Joey Bada$$ Delivers on The Light Pack
For fans of Joey Bada$$, his three-year hiatus from rap felt like an eternity. Thankfully, the Brooklyn native made his long-awaited return last Friday with The Light Pack. The three-track EP marks his first solo project since his 2017 album All Amerikkan Bada$$. Until now, he made infrequent appearances on tracks, causing fans to wonder when or if he would return. His sporadic output was due to his budding acting career but is also representative of his prolonged clash with the music industry.
In 2012, Joey made his debut with the acclaimed mixtape 1999. Despite being 17, he displayed a lyrical ability well beyond his years. The mixtape directly contrasted the emergence of fellow teenager Chief Keef, whose single “I Don’t Like” made Chicago’s drill scene nationally known. His style made him beloved among hip-hop traditionalists but never gained him a national following. The Light Pack presents Joey Bada$$ in a similar place almost a decade later — with an acute awareness of self but also his rap counterparts.
As an artist, Joey Bada$$ most closely resembles rappers of earlier generations. Similar to the late Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, Joey’s artist relies on his ability to form creative end-rhymes while telling a story. “Comin’ for the biggest cats in the food chain, Kill ’em all, the only thing left is the fools chain.” He is unafraid of propping up his skills while demeaning that of others in the genre. The Light Pack begins with “The Light”, where Joey demonstrably proclaims, “now world domination by determination, this is mumble rap extermination.” Throughout The Light Pack, Joey takes aim at the simplistic approach his contemporaries use. “Type of rap that fuck a Grammy nomination”, he later says admitting that his style will not bring industry accolades.
It is the EP’s last track “Shine” where Joey Bada$$ truly separates himself. The song begins with an extended instrumental sampled from Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”. The sample falls in line with New York’s previous generation of rappers who used jazz as the foundation of their instrumentals. While many of today’s rappers look to kill the dead space with adlibs and repetitive lines, Joey takes a different approach, giving the beat space to breathe and allowing it to further convey the vibe he intends. “This them young OG vibes, think like I’m Steve Jobs” he calmly says as the beat settles. “Shine” is the perfect way to end The Light Pack as it displays a level of artistic planning that is missing in today’s rap.
Despite barely lasting eight minutes, Joey Bada$$ presents his best self on The Light Pack. The three tracks — each representing an aspect of the human spirit: soul, mind, and body — find him at his most conscious and purposeful. He’s aware the EP won’t receive commercial success but has no problem discrediting your favorite rapper in the process. Joey Bada$$’s return should be celebrated as it brings diversity to rap’s ecosystem, which is becoming increasingly uniform.
