Joey Bada$$‘s new album Lonely At The Top has had a few days to marinate with fans and critics now. Overall, it seems like the consensus is that it was a pretty worthy effort from the Pro Era titan. Some were expecting a bit more after the triumphant run through several West Coast MCs.
That could potentially have to do with Joey’s approach to this project. “Made this album in under 6 months in the spirit of a mixtape. Really just wanted to get some raps off and feed the core, nothing more,” he wrote on X per Hypebeast. He added in part, “Only 11 tracks because I believe in easy listens and projects that can be consumed in under 40 min.”
But still listeners have found that there is a healthy dose of strong moments. For us, one of the best to our ears is “BK’S FINEST.” A Brooklyn posse cut featuring underground heroes Rome Streetz, Kai Ca$h, and Joey’s affiliate CJ Fly, all four MCs put on for their hometown.
There’s a lot of understated confidence and swag on this chill boom bap produced cut by Statik Selektah. It’s a nonchalant but venomous PSA that New York hip-hop is still the sh*t. It’s proven with all of their expertly written verses. Check it out below.
Joey Bada$$, Rome Streetz, Kai Ca$h, & CJ Fly “BK’S FINEST”
Brooklyn keep on takin’ it, you n****s keep on fakin’ it (Yeah)
My borough’s thorough, n****, we made for this (Yeah)
We some grimy n****s, fuck your baby moms and tape the sh*t (Yeah, haha)
Shout out to my n****s who made it out, tryna stay lеgit (Word up)
Where I’m from, the dopе boys the role models (Yeah)
Hov laid out the blueprint, we all tried to follow