Joey Bada$$ has been on the hip hop scene long enough to know what's up. Even when he and Capital Steeze came through in the early days with 'Survival Tactics' you could feel the angst and inspiration about their situation as young African-American men. Bada$$ has seeped these vibes into various projects since (Summer Knights, B4.DA.$$) but with All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, he pulls it all together into a tightly packed album that encapsulates his perspective.

Coming into my listening experience, fresh off of bumpin' 'Rockabye Baby' I expected Bada$$ to go for the throat. There are certainly some aggressive tunes in the Schoolboy Q assisted Rockabye and 'Ring The Alarm' which has Pro Era comrades Kirk Knight and Nyck Cautoin trading bars along with Meechy Darko from Flatbush Zombies, but I was left pleasantly surprised by the notably mellow nature of AABA.

Reflecting on my silly expectations led me to believe that it's probably easier to make an album that borders on inciting riots in the current time, as opposed to making an album that is not only introspective but also detailing a story of the wider problem and how problems could be solved. The opening stanza of the album (Good Morning Amerikkka, For My People, Temptation, Land of the Free, Devastated, Y U Don't Love Me) sees Joey juggle uplifting vibes with his standard lyrical fire, causing you to slowly absorb the messages delivered. 

'Y U Don't Love Me' is an especially interesting track as Joey asks Miss Amerikkka why she can't love Joey, or a young African-American man, as she should. There's so many little avenues to explore in that idea alone and while Joey breezes through a variety of complaints, the head-bobbin' factor remains throughout.

Helping out with the production on AABA are 1-900, DJ Khalil, Kirk Knight, Chuck Strangers, Powers Pleasant, Jake Bowman, Like and Statik Selektah. Knight and Strangers are Pro Era members, so they've got plenty of history with Joey and Statik Selektah has been responsible for as much Joey Bada$$ production as anyone else in the last few years. Joey brings in notable producers DJ Khalil and 1-900, offering a broad spectrum of producers who come together under the AABA umbrella and deliver a super cohesive sound. 

This sound is interesting as Joey has often been labelled as a boom-bap rapper, but then on B4.DA.$$ he kinda went in the opposite direction and got super funky. I'd consider AABA a nice blend of both as there are typically hip hop/boom-bappy moments on 'Ring The Alarm' and 'Super Predator' (ft. Styles P) combined with the airy 'Legendary' (ft. J Cole).

AABA flows nicely and with just 12 tracks, you aren't able to skip anything because Joey has crammed everything he wants to say and every sound he wants to portray in there. The opening stanza is light but deep, bringing a vibe of pain and insecurity via insight from Joey with a sprinkling of hope in tracks 'Land of the Free' and 'Devastated'. Then the middle is more aggressive, more in tune with how I thought the whole album would sound and the last few tracks wrap up the two angles.

Finishing with 'Amerikkkan Idol' is an obvious choice as Joey spells out the situation in a rather poetic fashion. Given that situation of 'Amerikkka' and the world, the way Joey finishes this album is somewhat weird as there are seeds of hope and motivation in his closing track, yet there are some ominous warnings as well. It doesn't exactly leave you excited, more like you've been put on notice and while Joey's told you his story of what it's like, we could all be about to feel it some way or another ourselves.

AABA finds Joey Bada$$ truly establishing himself as a musical force. I've been a huge fan for a long time and have enjoyed the musical journey that Bada$$ has been on as he settles on his creative craft, so hailing AABA as the true-blue arrival of Bada$$ doesn't mean anything negative towards the previous music I enjoyed so much. It's just that AABA really is that good.

Joey's personal growth, his lyrical ability, the resources available to him and how he brought those resources together combines in glorious fashion. The true mark of this album is that I have enjoyed endless re-listens as it not only offers groovy tunes to keep your toes tapping, there's always a new sound or bar to admire.