*Editors Note: At the time of writing this, this show in particular was about 2 months ago*
At age 18, Joey Bada$$ has accomplished things most people in their lifetime will not. He hit the scene a little over a year ago with the release of his 1999 mixtape and his buzz has
steadily increased ever since. Noted for his technical ability and his 90’s-esque flavor, it’s very easy to see why he’s garnered the attention of veterans and new-schoolers with ease.
Going into the show, I had pretty high expectations from the young MC. He’s had about a year of touring experience and three projects under his belt, and with this I expected a very high energy show, filled with cuts from the various projects.
He hit the stage around 9, following a very quick DJ-set from Statik Selektah, and jumped right into the show with ease. As he switched between different tracks, it became very apparent I
was going to get what I came for. It was around the 4th song when fellow Pro Era member Kirk Knight joined him on stage to perform songs of of “Peep: The aPROclypse” and Joey’s two solo efforts, and it made the show that much more enjoyable. The pair shared wonderful stage chemistry, feeding off of each other and having a good time doing so. By this time, the stage began to get showered with various paraphernalia, ranging from baggies to blunts and joints, which Joey and Kirk welcomed with open arms.
As the show grew closer to an end, the 3 stage members held a very fitting to tribute to the late Pro Era member “Capital STEEZ” who lost his life last December due to an apparent suicide at his home in New York. A moment of silence was held, and it was here that they jumped right into crowd-favorite “Survival Tactics” and the energy flew through the roof as the crowd matched Joey with every lyric spit throughout the song. After this, the pair said their good-byes to the crowd, and walked off, however the crowd was having none of it, yelling “ENCORE” until the MC’s emerged once again to kick a freestyle and yet another song.
After it was all said and done, I can’t imagine anyone in the crowd leaving displeased with the performance that Joey put together. Make sure to catch him on the “Smoker’s Club Tour” alongside Ab-Soul and his Pro Era conglomerate.
*all images courtesy of Mel Brunelle (melbrunelle.com)*