Andrew Veeder on July 3rd, 2013

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On the strength of the previously released “Word Is Bond,” “95 Til Infinity” and “Unorthdox,” 18-year-old Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ continues to impress with his new mixtape “Summer Knights.”Â  To say he possesses “the gift of gab” does little to sum up the talent and effortless flow Joey holds, as he constantly weaves rhymes full of ingenious idioms that demonstrate his diverse range of discourse, a current favorite being, “I don’t drink too much / I know the Bud wiser” on the track “My Youth.”Â  There are times as if he raps himself into a corner, only to bust out and head in a different direction altogether. Statik Selectah, DOOM, Lee Bannon, Alchemist, Chuck Strangers, Kirk Knight and DJ Premier supply production that resonates with that soulful East Coast hip-hop sound that’s become his signature. After a two-week European tour, Joey Bada$$ will join the Wiz Khalifa-headlined Under the Influence of Music Tour with stops across the continental United States, then finish work on his debut album “B4DA$$,” due out in early 2014.

||| Download: Joey Bada$$’ “Summer Knights” here.

||| Live: Joey Bada$$ & the Pro Era Crew with Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, B.o.B, Trinidad Jame$ perform at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine on July 18.