ALL AMERIKKKAN BADA$$

Rap is Conscious

Rappers now a days don’t really give a shit about racism or social justice, they only want money, strippers and guns. Rap used to be so much better when rappers actually cared about what they said! Well at least that’s how mass media sees them. There is no truth to these arguments. Rappers now are just as socially conscious as any rapper has ever been. NWA might have started the movement but people like Joey Badass and Kendrick Lamar have shown that rappers now a day can carry on their legacy and inspire social justice through their music. These artist’s songs do not just drop a couple lines about politics, they will make their whole damn album about politics and social justice. These rappers make you rethink rap; no more is it meaningless club music. Rap can mean something more, it has a purpose and make people think and can make people want to make changes.

Joey Badass was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York with NY being known as the birthplace for hip hop. Joey claims to have grown up around rap and had been rapping and making rhymes since a young age (HypeBeast, 2016). Although Brooklyn isn’t known for its fierce race battles like Los Angeles was in the ‘60s but there is still apparent racism in Brooklyn. This racism that Joey grew up facing is shown in this album. One very apparent example of this is the title, instead of spelling America like it’s supposed to be he added his own twist to it. Joey shouted out his not so friendly white brothers by throwing their name the KKK in the tile, ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$. His also shouted out money with the dollar sign, because money over everything is the motto. Joey didn’t just use the title for the use of KKK he also tied it into one of his big messages from the album, patriotism. The whole album is wrapped in patriotism or the defiance against it.          

 The album has a strange back and forth between Baddass loving the USA and then hating on it for being a racist place that holds black men down. He’s not just whining about how he wants there to be no racism, he wants people to work hard and ignore any haters and succeed either way. “Wanna get my mom a crib, with a lawn…Life is like game of chess, don’t be a pawn.”, from Joey’s song “For My People” shows the hard work with an aggressive twist to really top it off. Joey is not just aggressive about his push to success he is quite passionate about his music and it shows, just look at the titles of these songs. Im pretty sure Joey’s caps lock key wasn’t broken all those titles being in all caps was on purpose. The titles are aggressive just like Joey and he is unapologetic about it. Joey coming from nothing and grinding for his mom’s house shows the American dream is alive and well; if we’re talking about the American dream take a look at the album cover to this one. Its Joey driving a car leaning out the window giving the camera a suggestive hand gesture with an American flag billowing in the back, what an image.            

It’s cool to gawk at the album art and all but we can’t ignore the fact the Joey has little kids talking in the beginning of “Temptation”. The song starts off with a beat and a young girl talking, “I come here today to talk about how I feel, and I feel like that we are treated differently than other people, and I don't like how we’re treated, just because of our color doesn't mean anything to me”. This comes from a speech that Zianna Oliphant gave to Charlotte City council after the shooting of Keith Scott by a police officer. Keith Scott was shot after not complying with police orders. Keith Scott was shot by a black officer so this speech and the inclusion of it in album speaks on police violence more than race violence. Joey put this sound clip in because to the African American community Zianna’s speech was a rally cry for peace. Black communities are not only searching for peace from the white community but also from the police community. Joey chose to use this sound clip and to feature J. Cole on the album because both J. Cole and Zianna are from Charlotte, NC. J.Cole is later featured on the album in “Legendary”. The sound clip definitely throws you off at first and sounds very out of place but the significance and meaning behind it was important enough for Joey to put into the album. The use of the sound clip shows that media had no boundaries on what it can do. Music is not made just to sing along to, it can be thought provoking. This is the type of album Coach Jimmy V would be proud of. It makes you laugh, think, and moves your emotions all in one album.

            Since young African American’s are getting kicked down by their country they choose to put their allegiance in other things. It’s hard to blame them for not loving the USA, I mean we enslaved their people for a while. Their allegiance’s a lot of times go to gangs now though because of what gangs offer. When you join a gang you become surrounded by like-minded people who want all the same things you and can offer you protection from the country that hates you. “The coppers still shoot us down on Channel 5 news, Lock us up for anythin’ we do to pay dues, Some of us woke while some stay snoozed.”, from “GOOD MORNING AMERIKKKA”. Badass sees the vicious cycle that the USA is creating for young black kids but the rap culture is encouraging it by glorifying guns and money. Gangs act in a weird way as a country for the African Americans who feel like they can’t trust the USA. Even Joey is guilty of encouraging this lifestyle, many of his quotes glorify it and make it sound like a good way out. How can you really blame him though, this is what he grew up around?

