Brooklyn-born rapper Joey Bada$$ released his highly anticipated sophomore album All- AmeriKKKan Bada$$ on Friday (April 7, 2017), a project themed around its examination of issues plaguing black America. Bada$$ set the table for the tone of the album with a powerful video for the single “Land of the Free,” released in March.
The 12-track album includes features from Chronixx, J. Cole, Schoolboy Q, Styles P, Meechy Darko (via Flatbush Zombies) plus Nyck Caution and Kirk Knight (both Pro Era, the rap collective Bada$$ leads). He also tapped Kirk Knight, Chuck Strangers (Pro Era), Statik Selektah, One Nine Hundred, among others for production.
Most of the songs are filled with powerful messages, such as “Temptation” (which will be the album’s second single) that features nine-year old Zianna Oliphant, who tearfully spoke in a video that went viral in September 2016 about the implications of the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott.
In the final song that clocks in at over six minutes, “AmeriKKKan Idol,” Bada$$ hones in on challenges facing black men face in America, touching on police brutality, mass incarceration and black-on-black crime. He also speaks to Americans joining forces to make America a better place.
In support of the new project, Bada$$ performed “Land of the Free” on “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last week. He also made radio rounds, flashing his chops through several live freestyles. In a visit to Power 105.1’s Angie Martinez he discussed the challenges of processing the death of Pro Era member Capital Steez in 2012, and his cousin and Pro Era member Junior B, who passed away in December 2016.
At Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” show, he discussed his background and the path to the album. And while Bada$$ showed appreciation for everything the station has done for him, he also registered some complaints about the state of New York radio and its failure to support New York artists. “New York radio, we need the new young Ebro. We need the new, young Funk Flex. We need the new Peter Rosenberg, man y’all holding they seats, man,” said Badas$$.
The album is now available to stream on all formats. Below, check out some of the videos referenced in the story.
