Listen: Ready - @JoeyBadass (Prod by @StatikSelekt)

Joey Bada$$ recently released a new joint Ready Prod. by Statik Selekteh. Joey lays a lot down on the track. Letting it be known that just because he is knowledgeable doesn’t mean that he is not ready to fight. Reminding people of his up bringing, that he hustled for everything he got. Making waves with his sound, and not falling off like some other cats. He plans on being around for a long time making hits. Joey even throws shots at Troy Ave for his weak album sales. “60k first week for the Badass 200k to this day I know you niggas mad with the 80 20 split my nigga do the math my nigga Kirk just out sold Troy Ave.” Joey goes off and is telling everyone he doesn’t fear anyone, cause he is ready. Who are we to tell him any different?

Watch: Knight Time - @KirkKnight

Kirk Knight definitely took a lot of chances on his last album, Late Knight Special.

Kirk is not scared to expand his sound past the boom-bap sound that he and his camp have brought back to life. Anyways the Brooklyn emcee dropped his first visual for Knight Time off his project which Niles reviewed awhile back. At the end of the video he eludes to what could be another visual. Check that out after the break. Watch out for what's next from the Pro Era Team.

Review: Late Knight Special - @KirkKnight; A Niles P. Joint

Over the past few years, Hip Hop has seen a resurgence of young dual threat emcees/producers. I have been watching three in particular, and since I’ve already covered Bishop Nehru and Raz Fresco, it’s time to analyze the final section of this three headed monster. Kirk Knight cut his teeth with a membership in Brooklyn collective Pro Era, specifically producing for Joey Bada$$’ major label debut. His production style fit Pro Era’s signature Beast Coast grime and he showed skills as a budding rapper. Somewhat surprisingly, Knight decided to forego the mixtape route and dropped Late Knight Special as his debut album. My boy Ramsey previewed it earlier and now I’m here to bat cleanup and check it out in depth.

Since Knight’s body of work isn't as long as peers’ as of yet, this serves as his long-form introduction to the world on the solo tip. He starts out with a celestial sound on both Start Running and Heaven Is For Real. The former makes good use of a vocal sample about teleportation music through harps, with a standout bassline and great drums. Speaking of great drums, the snare is excellent on the latter. I think there’s also an uncredited by Kris (formerly T’Nah Apex.) Both show a great scope of his beatmaking talent. Kirk gets straight hype/gutter on Brokeland which was the first single released some time ago. It’s very ODB/Wu Tang inspired, or so it seems. The hardcore aesthetic continues on 5 Minutes which features team captain Joey Bada$$. The horror movie piano works as it creates a soundscape that is somber yet has replay value. Joey complements the song without overshadowing his boy. Thus far, the songs have stylistically come in pairs.
   
Here’s where things go off the rails though. Knight Time is a turn up type track. It has the dreaded machine gun drums that I hate and is a 180 degree turn in approach. One Knight (Kirk really likes wedging his name into song titles) has very good guitar work but the beat is too busy and is the obligatory smooth single. This would be forgivable but he goes down the same route THREE SONGS IN A ROW with Scorpio and Down. They’re almost interchangeable and mostly forgettable. At this point the album feels more like a collection of songs than anything truly cohesive. More on this later.


Mick Jenkins shows up on I Know which is decent but suffers from drums that use too many modern motifs. The hi-hats are just distracting, which is a shame because the rest of the song is dope. Chicago is in the house again along with L.A. in the form of guest spots from Noname Gypsy and Thundercat on Dead Friends. It’s just what it says it is, a sentimental reflection on dead friends. Noname continues to slay every guest appearance she sees and Thundercat lays down some glorious guitar riffs. The Future features this guy called The Mind who is apparently some sort of genetic hybrid between Kid Cudi and Chance The Rapper vocally. Despite the guest’s style biting, Kirk lays down some solid reflective bars. The album closes with All for Nothing. It’s probably the best song on the album and gives the best indication of Kirk Knight’s potential talent on the mic and behind the boards. It’s a very intricate song both instrumentally and flow-wise as he switches it up within the song without it sounding gimmicky at all.
   
I mentioned before that this album was kind of all over the place It seems like Kirk Knight was torn between pleasing the older fans who liked his crew’s classic style and the younger ones in his age bracket who enjoy trap/drill music to get them hype. It’s good that Knight strives to be versatile but at the same time you can’t help but notice that the album is almost broken up into thirds, with each one sounding different than the others. Editing and song sequencing plays a big part in this gaffe; the album as a whole doesn’t have one consistent vibe. This is compounded because he went for broke and released a studio album before wading into the treacherous waters of the rap game with a mixtape or EP first. Even his crew mates have treaded lightly instead of immediately diving in.
   
