Island Hop: Watch Joey Bada$$’ St Lucia-Set “My Yout” Video

Words by Tasha Brown—

Joey Bada$$ was the first of his immediate Jamaican family to be born in the US, so it was only a matter of time before he took it back to his Caribbean roots. The 18-year-old Brooklyn rapper, who has caught the hip-hop world’s attention with his wise-beyond-his-years lyricism and throwback ’90s style, headed to St. Lucia for his latest video, for the island-flavored track “My Yout.”

The Chuck Strangers-produced track, which features a vintage reggae sample and vocals from eclectic English singer Maverick Sabre (who appears in place of Collie Buddz, featured on the original version of the track from Bada$$’ Summer Knights mixtape), was crying out for just the sort of video Bada$$ and crew delivered. The video, which features scenes from across the island from the famed Pitons (a distinctive pair of volcanic plugs on the island’s southwestern coast) to the market city of Castries, is sure to have you wishing you too were chilling on the beach, riding waves and vibin’ with the locals.

All in all, it’s great look not just for Joey (who’s been in the studio working with DJ Premier and Q-Tip on his debut album, B4.DA.$$) but also for St. Lucia, which might just see a surge in spring breakers hitting their shores next year after this clip. As MTV Buzzworthy noted when they premiered the video, “Who directed this thing, St. Lucia’s minister of tourism?”

If B4.DA.$$, set to be released in early 2014, is anything like the vibes on “My Yout,” we definitely have much to anticipate.