1999

Joey Bada\$$\'s breakout debut *1999*, initially released in 2012 as a free mixtape, reveals the then-17-year-old as a true rap prodigy. Over jazzy production from his PRO ERA crew and repurposed beats from MF DOOM, Lord Finesse, and the late J Dilla, Bada\$$ delivers couplets with fervor, confidence, and a clear intent to impress—the same way he would have at his Brooklyn high school’s lunch table. Young Joey favors a vintage New York boom-bap aesthetic far beyond his years, forged by influences like Boot Camp Clik, Wu-Tang Clan, and Nas. The album\'s official release here, six years later, is as much a testament to its staying power as to the timeless sound of Joey Bada\$$\'s forefathers.

The 17-year-old Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$, the most visible member of the Progressive Era artist collective, is a young man with an old soul, and his debut mixtape showcases a prodigous MC with a vision.

Joey Bada$$ landed on the map with 1999, a 2012 mixtape that immediately cast the young New Yorker, who was only 17 at the time, as a successor to his city's rap legacy, particularly following in the footsteps of emcees like Nas and Big L. Drawing heavily from the sound of hip-hop's golden era, which ended around the time Bada$$ was born, the mixtape is steeped in jazzy samples and boom bap drum programming, resembling producers like Pete Rock and the Beatnuts in addition to directly sampling beats by the likes of J Dilla, Lord Finesse, and MF DOOM.