These days, the line between comfort and conformity in hip-hop is indistinguishable. Whereas A Tribe Called Quest, DMX, Onyx and Wu Tang Clan were commended for reconfiguring the commercial landscape in their image, today is defined by a measured and cautious approach. As a result, we’ve reached a point where few hip-hop artists have been able to escape the diluting process that comes from success favoring more lightweight work. With substance reduced to the outskirts, many modern rappers aren’t concerned with the immortality, they’re simply stockpiling as much cash and clout as they can for however long their relevance holds up.
With the exception of maybe Kendrick and Cole, these radicals largely find themselves stranded on the cusp of wider fame by refusing to water down. From Denzel Curry to JPEGMafia, Injury Reserve, Clipping and the Beast Coast crew, they’re all afflicted with an informal ceiling on them where, in previous eras, their unique perspective and originality may have been a selling point.
When it comes to this scenario, no-one is more of a case study for this exasperating fate than Brooklyn’s own Joey Badass.
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Narrated by: Pro (@JaysnProlifiq)
Written by: Robert Blair
Edited by: Roman Bill
Music by: Josh Petruccio
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