REVIEW: JOEY BADA$$ - Forum, Melbourne

PHOTO:  Lordtown Productions

How did you spend the eve of your 23rd birthday? Jo-Vaugh Virginie Scott spent his on stage at The Forum during the Australian leg of his All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ tour with a 2000 strong crowd singing happy birthday to him. 

The full-house had hands to the sky much of the show and the atmosphere was hazy (to say the least), an indecipherable mixture of smoke-machine smoke and literal smoke - joints were being passed around like a game of pass the parcel. It was the party you wish you scored an invite to.

The sold-out show saw ticket holders wrapping around the Hosier Lane/Flinders Street block, waiting in the sweaty, mid-January heat to see the birthday boy himself, in all his bada$$ glory.

Hailing from Brooklyn, the rapper better known as Joey Bada$$ has been making waves since the release of his first mixtape, '1999' in 2012. The pro-era artist spits lines like there's no tomorrow and his lyrics (self-written) are less about glocks in raris and fucking bitches, getting money and more about the things that matter. In fact, it's the politically charged undertones of his music that have really struck a chord with fans, making this wise-beyond-his-years MC stand out from the rest.

Sure, his songs are catchy - the chanting crowd is testament to that, but listen a little closer and you'll hear a commentary harking back to the roots of rap and hip hop. Political awareness, police brutality, the plight of his people - Joey isn't shy about shedding light on the issues close to his heart. He's woke and he wants you to know it.

While the All Amerikkkan Bada$$ tour focused on Joey's latest album of the same name, the rapper paid homage to his first LP, B4 DA $$, with the vitriol-fuelled, faded beats of Christ Conscious and the Wu-Tang Clan-sampling Paper Trails ('Cash ruined everything around me' is Joey's take on C.R.E.A.M.) Among the more recent releases, fans sang along to his chart-topping gold single, Devastated and the hard-hitting track with a killer hook, Temptation. 

Sans the 6-piece band and backup singers that flanked him for his triple j ‘Like A Version’ performance earlier that day, Joey was joined on stage only by his DJ, but together, the two brought enough energy to keep the crowd hyped the entire show. 

While the year is still young, it already seems as if there are big things to come for Joey Bada$$ during his 23rd trip around the sun and if the eve of his birthday is anything to go by, 2018 is going to be one helluva party. 

Words by: Hannah Pronesti