On January 20th, 2015, rapper Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, otherwise known as Joey Bada$$, released his debut album “B4.DA.$$” (pronounced before the money). The album has so far achieved mainstream success, quickly rising to the top ten on billboard charts.  Rolling Stone Magazine gave the album a three out of five, a surprisingly high review for a debut hip hop album.

Personally, I feel that “B4.DA.$$” is one of the strongest hip hop albums I have heard in a long time. Its starting track, “Save The Children” sets the bar high as Bada$$ rips apart a Statik Selektah beat with verses on modern society and today’s youth.

From there, the album takes a more artistic turn. The most notable track in my opinion is “Paper Trail$.” This track hits the hard roots of Scott, and shows the central theme of the difference of life before and after the money. In this track, Bada$$ says, “They say money is the root of all evil I say money is the root of all people, because we all follow paper trails, paper trails, and everybody gotta pay they bills pay they bills.”

As a debut album, “B4.DA.$$” is very strong and I expect more great things from Joey Bada$$ to come.