Joey Bada$$ – Summer Knights
Released: July 1, 2013
I had high expectations for this tape. 1999 was one of my favorite projects of 2012 and Joey had killer guest verses on tracks like “America” and “1 Train”. 1999 was the sound of an energized prodigy who was in love with Hip-Hop. On Summer Knights, Joey’s immense talent is still very evident, but some of the energy is missing. On 1999, Joey sounded like a golden-era rapper. On Summer Knights, Joey sounds more like a golden-era influenced rapper. That’s not to say that this isn’t a fantastic tape (Easily one of the best of the month). “Sweet Dreams”, “Trap Door” (which features a dope Alchemist beat), and “#LongLiveSteelo” are all essential listens. – Chris Russ (Excerpt from A Zip & A Double-Click: Top Mixtapes Of July 2013)
