B4.DA.$$

His wordplay, comparable to his friend Ab-Soul’s, remains integral to his approach, but here he’s more personal and purposeful than he was on his mixtapes, rapping about rapping but also lamenting the realities of being young and black in America.

Badass has been criticised for failing to take his retro stylings anywhere new, but he lovingly recreates the Nineties vibe with an appealing low-slung swagger and infuses it all with a thoughtful, pavement-pounding philosophy.

Bada$$ proves a natural born rhymer on a deeply rewarding showcase of advanced level lyricalism. [Feb 2015, p.89]

B4.Da.$$ should be seen as a huge step forward and a platform for Joey to progress even further.

Bada$$ hits a sweet spot. His production choices (and those of Statik Selektah, Kirk Knight and Freddie Joachim) are innovative and timeless.

The album is strikingly similar in tone to the mixtapes; he’s not trying anything different, but rather continuing what’s worked well for him. But everything is more refined and better expressed; there are also songs that stand out more as anthems.

Sometimes his influences, especially Nas (“On and On”), are transparent, but nothing here feels derivative. The production, filled with scratches, sonic invention, and live instrumentation by DJ Premier and Lawrence’s Statik Selektah, among others, often matches the MC’s audacity.

As a whole, there’s very little that’s progressive about B4.Da.$$ but it’s a distinguished retread and the most polished project the young emcee has put out to date.

At over an hour long, it’s a collection which could do with a slightly more ruthless approach in the cutting room but that’s a minor nit-pick when the material is this strong.

It's a diverting blend of gravity and distraction, but at 17 tracks, it arguably commits that historic rap LP crime of filling all available audio space. [Feb 2015, p.105]

A nimble, melodic wordsmith, Bada$$ casts his effortless flow over a loose collection of jazz and boom-bap backdrops.

It is certainly a solid and promising debut from a richly talented MC with the potential to help others with his music in the same manner his forebears inspired him.

With B4.DA.$$, Joey Bada$$ finally lives up to the expectations that have been thrust upon him, delivering a confident debut steeped in the history of hip-hop and simultaneously engaged with the current cultural climate.

It's a fair reminder that innovation in hiphop shouldn't be judged by the standards of less journalistic musical forms. [Mar 2015, p.59]

This fine debut is also filled with productions from Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and others whose names hold weight.

The album's hard-slapping boom bap, laced with confident social realist flow, could only ever have come from New York. [Mar 2015, p.71]

He's gradually but noticeably building up a real identity on record. But if that next level's within reach, there has to be one obstacle to overcome: Firsthand truths take longer to sink in when they're delivered with secondhand styles.

This is a good album by all accounts, but it's just not enough to free Joey from rap purgatory.

Despite a few kinks and unnecessary tracks, B4.Da.$$ is a great album that revisits classic '90s boom-bap signifiers: the production, the delivery and cadences.

Bada$$ may not have Lamar's gift for lyricism or narrative, but his work is impressively composed for such a young voice, stringing together intricate series of metaphors over crisp, non-intrusive old-school beats.

Ultimately, B4.DA.$$ is a lackluster album with little appeal beyond its dry technical flourish and fleeting moments of vulnerability.

None of which is to say it’s a bad album, just a lightweight one.

[Joey Bada$$'s] potential is only half realized on B4.DA.$$, which speaks to his lack of adjustment in transitioning into a full-fledged artist who truly represents something other than ’90s nostalgia rap. Still, B4.DA.$$ is a commendable performance from an MC who has every opportunity to capitalize on his next project with some more seasoning, experience, and focus.

His official debut LP still sounds like it's stuck in the past, with solid production from old-school legend DJ Premier and his latter-day disciple Statik Selektah.

The problem is that Bada$$ seems to have missed their lessons on levity. His style--often-poetic lyrics rapped in a blunted monotone over moody production--is skilled, but never very fun.