Joey Bada$$ landed on the map with 1999, a 2012 mixtape that immediately cast the young New Yorker, who was only 17 at the time, as a successor to his city's rap legacy, particularly following in the footsteps of emcees like Nas and Big L. Drawing heavily from the sound of hip-hop's golden era, which ended around the time Bada$$ was born, the mixtape is steeped in jazzy samples and boom bap drum programming, resembling producers like Pete Rock and the Beatnuts in addition to directly sampling beats by the likes of J Dilla, Lord Finesse, and MF DOOM. He introduces his ambitions to "go global" over the calm, nimble bassline and swift, shuffling drums of "Waves," and his rhyme schemes seem to subtly grow more complex with each passing verse, yet he remains level-headed and focused. "FromdaTomb$" has a swinging beat, "Go Brooklyn" vocal chants, and Statik Selektah's DJ Premier-like scratching, which seem time-warped straight from 1993, but Bada$$ and guest rapper/producer Chuck Strangers effortlessly nail the sound, and it feels contemporary instead of retro. Taking a swipe at eccentric rapper and social media personality Lil B, the late Capital STEEZ (who was a fellow member of Bada$$'s Pro Era crew) remarks "Tell the Based God don't quit his day job" on the more aggressive, militant "Survival Tactics." "Hardknock" features introspective lyrics about desiring a better life, set to slapping snares and eerie synths lifted from a 1998 track by Brit-rap pioneer Lewis Parker. The choppy DOOM beats of the playful "World Domination" and more introverted "Pennyroyal" are hard to resist, and of course the Dilla and Finesse tracks are supremely relaxing and sound timeless. The tape ends with "Third Eye Shit," a 12-minute posse cut showcasing the entire Pro Era lineup at the time. 1999 rightfully remains one of the most praised rap mixtapes of the 2010s. [1999 was released on vinyl and streaming services for the first time in 2018, with the instrumental for the song "Funky Ho'$" altered due to sample clearance issues.] ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

1		Summer Knights
2		Waves
3		FromdaTomb$
4		Survival Tactics
5		Killuminati
6		Hardknock
7		World Domination
8		Pennyroyal
9		Funky Ho'$
10		Daily Routine
11		Snakes
12		Don't Front
13		Righteous Minds
14		Where It'$ At
15		Third Eye Shit

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