Lonely at the Top by Joey Bada$$ | Album Review

The New York MC drops a project full of tranquility and vulnerability.

Source: Apple Music

Joey Bada$$ has had quite the year. He had a beef that had every rap fan watching as he took on west coast rapper Ray Vaughn — and others. Now after all that, he’s here with a full length project. And it’s not meant to be a victory lap — it’s meant to show diversity. It’s meant to show that while everyone knows and loves him for the boom bap, he’s going to continue to morph into an artist that can go the R&B/Rap fusion route too. He’s also going to continue to show that sometimes it’s not about the bars, it’s about the atmosphere.

Lonely at the Top is a tight 11 track project that showcases Joey in lanes we know him for but also ones outside of it. Overall, it’s also a very laid back project with more melodic and relaxed tracks meant to highlight Joey’s ability to craft songs that balance strong rap verses with sung vocals. He’s got one of his strongest vocal performances on here where he sounds practically unrecognizable and this is a great thing. However, the boom bap he built his career on is still present and he approaches it from various ways.

The most exciting and upbeat track is “SUPAFLEE” which finds Joey and feature Bri Steves on a Pro Era member Kirk Knight produced song that sounds like a Neptunes produced track that would have had clubs going crazy in the early 2000s. Joey sounds charismatic, cool and confident on here with Bri Steves echoing this feeling with her hook. This is my favorite song from the project. “READY FOR LOVE” which features Ty Dolla $ign doing what brings him the biggest checks, is one made for the summer parties and we’ve seen Joey in this lane before and he still does it well. If any track besides the aforementioned crosses over to the masses, it’ll be this one. I could see it happening with “HIGHROLLER” too, especially with a calmer approach from A$AP Ferg. Both tracks go for the same tone but I think “READY FOR LOVE” does it slightly better.

Joey also uses this project to showcase his never ending love for his home state of New York, collaborating with a variety of people who reflect this love. “SWANK WHITE” features Westside Gunn and is the type of beat we would expect the Buffalo multihyphenate to have on a project of his own: It’s an elegant sample loop with minimal drums. Both artists drop bar filled verses and you know Westside’s was filled with his adlibs. “BK’S FINEST” takes a more traditional route with Statik Selektah providing a laid back cypher-like beat for Pro Era member CJ Fly, Grisleda member Rome Streetz and Kai Ca$h to drop verses meant to circulate debates on who was the best.

The lyrical prowess continues from Joey on “SPEEDIN THROUGH THE RAIN” with multiple driving analogies and references as well as alphabetic and numeric wordplay. This track continues the calm laid back approach the rest of the album carries, leaving room for Joey’s verses to sit and breathe. You’re not gonna scrunch your face because a bar hit hard, you’re gonna close your eyes and say “mmm” and nod approvingly.

Another standout track is “UNDERWATER” where Joey’s singing comes in a way we haven’t heard before. His register is higher and what’s more, it sounds natural. He’s excelling in this lane and I’ll say I think he could do a whole project centered around tracks like this. The lyrical content of being overwhelmed showcases Joey in a vulnerable state, a large contrast to the braggadocios seen on his solo singles from earlier in the year.

“3 FEET AWAY” follows this one and continues the vulnerability with Joey professing his love for God and how He carries him through the trials of life. He sing-raps his way through this one and again, showcases he’s quite comfortable with this delivery style.

One of the most eye-catching tracks is “STILL” which features Rapsody and Ab-Soul. The track brings three lyrical aficionados from three different states together. This one also surprised me. There’s no bar trading and there is a hook. Rapsody provides it and does a good job keeping the cinematic tone of the track alive. But, she doesn’t have a verse unfortunately.

A menacingly calm piano melody flows throughout this one and gives the track a sense of calculated prestige. It’s a song arranged in a traditional sense instead of a hookless bar fest. I suppose this would have been the easy and expected route given the people on the song — so they did the exact opposite. Still, the song is strong with Ab-Soul sealing his verse with the type of transparent vulnerability we’ve been seeing more and more of lately.

The closing title track interlopes GangStarr’s classic hook from “Moment of Truth” showing that New York’s legacy in hip-hop is timeless. Time is a key factor and underscored theme of Lonely at the Top too. We’ve watched Joey transform across the years and this album solidified this transformation. He’s not as hungry on this project and he’s also willing to share his plate with all that will receive it.

Joey is displaying some of his most mature tracks here as the bars run parallel with straightforward truths of his own life. The production mirrors this as the grit and grime have been replaced with tranquil melodies. Joey still wants to be the best but this time chose to go about it without declarations but observations. He’s learned a lot in life and can now reflect on the past both as a man and a MC.

Rating: 8.5/10

Favorite Tracks: SUPAFLEE, BK’S FINEST, UNDERWATER, LONELY AT THE TOP, SPEEDIN’ THROUGH THE RAIN