Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Song of the Day #190 - NxWorries - Suede

Yes Lord!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNTNbNtft9g

This is the first single from a collaboration from Anderson.Paak and Knxwledge. I think it's been out for awhile but the video just came out recently and I saw it on the Stones Throw channel so I checked it out. Knxwledge I'd heard of for awhile and generally liked but holy crap his discography is huge and I never get that into it. Anderson .Paak I had never actually heard of before he was all over Compton, and like, absolutely killing every single feature he was on. It was weird, he had this like... veteran level of assurance and perfection, appearing on an album with some of the greatest living legends in hip hop, it felt kinda like maybe this guy was famous and I had just never heard of him before? But nah... I chalked it up to Dre magic.

But now, hearing this, it's clear that this guy just straight up has one of those instant classic, liquid gold voices that come along every so often. Dre's genius move was more scooping him up and having the sense to give him such a major role, despite his relative obscurity. "Smoother than a motherfucker" indeed. The structure of this song is really weird... it took me a few listens to really be able to anticipate parts of it and really get into it. Everything he does - and every choice Knxwledge made on this Madlib-style banger of a beat - highlights the power and versatility of his voice. He raps and fast and slow, rambles off beat, soars all around his register, and explores all sorts of assonances and consonances and such. There's no like... padding, I guess I'd say? It just goes and goes. So niiiiice.

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