The clique has long been a staple of Hip Hop, with squads like Run-D.M.C., N.W.A, Public Enemy and Wu-Tang Clan going on to wield immense influence over the genre.
In the last couple of years, the concept of the Hip Hop group has experienced a massive upswing in popularity. Loads of provocative, fresh factions, including Odd Future, Black Hippy, A$AP Mob and the Maybach Music Group crew, have been dominating Rap fans’ attention. The Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based Pro Era (aka the Progressive Era) is another name to add to that list.
Keeping a headcount on this crew is quite the challenge; there were 24 members at one point, but the group’s website currently lists only 12 (including the late Capital STEEZ). But no matter the current number, Pro Era continues to receive a hell of a lot of ink.
The group’s centerpiece is undoubtedly Joey Bada$$, an MC whose style of smart lyrical firepower harkens back to 1990s Hip Hop, even though Bada$$ didn’t exist until the middle of that decade. This recent high school graduate has two major mixtapes under his belt — last summer’s 1999 and this summer’s Summer Knights — with plans to release a debut album remaining murky. Although Bada$$ rhymes with the speed and clarity of someone much older, he’s still a kid who is very much maturing in the spotlight’s gaze.
Other crucial Pro Era names include rapper/beatsmith Kirk Knight, rapper CJ Fly and MC/producer Chuck Strangers. In time, these faces should come into sharper focus, too.
PRO ERA plays Sunday, Aug. 11 at Riverbend Music Center in Anderson Township with guests Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, B.o.B., Trinidad Jame$ and more. Buy tickets, check out performance times and get venue details here .
