By Jamar Johnson

All Amerikkkan Badass is Joey Bada$$’ sophomore album, released on April 7th of 2017, about two years after his debut album “B4.DA.$$”. When I first saw the title I didn’t know what to expect, but after listening to it I was pleasantly surprised from what I heard from Joey on this album. Joey focuses on social issues and problems we have in America such as police brutality, racism and equality and he also attempts to uplift and give advice to people going through these types of problems. All the tracks were very cohesive and they all had good messages, Joey’s impressive lyricism pairs perfectly with elite production throughout the album. There are strong complimentary features on this project; J. Cole, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Schoolboy Q, Styles P and Chronixx all play a part in making this album as great as it is.

Some of my favorite tracks on here were “Miss Amerikkka,” “Good Morning Amerikkka,” “Land Of The Free” and “Amerikkkan Idol.” The most impactful song to me was “Y U DON’T LOVE ME (MISS AMERIKKKA)”. In this song, Joey is having a conversation with America and questions the country from the perspective of a young black man living in America, asking the country things like why he is misjudged and treated like he doesn’t matter, along with many other questions. “Amerikkkan Idol” is another very powerful song on this album, and is the last track on the album. On this song, Joey is giving advice about how we should handle problems such as equality, and he expresses his frustration for the country and how black people have been and continue to be treated.  The album’s length is perfect: at 50 minutes long it isn’t a long album but not too short either. It is easy to get through, yet you can also learn a bit by giving this album a listen. Joey split the album into sections where the first half is uplifting, calm, and sympathetic while the second half of the album Joey got more aggressive and straight to the point. This was one of my favorite albums of 2017 without a doubt. It was one of the bigger and more anticipated releases of the year, as it debuted at #5 on the US Billboard 200. With great content, production, lyrics and some outstanding features, this album is worth a listen. The question is, what will Joey release next? He can only get better as he has with every mixtape/album he has released. It was a long two-year wait, but it was worth it with strong content while coming at a time when the message is appropriate.