10 Best Hip-Hop Albums Of 2017 (So Far)

With the argument of West versus East primarily confined to the retro era where hip-hop beefs were running rampant, it has not dissipated, but rather transitioned and evolved into the new debate of who represents their side best, with Kendrick Lamar being the primary argument for the West and a toss-up between NY rappers A$AP Rocky and Pro Era founder Joey Bada$$ for the East. The two share more than just dollar signs in their name, as both consistently put out great music with their groups, respectively.

There is a lot to be said of his prior attempt B4.DA.$$, which split his fans who were taken back by the drastic change in lyrical content from that album and his first - the legendary mixtape 1999. It would be a stretch to say that this project has the same personal feeling and humble sound, but it is definitely more intellectual album.

Straying away from the concepts of money and fame, Joey goes back to his roots and talks about the struggles of life, painting a despairing image that is complimented by relaxing beats that reflect the tone of Joey’s perspective that is somewhat omnipotent on songs such as “Legendary” with J. Cole and “Super Predator” with fellow Pro Era member Styles P.

This should suffice even the most unsavory hip-hop fans that hold bias towards new artists, as this record legitimately sounds 10 or 15 years old, which is both a detriment and proper trait of the album, which is not afraid to sound outdated. This is both uniquely pleasant and progressively frustrating as it stays at middle-gear, never truly exploding in the hard-style of flowing and intricate lyricism that Bada$$ was once touted as being the new-school leader of.

Joey has changed, but his passion for his project has not, leaving another great record from a great artist.