Review of ‘Hyperyouth’ by Joey Valence & Brae

Hyperyouth is a party album for the generation that missed the party.

You don’t get many party albums like this anymore, largely because young people aren’t partying like they used to. Inflation and technology-driven social isolation has killed house parties and nightclubs. As a result, pop songwriters are no longer delivering the tonight-we’re-going-to-have-the-best-party-of-our-lives anthems that dominated the charts in 2010, instead churning out I-hate-my-fucking-ex-and-I-want-them-to-die anthems to sour an already bitter Gen Z.

I’m no zoomer, but I think just because Gen Z missed the peak party era doesn’t mean that they don’t still want party music – hence the immense success of Brat last year (yes, Charli XCX is a millennial, but it was Gen Z that was mostly consuming it). 25-year-old Pennsylvania rappers Joey Valence and Brae certainly seem to feel this and Hyperyouth is the result. Technically, it’s an album about getting older and wanting to keep partying regardless. However, it also functions well as a generational statement – the good times are over and we’re now living through the hangover, but let’s keep dancing and having fun anyway!

This is duo’s third album in three years, and it’s their most hi-octane album yet (which is impressive considering how hi-octane their last two albums were). The tracklist is wall-to-wall bangers. There’s more bangers here than a car scrapyard. More bangers than a firework factory. More bangers than Richmond’s Sausages (I don’t expect my American readers to understand any of these similes).

Hyperyouth is a club rap record on Adderall. Joey Valence and Brae combine the attitude of the Beastie Boys, the aggression of Lil Jon and the humour of The Bloodhound Gang to create their own addictive party punch. Like PinkPantheress’s Fancy That, every song is a colourful collage of pop hit interpolations and iconic samples. However, Joey and Brae take this collage-building to the extremes, hurling pop culture references at the listener like handfuls of confetti. There are Skrillex samples, Outkast interpolations, multiple mentions of Daft Punk and Lady Gaga and even a track titled ‘Billie Jean’. And yet despite all these references, all of the tracks still feel like original songs – they don’t use these samples and interpolations as a crutch, but merely as party decorations.

Of course, every party needs company, and the duo invite along some very interesting guests (Rebecca Black?), all of whom deliver exceptional performances (I don’t know who TiaCorine is, but here verse is so fun!). Adding to the party atmosphere is the constant joking around and refusal to take themselves seriously. From hilariously silly lines like ‘Call me Frodo the way I bring a bag in’ to a random improvised impression of Donald Trump as a radio host, they keep the whole thing light-hearted like a night out with friends.

So far, it’s a contender for my favourite album of 2025. It feels like just the type of fun and silly bangerfest that we need to make it through these tough times – a rally call to keep partying whether you're a doomer zoomer or a geriatric millennial like me. 

★★★★★

TRACK TASTER: