Hailing from Kilburn, North West London, Knucks is a rapper/producer with a pretty versatile style in the UK rap scene, blending UK rap elements with jazzy and soulful vibes from the States. Originally dabbling in Grime at a young age, he started to get into the UK rap sound after being sent to boarding school in Nigeria. The 24 year-old artist is known to use a lot of vintage/old school soul samples for his songs, chopping them up with trap-style drums. He also has a movement #NoDaysOff, which is his opening tag for most of his songs. In 2014, Knucks released his Nas-inspired debut tape, Killmatic, which included the song "Told You" (which premiered as a music video on SBTV later in 2015). But throughout 2016 and 2017, Knucks has been making a lot of waves as GRM Daily & SBTV were premiering his videos, with songs like "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Vows" and "Frostbite" getting a decent amount of views & plays on SoundCloud, YouTube and streaming services. Blogs & magazines were putting him on articles, expecting him to be the next one to blow and all that. And it seems he might continue to have another good year, he even dropped a single with Not3s earlier this month, and it sounds wavey as usual.
Knucks has yet to drop another full-length project though, and everything he's been dropping post-Killmatic have been singles and SoundCloud loosies. So I decided to take my time to go through some of the singles he has dropped throughout the past 2-3 years, whether they're on Spotify, SoundCloud or YouTube. This is the start of a new series on this blog called The Selects. where I go through the loose singles and throwaways of a particular artist, and select a few of them to share my thoughts on. Let's go!
[NOTE: The song titles are underlined with the link for you guys to listen.]
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Had to start with this one. Released in June 2016, and named after the book and film of the same name, this single happened to be his breakthrough cut, and I love it so much. Knucks' flow is A1 on this one, and he floats over the beat like it's nothing. The beat is fire as hell too, and Knucks flipped that soul sample so well, the drums are hella solid. He delivers with the hook, it's a real catchy one and I enjoyed his verses heavy. Something you can easily vibe out to, a certi tune.
The Jump
Now this is the one, the type of shit you can play while you riding out through the night. Knucks samples another laidback soul song as usual, and the beat bangs so hard. His lyricism throughout his 2 verses are decent, sliding in a Roll Safe reference ("Mandem say they swagga bad but I don't see it too tough/Ith's kinda mad cause all I see is bootcuts"). And the way he kicked off the song was dope as hell, I loved those first two bars ("Boo yah, brand new like Grand Puba/Mr Big Kahuna talk the panties of a chula"). The hook is dope as hell, and it's where I enjoy the flow a lot, with references to Trump & Chris Martin/Coldplay. Such an enjoyable cut, definitely my favourite out of his singles!
Frostbite
Aight, so this was taken from the GRM Daily compilation The Shortlist, which features a line up of UK rappers who are happening to get some buzz at the moment. And this song was pretty decent. Knucks uses a sample that doesn't sound too old-school ish, but still keeps the ambient and chill vibes. He comes through with a nice flow, especially around the hook and the beat knocks as usual. His verses are also solid, rapping about how he worked hard to get to where he's at now, and showing off how cold his bars are.
Big Kahuna (Freestyle)
Back to the laidback soul sample beats now. But here, Knucks lays off the sing-song flow, delivering two verses with no hook. It's kinda an introspective track, which, at the time, saw him reflecting on the old days, touching on how lowkey he can be and his authenticity in his music. He ends his last verse, looking forward for the coming year (which, since he released this around Summer 2016, was 2017). This one was really a wavey one, another song where Knucks came through, as usual.
Cannes (feat. WizzyWow)
Knucks delivers one long verse, and unlike the rest of his tracks, producer/singer WizzyWow is on the boards providing the heat, so the use of soul samples isn't here as usual. At first, Knucks does his usual content, showing off about how he came up and gained fans. Wizzy contributes some background vocals around the middle of the track, and then... the beat switch came up, changing the mood up as Knucks raps about ties he's wants to leave behind and trying to keep his pride. It's a dope song, with a banging Summer vibe, but also an introspective feeling like "Big Kahuna".
