Pro Era–also known as Progressive Era–is a “Brooklyn-based rap collective featuring Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, CJ Fly, A La $ole, Rawle, Dirty Sanchez and many others.” (Wikipedia–and the Pro Era Twitter account–says the group has 47 members.) Pro Era is also now described as, true or not, Malia Obama’s favorite act. That’s worth some coin. The Internet lit up yesterday with what purports to be a digital pic of the first daughter sporting a Pro Era t-shirt. Whether the photo is legit or not hardly matters to the group. The longer the photo’s authenticity is debated, the better for Pro Era. Adding to the authentic side is the ample evidence Malia is a rap fan–the young Obama was apparently on the scene for Chance the Rapper’s Lollapolooza set last summer.
Pro Era is no stranger to drama. Two years ago, three years after the Pro Era collective formed, 19-year-old Pro Era co-founder Capital STEEZ (Jamal Dewar) killed himself by leaping from the roof of a Manhattan building. One of the group’s logos bears a strong resemblance to a swastika in some people’s opinion. (That was not the Pro Era logo on the t-shirt in the alleged Malia Obama picture–much to conservatives’ dismay.) Joey Badass (styled Joey Bada$$) and company are pretty pumped up about the timing of the leaked (or fake) photo. They’re dropping a new album on 1.20.15, called B4.DA.$$. You can book all 47 of them for your party, too. Just write [email protected].
This #selfie purportedly shows #Malia Obama wearing @PROERA…but where did the pic come from? http://t.co/ylC5ZbWVR0 pic.twitter.com/iybPkUMjMA
— Auskar Surbakti (@AuskarSurbakti) January 6, 2015