Image via Complex Original
Pro Era has gained a reputation as a lyrically gifted crew out of Brooklyn since hitting the New York hip-hop scene in 2012. At this point, they’ve created a foundation for returning fans who love the dense lyricism of Joey Bada$$ or witty lines of CJ Fly. To date, we’ve gotten solo debuts from Bada$$ (B4.DA.$$), Kirk Knight (Late Knight Special), and Nyck Caution (Disguise the Limit). Pro Era’s mission in 2016 is to demonstrate that they are a legitimate force.
“I think Pro Era this year is going to establish themselves as a real deal collective of artists that are not just a group. They are gonna show that they all have their own solo careers along with the Pro Era movement,” Jonny Shipes, president of Cinematic Music Group, told Complex. “There’s a lot of good talent in Pro Era. It’s not just one superstar artist with nothing else behind them in the group. I think this is really a group of individuals that can compete with some of the greats.”
Here’s what to expect from Pro Era as they plot their 2016 takeover (for even more read our new feature, “The Crew: Pro Era”).
CJ Fly, FlyTrap
For almost a year now, CJ Fly has been revealing details about his upcoming album FlyTrap. It was originally an EP, but so many great songs were being created from his recording sessions that it evolved into an album. At the beginning of 2016, he made the official announcement that his debut will be released this spring.
Music-wise, CJ Fly hasn’t shared too much information about a tracklist or a possible single. He’s been performing an unreleased song, “Raising the Bar,” at live shows and has dropped online teasers for “Run 2” and “Verboten.” There’s confirmed production from Relly Rel and Kirk Knight, so listeners can expect more Pros to contribute as he puts the finishing touches on the album. “As far as I know, he’s about 80 percent done with FlyTrap,” Shipes says. “He’s just been working on mixes and stuff.”
Kirk Knight, TBD
Although Knight just dropped Late Knight Special in October, he’s gearing up for a three-track EP. It’s a set of songs that didn’t make the cut on LKS. He’s also working on an instrumental tape separate from LKS that’ll be out later this year.
Chuck Strangers, Consumers Park
After appearing on Joey’s B4.DA.$$ last year, Chuck Strangers has kept his focus on production by continuing to drop beats on his SoundCloud and full-length beat tapes (Computer Love, Albee Square) on his Bandcamp page. Chuck Strangers moves at his own pace, recently dropping a beautiful tribute to A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg called “1nce Again.” But in the stash is his debut, Consumers Park. “That’s coming out sometime this summer,” Shipes says. “That sh*t is fire. It’s done. It’s fully finished. We’re just getting the rollout together right now.”
A La $ole, Elixir
In the spirit of showcasing every talent Pro Era has to offer, underground favorite A La $ole will be teaming up with Brown Bag AllStars’ J57 for Elixir. “I linked with A La $ole through Joey Bada$$ playing one of the unreleased songs we have together on the Pro Era tour bus a while back,” says J57 on the project’s origins. “A La then reached out via Twitter and we immediately had a mutual respect for each other's craft. I can't wait for people to hear what we created together.”
Shipes adds: “A La is one of the real deal spitters from the crew. It’s really dope; it’s a really good album. I think people will really f*ck with it once they hear it.”
Capital STEEZ, King Capital
Capital STEEZ’s musical legacy was short-lived with just one solo project (AmeriKKKan Korruption) and a prominent appearance on Pro Era’s group mixtape PEEP: The aPROcalypse. His posthumous release, King Capital, was slated to drop in the summer of 2013 but has now been pushed back indefinitely. In the interim, Pro Era has shared music videos for “Apex,” “135,” and “47 Piiirates” that contain unreleased footage of STEEZ and paid homage to his life in the video for PEEP track “Like Water.”
According to an interview with XXL, CJ says STEEZ was already working on the project but made songs over industry beats. “He did it on some unoriginal beats, [so now] we wanna get the beats made over so we can get the album sold. Give the proceeds to the family. The same thing that he would’ve done if he was here, help his family,” he said.
Pro Era members say their camp and its affiliates have possession of unheard recordings from STEEZ. It’s just a matter of curating the right amount of tracks for a proper album to be released. “People don’t understand that it’s being worked on, but it’s not something that’s finished and ready to come out,” Nyck tells us. “People think we’re holding onto it for whatever reason. It’s the last recording. We’re trying to find as many [tracks] as we can.”
“King Steelo” was the last known single from the project, but Shipes adds that he’s letting the group take care of it until it’s ready. “It’s kind of in a few different places and [they’re] getting it all together. I’m just waiting on word from them,” he says.
Pro Era, TBD
Aside from their solo efforts, Pro Era is working on their group compilation. When speaking about their 2016 goals, Joey Bada$$ tells HotNewHipHop, “I still feel like there are people that are unaware of the talent and the greatness this collective possesses.” In the last two years, they’ve released two EPs—The Secc$ TaP.E 2 and The Shift—to build additional momentum for when a Pro Era full-length is finally released. Although there’s nothing currently slated this year for the album, Shipes confirms 50–60 songs have already been recorded.
Joey Bada$$, TBD
Joey Bada$$ released his debut album last year, yet he’s already thinking about dropping new music in 2016. He tells DJ Enuff on Shade 45 that he’s sitting on approximately 80 tracks that are ready to go. “I may just drop an album this summer. I may drop another in December,” he says.
He’s on his way to making that statement a reality. Joey has released two tracks, “Ready” and “Brooklyn’s Own,” which are both produced by frequent collaborator Statik Selektah. Shipes says Joey will be dropping a ton of music this year—a mix of expected and unexpected releases. Could Joey release two albums this year? Shipes says: “He could do it if he wanted to. It’s really up to him.”