Tag: JOEY BADA$$

Kirk Knight – Late Night Special

Pro Era’s Kirk Knight brings hip hop back to its roots with his debut album, Late Knight Special. Knight is the musical genius behind Joey Bada$$ hit “Big Dusty“, but he has started paving his own way with the release of this debut project. Late Knight Special is the quintessential versatile musical project, with each track exuding a different emotion and feeling. “Brokeland” shows us a more aggressive side, paying homage to the New York 90s hip hop scene. Lyrics equally as cold as his beats, he says “And these things around me make my wants money, bitches // But my conscious told me just look back and listen.” Fast forward to “Dead Friends” and you will be riding a completely different wave – Knight tells a chilling story of dealing with the loss of friends, something that we all struggle to cope with.

The transitions from the boom-bap tracks to modern synths and smooth sultry sounds are not easy to pull off – but Knight not only did it, he killed it. This objectively apparent disconnect has, somehow, created one of the most coherent albums I’ve heard in a minute.

Guest features on the track include of Chi town’s finest, including well known names such as Mick Jenkins, Noname gypsy, and theMind.

Joey Bada$$ – Born Day (AquariUS) – (Prod. by Statik Selektah)


“I woke up early on my Born Day, I’m 20, it’s a blessing.”

Happy 20th birthday Joey! Pro Era star Joey Bada$$ drops his album B4.DA.$$ (Before The Money) and gives us all a taste with this single on his “Born Day.” It was produced by frequent collaborator Statik Selektah. B4.DA.$$ features BJ The Chicago Kid, Raury, Action Bronson and more with production by DJ Premier, J Dilla, Hit-Boy, Statik Selektah and Pro Era’s Kirk Knight and Chuck Strangers. He explains the meaning of his album’s title – “That ‘before the money mind state’ is about that grind, that goal. When you realize that you are going to do everything in your power to get there… I feel like I’ve attained so much, but I have to stay in that ‘before the money’ mind state.’ I’ve still got that same grind as if I was rapping in school. I want people to apply that to anything they are doing in life.”

On a recent visit to Hot 97 Joey talked about the album, hip hop then & now, the loss of his cousin and manager Junior and jokes that after Malia Obama rocked the Pro Era shirt the White House probably tapped his phone. 🙂 Watch the interview via HotNewHipHop.