Fifth-Dimensional Views

Smoke DZA featuring Joey Bada$$ “The Mood”

This song could stop cold after 7 seconds and still be great just for the incredibly deadpan way Smoke DZA says “It’s a really fucking cool era we in” in the intro. The verse itself is not quite so bitter and ironic – he’s mostly just having fun with wordplay and referencing other rappers. (He graciously nods to Scarface, whose “Guess Who’s Back” is the basis for this track.) The Joey Bada$$ verse is where this song really kicks in. Bada$$ has always been a guy who wears his ’90s NYC rap influences on his sleeve, but this is a good example of how he’s evolved. I mean, he’s still very rooted in that aesthetic, but his voice has a more lived-in quality to it and he sounds much more relaxed and far less self-conscious.

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