            Joey has more to say in his album than just his rant with Zianna or his hate for cops, we get insight into more things troubling the black community and the USA as a whole. Joey feels like the black community is still targeted every morning when they wake up, “Holy cross on my back got a bullseye on it, I gotta get stoned to fulfill my moment, Oppress my oppressor, suppress the opponent, Channel my ancestor, he wouldn’t condone it.” The racism isn’t the only problem though, how the communities are responding too it is worsening the problem. People who can’t trust in their country turn to successful figures like Joey Badass to look up too. When Joey has lines like, “I put my pain on the cadence, turn my brain up a wavelength…We gon’ blow smoke in the sky, ’Til we can’t open our eyes.” How can the black community try to overcome their problems when they are being told to get so high they can’t open their eyes? Joey really lets his feelings out on the track with the song “Y U DON’T LOVE ME (MISS AMERIKKKA). Again we hear the same thing about America giving African Americans the “shit end of the stick” but in this song rather than smoking away your problems we get a different response. Joey says “I can't make one mistake, it's no room, Feelin' like I gotta leave real soon, I'ma say, "Namaste," and just bloom.” This is the good side of Joey that turns the other shoulder and no matter the odds overcomes his problems. These songs do not fit well into our rap culture because it’s not created for the club but it fits well with our time because it tackles tough topics in the news today.

We could sit here all day praising Joey for pointing out problems in the US but I’d rather talk about his mediocre beats. Joey lacks the beats that other major rappers like Migos, Kodak, and Lil Uzi Vert have to keep them on top. Joey’s songs lack the catchy beats but can compete with major rappers by keeping up on his verses lyrically. In today’s rap that isn’t enough and it is very apparent. Travis Scott’s songs “Goosebumps” that came out in September 2016 is still in Billboard’s Top 25 Rap Songs and none of Joey’s songs are in the top 25 off of ALL AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ and that came out much more recently. Joey chooses beats that don’t work well for radio music and pair that with his sub-par choruses you have the perfect storm for bad rap. His strong verses and provocative lyrics are what can keep him relevant and keep him making that money! Joey sacrifices some of that money by staying in his own lane and not conforming to what the radio wants.

This album is not what you expect from a top artist unless it’s Joey Badass. This album is definitely not at home in the rap culture of 2017. Kendrick Lamar is doing a very similar thing to Joey Badass by releasing a huge studio album some covered with social justice lyrics. Even though these albums were made with the same intentions they turned out very differently. People cannot get enough of Kendrick; people are eating up his album like it’s going to be gone tomorrow. Joey’s album on the other hand was not a huge success, other than “Devastated” and “Land of the Free” people are not listening to this album. People not listening to the album is not a huge loss though, this album opens the door for artists who want to make rap with a meaning behind. Rap culture has been on a steady decline away from what it was in beginning. Terry Teachout’s article “Rap and Racism” talked about how rappers today are the modern day Malcom X and MLK. They have the platform to inspire change and not using it would be a wasted opportunity. After this album and Kendrick Lamar’s album were dropped people definitely saw a different side of rap. These albums came out very shortly after each other so they most likely didn’t influence each other but they had similar messages.

            Black communities can really use this album to get behind because it’s screaming out all the problems and hate they have faced throughout their lives. Seeing someone like Joey who came from Brooklyn and made it out of the ghetto without violence gives blacks around the USA hope. White communities seem to not accept the album as well though. The album is young so there hasn’t been too much hate or love directed towards it yet but everyone has their gripes or loves already. A big focus of hate for this album is that even though racism is acknowledged Joey only scratches the surfaces and only says that’s it bad. People also question whether an album like this helps or hurts racial tension, especially when racism is used in the same breath as a lyric about being in a gang. Another criticism of the album is the lack of featured artists. The only 2 notable features are ScHoolboy Q and J.Cole, and those are 2 of the 6 features. Yes, these are 2 amazing artists but they are not what you need. Joey needs someone like Quavo to help him get a catchy hook not more lyrically minded people like himself.

            Overall this album is seen as an ordinary album with a very extraordinary purpose. Analyzing the album track by track you don’t get much out of this album. The true value of this album is seen when the whole thing is put together and you get to see the full story. All the nuances and small details of the album come out after hearing the whole thing through. You get to experience the full story that Joey put into his work. Even though this album won’t hold its spot in the lime light for long it will still have a very important impact on the rap community. Young rappers will now be able to put meaning into their music without being seen as different or soft.

