Flatbush’s Joey Bada$$ starting making his bones last year with 1999 (a mixtape so good I’m still listening to it 14 months later), but this year’s “Summer Knights” mixtape is where he proves he’s got the goods. It’s full of lyrics so smart it’s hard to believe no one’s thought of them before: “Beaten the pussy like it got nine lives.” “I don’t drink too much, I know the bud wiser.” With production from the likes of DOOM, Statik Selektah and Oddissee, this feels like a laid back Brooklyn (almost native tongue) album with street-smarts and a little bit of an edge. It’s extremely creative, and never slows down.
You can still find it, but it looks like it’s starting to get taken down. Not sure why–maybe he got signed?
