the record, and it isn’t exactly subtle. What I admire about All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ is how accessible it sounds. It is extremely consistent in terms of its style and themes and somehow manages to give off summer vibes even though it is not at all as lighthearted as most summer albums are. The production is fantastic throughout each song, but it sometimes feels like the beat is saving the rest of a track, only because on some tracks, I think Joey had underperformed a couple of tracks on here. I think that Joey is a pretty great singer and while he sings, he brings the same amount of energy as he brings to his rapping. Joey’s writing on All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ is also stunning. As I stated earlier, the political and racial undertones peppered throughout the record are very timely, back then and now.

While this isn’t a problem for the record itself, I found it very hard to get into separate tracks. I honestly enjoyed All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ as a whole project rather than picking and choosing separate tracks. Yes, the songs aren’t bad at all, but it just doesn’t feel like it should work as separate tracks.

All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ is a very great record. On the surface, it feels like a radio-friendly rap album with some of the tracks talking about social justice issues. But the more you listen to it, the more it becomes apparent that this is a mature look into racial inequality in America. All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ also happens to be a devastating look into America today, and all of the terrible things going on in it. You need to listen to this record.


9/10


Stream All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ here

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