REVISED Cultural Critique

Cultural Critique of Rap

            The current climate of rap is nothing like it used to be. Rap has changed drastically from its humble beginnings fighting against social injustice. Rap is now frowned upon as a genre, people see it as provocative and causing problems rather than working to solve them as the genre originally intended. New lyrics no longer speak of social justice but rather naked girls, guns, and drugs. This is what is popular in the culture but there is also a lot of good and positivity that comes from the rap culture. 

            Older rappers (80’s and 90’s rappers) were similar to rappers today but also at the same time very different. Some of the rap songs you heard back in the 90’s would sound similar to songs today because technology was starting to catch up. The big difference between the time periods is the meaning or lack of meaning behind the music. Older rap songs spoke out against police violence and social injustice. “Fuck that shit, ‘cause I ain't the one

For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun To be beating on, and thrown in jail

We can go toe-to-toe in the middle of a cell”(NWA, 1988). Even though the lyrics are very aggressive the song is meant to be taken seriously, NWA is speaking to other blacks that have been oppressed and feel like they are being targeted by police. Rap began to gaining popularity as the tension between blacks and whites was beginning to boil over. Four years after ‘Fuck Tha Police’ came out was 1992 when the Rodney King Riot occurred, this is one of the deadliest altercations between blacks and whites during the civil rights movement. This is no coincidence either, Rap acted as a platform for black men to get behind to express their thoughts and say what they mean freely.

            Rap has changed since the days of NWA but there are still some artists that hold the same values. Rap catches a bad rap (haha get it) from old white men who still see it as a platform to cause social unrest.  A big example of everything conservative minded people hate about the culture is one of Future’s newest albums, ‘Future’. This album focuses on drug dealers, guns, and everything associated with living a fun life. People cannot understand that these songs are not meant to be taken seriously. These songs do make killing and smokin’ dope sound pretty fun, doing it once may be kind of fun. Old stubborn people think that these songs encourage that kind of behavior and cause young impressionable kids to want to follow in the rapper’s footsteps. The current culture of rap looking in from the outside is a rough bunch of people who do not care about who they hurt or how they make their money. If you understand the culture and can get passed some of the rough parts, there are a lot of positive things that do come from all of this. Although Future’s newest album focuses on Draco automatic submachine guns and taking Percocets people do not realize that behind the scenes Future does care about giving back and where he comes from. “Draco season with the bookbag, Rat tat, got a little kick back” (Future, 2017), this is a direct line from Future’s song ‘Draco’ rapping about gun violence. This doesn’t paint rap in a good light even though these lyrics are very common lyrics across most rappers in today’s rap songs. Although rap does have very dark lyrics in the songs good things do come from these dark rappers. Some of the good that can come from rap is coat drives that Future frequently does for kids trapped in poverty. Honestly who gives a shit about coats but this does show that these big bad dread head animals do have a soft and caring side to them.

            Rappers couldn’t give a rat’s ass about looking good for the media, the reason they do these charitable things is because they care about where they came from. Rappers used to come from all over and there was no “hub” for rap until recently when drill style rap took over. Atlanta has produced almost all of the top recent talent. Atlanta rappers have a very unapologetic style to their lives. Future being from the slums of Atlanta, the dirty ATL, knows the dangerous lives kids go through growing up and now that he’s on top he cares about his hood so he wants to give back. Recently Chance the Rapper, maybe not one of the wildest rappers, donated One million dollars to the Chicago School district. Chance has also been heavily involved in the school district trying to fight for reform to help children get out of poverty. Chance even raps about is upbringing and what it means to him, “My village raised ‘em a child, come through the crib and it’s bustin’, You meet anyone from my city, they gon' say that we cousins” (Chance The Rapper, 2016). The rise of hip hop hubs has caused competition in between rappers but in a good way. Every rapper wants their city to be the best it can be to show that the city they represent is better than their competitions. This drives rappers to be good and give back, even vulgar rappers like Lil Wayne are involved on the charity. After New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina he donated 250,000 to recovery help. Even the villains can be good some times.

            The current climate of rap is far different from what it used to be, but is that so bad? Many people will reminisce on the golden days of rap where songs matter and lyrics meant something. If you’re stuck looking at the past you’re going to miss out on all of the gold that’s dropping lately. The culture of rap has been through a lot, it has: caused social changed, gotten people killed, encouraged kids to sell drugs, clothed homeless kids. You can hate on the culture for having dark spots but what culture doesn’t. No one’s perfect and no group of people are perfect. The culture of rap is always evolving and changing and if you can’t take a little bad with your good then go listen to Ed Sheeran or some other bullshit.