At the same time, you have to remember that Late Knight Special is still his first solo project. While ultimately disjointed, it does have some gems that show what he’s capable of both as an emcee and producer. This album is ambitious if nothing else. The wetness behind his ears will go away and the ride will be smoother the next time around. It’s a testament to the adventure of youth when the world was infinitely possible and you could try everything once before settling down. While it didn’t always work, Kirk Knight has more than enough musical prowess to hammer out an enduring berth in Hip Hop.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

@KirkKnight Late Knight Special Preview

For a long time I felt as if Kirk Knight was overlooked in comparison to his labelmates and colleagues. When hearing the announcement of an entire project, I knew that wasn't the case.

If any of you are Pro Era fans, like myself I know you couldn't wait to hear this Kirk Knight offering. For a long time we knew him as a producer as he's laid beats for his labelmates and others including Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, and even Chelsea Reject. Not only is he a producer but he's talented as a rapper and does well providing guest verses for the aforementioned artists and many more. Since hearing his verse on Amethyst Rockstar from Joey's Summer Knights mixtape and his spot on the Pro Era Cypher I knew this cat was ready for stardom.

According to the Pro Era site "This fall Kirk Knight will deliver his debut project, Late Knight Special via Pro Era/Cinematic on October 30th. The project features, Joey Bada$$, Mick Jenkins, Thundercat, & more and is fully produced by Kirk Knight himself with coproduction by Thempeople." It's safe to say we have a lot to look forward to. It's safe to say his last name's play on words is a recurring theme we can expect from the Brooklyn spitter. He's actually released a few singles that you can listen to after the break. It's also safe to say you can expect a review of the project in it's entirety soon after. You can pre-order Late Knight Special on iTunes now!

Editorial: #InCaseYouMissedItMonday - #CMPLX by @ChelseaReject

Niles implemented a great new segment for the site, In Case You Missed It Monday. With a year like the one we've had it's been tough to keep up with the music and quality like Chelsea Reject's CMPLX could fall through the cracks. That's where we pick up the slack. Without any further adieu let's get to it.

Chelsea Reject at Black Bear Bar BK

CMPLX is a lot different that her previous project Radi-8. Different in a good way. When the WTM crew went to see her in Williamsburg a few months back we got to hear a few of the tracks before they released. I'm a firm believer in the saying "Timing is key." Chelsea Reject has the keyring. In a first project you want to show off your own skills as an emcee. In the second, you have more leeway as far as creative freedom and features. CMPLX sees appearances from Pro Era affiliates like Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Dyemond Lewis, and CJ Fly. Atownomas and the artist formerly known as T'Nah Apex (now Kris) are frequent collaborators and the trend continues for this project.

The project starts with Bam Bam. Although it's a minute long its a short but sweet goodie that samples the old Sister Nancy track of the same name. Need This was a track she performed at her show. It's nice to see this one made the final cut. 47 features Kirk Knight and Kris. The overall theme refers back to the forth and seventh chakras (the heart and mind for those of you who haven't read into it). 47 is the alignment of the heart and mind and their struggle to do different things. Chelsea and Kirk both spit about their own struggle to rise above it all. Kris lays the word on the hook as well. She keeps the mood kinda dark with the next track Closer. I briefly broke it down when the video released here. Everything's Change is another single we heard before the project dropped. Life as an emcee in the limelight changes you or the people around you. Either way, the Brooklynite spelled it out for us. I recently found out there was a video for that song.

Chelsea Reject (center), Kris (Left), & CJ Fly (right) performing Go

 The next track, Go is the oldest and probably the best track on the album. Go sees assists from Kris and one of the forefathers of the Era in CJ Fly. Opinionated but Fly's verse is arguably the best on the entire project. A few months back Niles covered the video here (random sidebar: trumpet man in the video, I swear I see him at every show I go to in the city). Hipster Wine is next up. This might be the only miss on the album. The production was decent, but together with lyrics it seemed all over the place and rushed. I do like that Chelsea does have a underrated singing voice and does well singing her own hooks. I'm not saying the song is a skip but if it were not on the project I'd have the same feeling towards it. Simple is a nice change of pace. It kind of serves like a interlude because of it's length. I really like the sample in this Kxngs production. Chelsea shows some heart and telling her significant that she doesn't need a lot, just simplicity. Make You A Fan shows a more confident side. Nyck Caution joins Chelsea with one objective: "Make you dance to the music." Planet Namek features Kris again. I don't know why I enjoy this song so much but it's just my favorite. Although she kept it a buck on this, I enjoyed the trip back to my childhood thinking about Dragonball Z and more specifically the Frieza Saga references. Speaking of trips that's the theme of the track. Reject is trying to go somewhere far away from her parental issues among other topics Kris does a great job on the hook as the songs momentum increases.

