THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR

At its best and most powerful, music reflects the times, serving as a melodic mirror of what's really goin' on. Right now, some of our most pressing public issues are gun violence and police brutality; fortunately, the call to speak up is being answered on a nearly daily basis by an entire generation of black artists in hip-hop and R&B.

If you want to hear it, the message it is certainly being delivered—from J. Cole’s powerful A capella of “Be Free” on Letterman, D’Angelo & the Vanguard’s silent yet eviscerating commentary just in the staging and costumes alone during their stunning performance for “The Charade” on Saturday Night Live, to the seriously real talk Kendrick Lamar just spit in his newest release, “The Blacker The Berry.” Even Queen Bey made a subtle but impactful statement through the backing gospel choir during her amazing Grammy performance of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."

Now up-and-coming hip hop star Joey Bada$$ has joined the conversation with a stunning new video for his single "Like Me," featuring BJ the Chicago Kid and directed by Nathan R. Smith. One of our 2015 best new artists to watch, Bada$$'s first studio album 4.Da.$$ dropped last month and pushed 58K its first week, landing a Top 5 debut on the album chart. This incredible video should definitely put Joey on the mainstream radar. Check it out and try to hang till the ending, which is crazy good.