On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration Joey Bada$$ released a politically-charged single titled “Land of the Free.”
The track was released on January 19, 2017. Joey Bada$$ covers a number of topics including his inspiration for making music, Black nationalism and of course Donald Trump. Joey Bada$$ raps, “Obama just wasn’t enough, I need some more closure/And Donald Trump is not equipped to take this country over.” Aside from this reference to America’s soon-to-be president, the cover art for this single features the rapper wearing a t-shirt with a logo on it. The logo is a send-up of Trump’s infamous campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Joey’s t-shirt reads “Make Amerikkka Suck Again.” It’s not hard to guess the Brooklynite’s feelings about the President-elect.
While the rapper is critical of the incoming president, the song isn’t all negative. Joey’s references to Black Nationalism call on his community to change from within, especially in these turbulent times when external help might be hard (or impossible) to come by. He says, “We can’t change the world unless we change ourselves/Die from the sicknesses if we don’t seek the health.” With all of the parodies and flat-out attacks by media and artists on Donald Trump lately, it’s good to see Joey Bada$$ temper his criticism of the President-elect and add a positive message to a very relevant song.
In other Bada$$ news, according to Billboard and the rapper’s Twitter account, his sophomore album is slated to come out this year. “Devastated” and “Front and Center” have already been released as singles. The album was originally supposed to be released on November 8th, but was pushed back. Keep an eye out for it.