The mood changes again with So High. Atownomas features on this pregame jam. I swear this track sounds so good through car speakers. With that being said I expect the radio station DJs to take advantage of this for the summer. Viiibes features Dyemond Lewis. This is a perfect follow up for So High as the topic of discussion is the same. We can expect the same vibe for Spacey (see what I did there). Spacey features Jean Deaux singing the hook. The production sounds almost futuristic but smooth. Tree follows up with a Reject sermon on hypocrites who continue to throw rocks at glass houses. Far Away is the next song. Once again Chelsea does a great job vocally singing as well as her flow rapping. She closes out the project with Burning Bridges.

All in all CMPLX was dope. We see a deeper side of Chelsea that we didn't get in her first compilation. Although it started slow it definitely finished strong. I have a love hate with the features. They were great for her and they also didn't completely upstage her. At the same time it sounds like it's Chelsea Reject and Kris (formerly T'Nah) project like they are a duo. That's not entirely a bad thing. They compliment each other so well in studio and live that they'd be foolish not to work together. The tape is as the title states, complex. Chelsea Reject shows examples of a lot of self evaluation as a person on the tape, a lesson I think we all could learn from. CMPLX recieves 4.2 of 5 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale. You can stream it, in its entirety below via soundcloud or Spotify.

Chelsea Reject with Editor Jonathan Ramsey

 

**All photos taken by Jonathan Ramsey

@NALO_Official's #RBGBall Recap by @RamseySaidWHAT

Ayo! What's the Movement? Well last weekend it was definitely at Center Stage Cuts, Newark, NJ.

The New African Liberation Organization (NALO) hosted their first event, the Red Black & Green (RBG) Ball. The event included hip-hop, spoken word, dj, art, graffiti, R&B among other acts. The RBG Ball was also a networking fundraising event where artists of all kinds to meet, collaborate, and spread their particular brands, sounds, art, and their movement.

Various acts were performed included Khalil Jibran, KAMU and Them Cloud Kids. Khalil and KAMU wowed the crowd with relentless bars and spoken word. They even did a track together over Joey Bada$$ and Kirk Knight's Amethyst Rockstar instrumental. Them Cloud Kids preached a positive message of Ubuntu (a bantu term meaning human kindness) through song. The Rapping/Singing Duo of Jewell and Shane (who was celebrating a birthday I might add) uplifted and energized the crowd. It wasn't just music as Xavier the Poet hailing from DC spit two very powerful poems. One in particular shook the scene as he reminisced his fallen mother before leaving the stage. I spoke to him before the event started and he was nervous.

"Question, is Jersey a tough crowd? You guys seem really organized and like yall got it together."
I reply, "To be perfectly honest, yeah. It's a tough crowd but you couldn't be more wrong about this state in comparison with the DMV region, yall fun out there but you'll be fine."

He then proceeds by tearing the stage down. Ashanti Jones, the MC of the event, impressed the crowd with two pieces of her own. She then introduces the next poetess, Kourtney (with a K). Kourtney spits three pieces all equally moving and conscious. Visual art decorates the building around the barber chairs and on the stage DJ Sienna Chanel laced the room with beats old and new. All in all the event was dope and I look forward to the next time NALO throws something. The event was well planned and I can't wait to see what they have set up next. If you're anything like me you'll like networking events like this (even if I already knew everyone there) to meet people with the same (or various different) ideas and backgrounds. It gives room to learn and collaborate to create something special. If for no other reason it gives you an excuse to throw on your best outfit and take pictures. Who knows, you might even learn something if the event is thrown by Baruti. RAEFAITH took photos of the event (and had the dopest outfit by the way). You can look forward to my own pictures from the event posted in a gallery later on. In the near future What's the Movement plans on hosting an interview with NALO so you can see what their organization is really about. Until then, stay woke, and stay hungry my friends.

Peace and Soul from your editor, 

Editorial: #B4DaMoney by @joeybadass Album Review by @RamseySaidWHAT

One month later and a few re-listens, here we are. A review of the debut album of Joey Bada$$.

It feels funny saying debut because of how long Jozif has been in the game. It's been awhile since we heard the 16-year old spitter from Flatbush on 1999. He's now 20 and definitely next up to make noise (figuratively and literally) in the hip-hop game.

