1988 is the follow up to Knxwledge’s official debut album Hud Dreems (Stones Throw, 2015). The same year Hud Dreems was released Knx worked with Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp a Butterfly, earning the producer his first Grammy. A duo with Anderson .Paak called NxWorries was formed around the same time. Their single “Suede” became a viral hit, vaulting the singer to R&B stardom, and their album Yes Lawd! followed through on that song’s immense promise. Knx and Paak have quietly continued collaborating, and some of the new work is heard on 1988.
A prolific artist in the extreme sense of the word, Knxwledge continues to redefine instrumental hip-hop almost in real-time with a stream of beat tapes numbering in the hundreds on Bandcamp, and video remixes on Instagram.
This prolific output began early. 1988 takes its name from the fact that much of the new record was created that very year, when Knx was an infant. As the story is told, little baby Knx was left alone by his mother for just a few moments and crawled to a family member’s vintage SP–12 sampler. When his mother returned he had already produced his first beats and nearly mastered the machine. These tracks, all produced before nap time while rocking a Nike diaper, were stored over the years on floppy discs, then brought to his studio in recent months where they were finished up, mixed, and mastered.
1988 was released as 1/LP vinyl, and also as a box set containing the album, 10-inch EP, and 7-inch EP. NOW SOLD OUT. The two EPs are 10,000 Proof and Koko.
Design: Jeff Jank, Photo: Jack McKain, Illustration: McKay Felt, Guodong Zhao
1. dont be afraid 01:34
2. [bc] tm_s not promised 00:54
3. do you 02:49
4. thats allwekando. 00:57
5. listen 01:14
6. learn 01:41
7. howtokope. 02:00
8. with[reality] 00:54
9. uonlygetone 00:55
10. solivelife 01:39
11. be safe 01:00
12. watchwhoukallyourhomie 01:29
13. theykome&go 01:33
14. don_tgottabe 02:09
15. gangstallthetime 01:58
16. believeme 01:06
17. itkanbe[sonice] feat. NxWorries 01:43
18. 19. makeitliveforever 01:50
20. 21. amansloveislife_keepon 03:19
22. minding_my business feat. Durand Bernarr, Rose Gold 04:28