Brooklyn rapper and producer Joey BADA$$ and his Pro Era cohorts are on the cusp of blowing up, and it’s bound to happen if they keep pumping out tracks like “Survival Tactics.” It’s a rugged ‘n’ raw piece of boom bap with trigger-pulling bars coming from both Joey and the featured Captain STEEZ.

While we’re on the subject of STEEZ, he’s actually got a new mixtape out titled Amerikkkan Korruption. Grab it here.

Back to Joey: He’s got a new project dropping dropping this coming week–on the 12th, I think–titled 1999, and the track above is supposedly included in it. So is this track featuring CJ Fly:

From the little material that’s dropped thus far, it’s clear “the Progressive Era” has an ear for old school hip hop, and some serious mic skills. They celebrate the past but manage to avoid sounding old hat thanks to their youthful energy. However, what may end up hurting their success is their image. While I love the music these guys are putting out, I’m positive fans and blogs alike are going to pit this group of young up-and-coming rappers to the last group of up-and-coming rappers to blow up, Odd Future. A few months ago, even MTV saw fit to put Odd Future and Joey in a situation where there’d surely be some head-butts. While Tyler, the Creator has a track record for lashing out, he’s right in MTV’s decision to play the Joey video during a segment when Odd Future would be featured. Of course they were just looking for something to throw up on the RapFix blog.

All potential beefs aside, I’m looking forward to 1999 and what the future has in store for Pro Era.