I’m not completely sure what it is about upstart rappers shooting videos in kitchens these days, but just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t mean anyone deserves to be overlooked. For instance, the video for “Bloxk Party,” the standout single from Detroit spark plug Sada Baby, featured Sada and collaborator Drago doing little but standing on the kitchen island and raising red cups, but it also resulted in a star-making turn for Sada Baby, who cavorted his way into the hearts of rap fans with his spastic dancing and over-the-top punchlines like “Big ass shotgun look like Lauri Markkanen.”
The attention the video garnered led to Sada Baby becoming a fan favorite, with the video pulling down over 35 million plays and Sada’s own loose singles “Driple Double,” “Pimp Named Drip Dat,” and “Ghetto Champagne,” racking up view counts in the millions as well. Now, he’s capitalizing on all the newfound buzz with the release of his latest, self-produced mixtape, Bartier Bounty.
The album’s 20 tracks are all relatively straightforward: Lots of menacing piano, rattlesnake snares, and Sada’s frenetic delivery railing off lines like: “I ain’t Meek Mill or Drake / But I f*ck with both of them / Just know I ain’t squashin’ sh*t with dawg / If I see him, I want smoke with him.” He’s every bit as entertaining on the rest of the album as he is on “Bloxk Party,” which fortunately makes the tracklist here as well. Check out the full tape below.
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Throughout the tape, Sada’s voice is scrunchy and elastic, attacking each beat with all the punch of a toddler in a bounce house. It’s distinctive enough to stand out from the crowded landscape of Worldstar-friendly mixtape rappers, menacing enough to make his threats and boasts believable, but personable enough to make you think that Sada Baby would be a fun guy to hang out on a kitchen corner with. He’s as charming as a person threatening to blast you with a gun the size of an NBA player could be, harkening back in spirit if not in style to trickster gangsta rappers like early 50 Cent — all grins behind their intimidating posture.
With Sada’s ear for beats custom-made for the sort of in-home turn-up the “Bloxk Party” video depicts, it’s easy to get into the tape and let it ride while Sada spits about speech impediments and retro Dikembe Mutumbo sneakers. Bartier Bounty isn’t much concerned with the trappings of fame or chasing them; while the subject matter is limited to gun talk and jewelry flexes, Sada’s magnetic charisma keeps it from ever sounding too flat. It’s a low-risk, high-reward proposition and one that positions him as a talent you should definitely keep an eye on.