Lets get into B4Da$$ and the music. The story begins with Save the Children. It's pretty self explanatory, he just goes back and forth between issues in the black community and the issues in hip-hop itself. I really liked the skits and interludes on this album. They fit well into the story themselves. In the Greenbax Introlude they took a clip from the movie Gummo. After the clip you hear Kirk Knight chant his hunger for success. In my opinion the album really began with track three, Paper Trail$. It kinda plays off the interlude with subject matter. This was produced by the legendary DJ Premier while sampling their last collab Unorthodox. As the song fades out Joey reaches out to a homie locked up to play him a song he dedicated to him. To give his friend Piece of Mind, he tells him what's been going on with his new found life of fame. When the song fades out he's back on the phone. His friend is impressed and can't wait to see the Pro Era crew. He also tells Joey he heard his other track that was on Rosenberg's morning show, Big Dusty. Perfect transitioning. Big Dusty was also the first single for the album. Wasn't my favorite track but still carries that East Coast classic hip-hop flavor for ya ear. I thought it was clever the way he promoted it on his instagram (peep 28 weeks ago).  Dusty ends with an interview on wPRO Brooklyn (get it?). He talks about his parents and how he sticks to his West Indian Roots, queuing the next track Hazeus View. Boom Bap percussion meets Jamaica on this jam. This track really shows how versatile Joey Baddy really is and how is sound has grown since first arriving on the scene.

The next song is one of my two favorites on B4Da$$. Like Me features BJ the Chicago Kid. If I were a rapper BJ is the most ideal feature I'd have on my album. He's an amazing singer, probably very cost effective, leaves impact on a track but doesn't upstage your own artistry. I'd put him in a perfect class of feature singers like James Fauntleroy, Frank Ocean, and Elijah Blake that won't do too much but still enough on your track. It's catchy to the ear and spits a nice life story. Like Me was produced by the legendary J. Dilla, nuff said. Belly of the Beast featuring Chronixx is another hip-hop and dancehall crossover.

We heard No 99 before the album dropped. You can peep the video here. Track ten is the other of my two favorites, Christ Conscious. It's another single we already heard, but impossible to listen to just once. I literally don't understand you if you don't get hype when the beat drops and he hits us with ill flow plus dope lyrics.

That was a tough track to follow but On and On did it, and well I might add. This is the climactic turning point of the album. Slightly slower and clearly closer to Joey's heart.

"Mama I just booked a first class ticket to my destiny by the way."

UK crooner, Maverick Sabre sings something similar to the Christian funeral song in "I'll Fly Away" while Pro Era teammate Dymeond Lewis and Joey both talk about their life and what comes after. Of course Joey mentions his fallen brother Capitol STEEZ, but at the same time Joey doesn't want people to mourn after his demise.

"Don't mourn me when I'm gone, celebrate my travels. Whenever you need me just take a plane to the astral zone. I'm headed home, been hurtin too long, Time don't stand still so you gotta move on."

This track is especially emotional. It's almost like providing closure. I think anyone who's ever lost someone could relate. Honestly, Joey could have ended the album right here and it would have been perfect. Afterwards I lost a little bit of interest in the album at this point. They weren't bad songs but personally could have been without. Maybe he could have put the remaining tracks on a deluxe edition. Still they served their purpose telling the story. Still, I think On and On would be a perfect outro to B4Da$$.

Escape 120 is another nice song and the message is self explanatory featuring Raury. Curry Chicken is fun but we heard the single before the album dropped. O.C.B (Only Child Blues) serves it's purpose at the end of the album. Black Beatles goes fairly unnoticed for me. Run Up On Ya is another jam many might overlook but you should go back and listen. The track features the beautiful and talented Elle Varner and Ghostface's clone in Action Bronson. Teach Me is a bonus for the deluxe version purchasers and serves it's purpose as (another) outro to the album.

All in all I was very impressed by Joey Bada$$ in his "debut." Do not mistake my critiques as hate, thus far this is my favorite album released this year. Production was surperb throughout with work from the usual Statik Selektah, Kirk Knight, J Dilla, Chuck Strangers, amoungst others. I hope he can stand well to make it to 2015 AOTY competition. I think Joey could have it out with any hip-hopper in the game today and honestly yesterday as well (yesterday is a metaphor for history). Although it was pushed back, B4Da$$ did what I and everyone wanted for him. It has commercial success while at the same time he didn't sell his soul to the industry. He gave it to us in the music. It was well worth the wait. Bada$$ is the epitome of real and his wisdom reaches far beyond his age. B4Da$$ will get 4.7 of 5 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale.