Sophia Michaels
Highly prolific beatmaker Knxwledge continues his musical streak in 2020. Shortly following the announcement of his upcoming record 1988, Knxwledge is back to offer a combination of two new singles. With the smooth track “Don’t Be Afraid,” combined with the short number “[bc] tm_s not promised,” Knxwledge gives another taste of his knack for soulful grooves.
Animated by Rhymezlikedimez, the accompanying visual features a drawn cameo of the producer’s dog Koko. The dream-like animation depicts the mood curated by the two singles. “Don’t Be Afraid” is composed of a soul sample Knxwledge found during a crate-digging deep dive while “[bc] tm_s not promised,” which is likely short for “Tomorrow’s Not Promised,” is an interlude-style ambient track that features a piano loop and haunting vocal samples.
The singles follow a busy past couple of years for the beatmaker. Earlier this year, Knxwledge dropped part five of his Meek projects, which gives lo-fi remixes to a curated group of freestyles from a younger Meek Mill. The project adds to a list of seven efforts from the producer in the last two years alone. 1988 furthers Knxwledge’s prolific nature. The title takes its name from the fact that much of the record was made that year when Knxwledge was an infant. According to a press release, Knxwledge’s first experience with making music was when he crawled out of his mother’s sight to a family member’s vintage SP-12 sampler in 1988. When his mother returned, baby Knxwledge had already made a beat and had “nearly mastered the machine.” The samples created were stored on floppy discs and finished in the studio in recent months.
Listen to “Don’t Be Afraid” above.
1988 is out 03/27 via Stones Throw. Pre-order it here.
Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Written by: Uproxx
