On Jan. 20, Joey Bada$$ released his first full length album, B4.Da.$$., which can be read as Before the Money.”

Critics have been quick to compare his music to ‘90s east coast greats such as Biggie Smalls and the Wu-Tang Clan.

The New York teenager, Jo-Vaughn Scott, a.k.a. Joey BadA$$ has gathered critical acclaim for releasing two mixtapes filled with 90’s style rap with a surprisingly sharp edge that shows wisdom beyond his age.

On Joey’s 20th birthday, his long-awaited proper debut album B4.DA.$$ was released.

Its greatness is noticeable as soon as you hear the room-filling applause during its first song “Save The Children.”

It’s alarmingly obvious that the album is more mature than any of his previous projects. I would dare to say that his masterful wordplay and lyrics are equal to or better than other current rap artists such as Ab-soul and Schoolboy Q.

The album is structured under the same wide scope as many of the 90’s rap albums that have influenced Joey.

Joey’s classic hip-hop vibe wouldn’t mean so much if he wasn’t such a thought-provoking rapper. His flow is intense, yet playful and confident, but not egotistical.

His rhyming can be easily dismissed as frantic rapid-fire, but when you dig deeper into his wordplay, you realize the art of his deliberately paced lyrics and themes.

With lyrics like “your favorite mellow schizo,” from the song “O.C.B.,” Joey describes himself as being mellow and schizophrenic, which, bests describes his music style.

His beats have calm moving grooves, yet every lyric is delivered with a sense of urgency.

“O.C.B.” is a standout track on the album, thanks to the New Orleans brass band, The Soul Rebels, who really give the song an almost Frank Sinatra feel.

The song is simple and Joey’s verses really have that playground rap feel to them, with lyrics like “Yo Jo-Vaughn, clean your room, OCD, OCD / I used to wanna be like ODB, ODB / Now I’m a rap star, OMG, OMG.”

It’s songs like this that show Joey has a sense of humor. The teen raps these lines in much the same way a bored high school senior would read his biology report.

This album is more personal and seems to have more of a purpose than his mix tapes.

“B4.DA.$$” does carry a dark tone throughout the album, with themes dealing with what its like to be a young black man in America.

However the sun does break through with a little help from Joey’s friends like BJ the Chicago Kid, who channels his inner Marvin Gaye with the track “Like Me.”

Many critics have been quick to judge Joey on both his lack of risks and lack of features on the album; however, I think that’s the point of B4.DA.$$.

This is a coming of age album for Joey BadA$$. You can really hear in the writing that he’s come into his own and wants to show-case his young talent

Many of the themes of atonement are very relatable to a college audience, or even anyone between the age of 19 to 30.

So whether you love, hate, or don’t really care about rap music, this album is great just to appreciate as a piece of art.