Vows
One of Knucks' most recent tracks, which premiered on GRM Daily around the end of last year. Knucks flips another soul sample, but switches his drums up to more of a UK drill style, and it delivers, especially with the bass. His flow is real enjoyable on this one, and he floats over the beat with his verses like it's nothing. The sample is heavenly too. And the music video definitely complements great with the song, especially having the model and all that.
Turnover
A slower and soulful joint from Knucks, compared to the rest that I reviewed. The type of shit to vibe out to when it's dark. His verses on here are great, and the vibe is strong. I enjoy the beat heavy, probably my favourite beat out of all the songs I've reviewed. And his flow is so relaxing, he really floated all over that beat. Whole song is so slow and laidback.
Cake
Knucks is actually known to drop some new music around his birthday (which is in November). First "21 Candles" in 2015, then "From Rome, With Love" in 2016 (which also mainly reflected on his holiday in Rome). "Cake" is the recent birthday cut, released last November as a SoundCloud loosie. Here, a 23 year-old Knucks reflects on the year he had when he was 22, touching on the friends he lost, the buzz he's been getting from his music, and the money he has made throughout the year. The reversed sample is sick and the drums are hella tight on this one. But then, the beat switches... and it bangs so HARD! Knucks switches up the flow here, and is a lot more energetic. The soul sample is a lot more smoother, and GAWD DAMN, the bass on this beat is A1. His verse on here is a little forgettable and quick compared to the first part, but the hook & beat definitely brings this part together.
Final Thoughts
Knucks is definitely an artist I'm looking out for this year. Throughout the past four years, it seems that he's really improved and found a style for his music, especially after his debut mixtape Killmatic. His debut tape was pretty good, a nice ode to the classic Nas album, and his production was nice, especially on songs like "Told You", "LDN State of Mind" and "Dubai". But with these cuts, you can hear he's found his signature sound properly, and his flows have definitely gotten better, sounding a little more confident over songs including "Big Kahuna", "The Jump" and "Cake".
The Kilburn rapper comes through with some solid subject matter too, "Cake" is a nice reflection of the past year when he was 22. "Vows" mixes the banging UK drill drums with a smooth ass soul sample, as he raps about only wanting to link up with a girl instead of making vows. "Big Kahuna" is a laidback joint too, with 2 verses, no hook, rapping about how he's came up and made a name for himself, looking forward to the future. "Frostbite" sees Knucks on his braggadocios shit, showing off about how cold he is with his music.
I enjoy Knucks' production style heavy, using old and vintage samples for his laidback tunes, and he flips them really well. The sample flip on "Vows" is real nice. I love the drums on there, and the bass is hella hard. It really complements the sample so well. The second part of "Cake" is such an enjoyable cut. It should've been longer just off that beat alone. The bass knocks here once again, and the way Knucks flows over the song is nice. The first part is still solid tho, I like the reverse sample flip on that. "Turnover" is one of them nighttime jams, and it rides out so smoothly. The soul sample is elite and the beat is nice as hell. As I said earlier before, it's my favourite beat out of the songs from him I've reviewed. "The Jump" is another great song, and the beat caught me so quick. Knucks came through with the bars too.
Overall, Knucks is a great artist, who's been making a lot of waves lately. He's definitely grown from his debut mixtape, delivering a nice sound as he flips them soul samples and flows effortlessly over these chill beats. He's definitely an artist I recommend you guys to listen to. To any of my American readers, who love to slander the UK rap scene, Knucks is a very accessible artist to get into, with a nice blend of UK rap elements and American vibes. You guys, check out his new single with Not3s if you haven't already, a really enjoyable tune. I'm definitely looking out for some more new music from him, hopefully his next project later this year.
Spotify:
SoundCloud:
[ANOTHER NOTE: Also. peep Okari's article about his favourite UK artists right now, in which Knucks is also mentioned. I referred to Okari anonymously at the start of this post, he was the one that was tweeting about Knucks, which got me to check out his music. Click here!]
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