Live Review: Joey Bad$$
1999 2000 Australian Tour – 4 January 2023 at Metropolis Fremantle (the port city of Perth, Western Australia)
By Sheldon Ang
Photography by Sheldon Ang Photography
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Like in a pivotal scene of a film adaptation about an upcoming Detroit rapper, the New Yorker commands the worshippers through the art of lyrical poetry on the daily grind of social injustice, police brutality, racism, capitalism and Trumpism. Every badass Gen Z soaks up the energy and is driven to euphoria, transcending the conformity of modern soundscapes and into the world of old school rap. The rapper waves his hands side to side, as fans mimicking in admiration and adoration, clammed in a room where honorary sisters, brothers, family and friends standing shoulder to shoulder, embracing the once precocious individual who has bloomed into a world class act.
He then spots a shoe floating on the canopy of hands. The singer grabs it, and pours a mouthful of whiskey. He requests for moral support, before fashionably downing the liquid, sparking a rambunctious outburst from the ravenous crowd.
Joe, Joe, Joe F$cking Bada$$… Joe, Joe, Joe F$cking Bada$$… Joe, Joe, Joe F$cking Bada$$
Joey Bada$$ is an on stage enigma, and despite being only twenty seven, he propagates the presence likened to Jay Z, Chris Brown and Kendrick Lamar, a credence ensued through his ferocity, engraved from his earlier performances.
His journey stems from the humble beginning of a Youtube video at the tender age of 15, progressing though mixtapes 1999 in June 2012 and Summer Knights in July 2013, followed by his debut studio album B4.DA.$$ in 2015, before recording his second and third studio album ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ and 2000 released in April 2017 and July 2022.
Joey Bada$$ has garnered fans from his hometown in Brooklyn, New York to the most isolated city in the world – Perth in Western Australia, namely thanks to his old school rap with a delivery that only a few can weave punctiliously.
Pumped by support act Flewnt and DJ Powers Pleasant – who is also the on stage DJ, Joey Bada$$ launched himself into unbridled celebration. With the backdrop of “BADASS” above the subtext “1999 2000” on the LCD screen, he commenced the setlist with Survival Tactics, Christ Conscious and Rockabye, sparking unbridled shenanigans amongst the crowd. For those who may not be familiar with the writings of Joey, they might think these were an upbeat and cheerful songs . Nevertheless they were onstage interpretation of lyrically ferocious songs.
Afterall, the opening tracks are amongst the favourites according to some critiques. Christ Conscious is a must in any of Bada$$’ setlist, with some of the most iconic verse and lyrics in this heavy knocker with emphatic kick drums orchestrated tonight by the DJ Powers Pleasant. Their combined flow was superb as they delivered with utter conviction.
It’s evident the crowd tonight have been following the journey of Joey Bada$$ since day one, singing to every word of every song. It wasn’t just those on the floor who cast their vocals, but the space of Metropolis Fremantle were in rave mode.
So one could only imagine when songs like Hardknock from the 1999 album set the stage on fire, given the lyrical journey over a melancholy simplicities where the audience were able to sip into the words. It is a song about an inmate searching for God but to no avail given his bleak situation, and despite the lyrical nature of the song, Joey pulled off this song with perfect craftsmanship and joyous entertainment.
“The more energy you give me, the more energy you shall received…we are family, you feel me, the more energy you give me, the more energy you shall received.”
And one could imagine the ear piercing screams that followed. But that wasn’t a hint by the artist for support, rather an expression of gratitude to the fans in the house, who had been fueling the energy throughout the night.
“Hear me out…I appreciate every individual here from the bottom of my heart…you see you could be anywhere in the world tonight, but you chose to be right here right now…this is something I will cherish forever. So this song is dedicated to you, to the beautiful people of Perth,” before performing For My People.
Whether it was Paper Trail$, Waves, Make Me Feel, Where We Belong, the crowd was appreciative. Bada$$ finished the night with three of the arguably biggest hits, Temptation and finally Devastated, easily one of the most popular songs. His performance was contagious, and the hook and melodies were brilliantly displayed by the Bada$$ and DJ Premium combo.
Only a handful artists like Joey could make the thematically darkened tracks as convincing, thanks to the inexorable link between his vocals and delivery aptitude. And despite the lugubrious topics, he was extremely lively, charismatic and for most, this is pure entertainment at its best. We were privilege to witness one of the greatest performers to grace the shores of Western Australia.
The writer would like to thank Frontier Touring and Joey Bada$$ for the media accreditation. Check out their site and follow them for upcoming shows!
Joey Bada$$ will be performing in major cities across Australia. Click here for info and tickets
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About the Writer and Photographer: Sheldon Ang is the founder of SAM, covering some of the hottest acts in Perth since launching in May of 2022.
