Your Favorite Mellow Schizo

Joey Bada$$ “O.C.B.”

Joey Bada$$ is a proud traditionalist – he clearly worships at the altar of Nas, Biggie, DJ Premier, and Wu-Tang, and is striving to keep that ‘90s NYC aesthetic alive. I love that aesthetic, and so Joey’s music has a comfort food quality to it. There’s no surprises, but when it’s done well it’s rich and satisfying in a way that makes you momentarily forget there’s anything else. To some extent this makes me doubt my critical faculties, but then I remember one of my core beliefs as a critic: You can be wrong about the things you dislike, but you’re never wrong about what you enjoy. And how do I not enjoy production that feels so immediately cozy, and a rapper whose style is proficient yet warm and casual? Joey may be a bit conservative compared to some of his contemporaries, but this is a very “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” sort of thing.

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