Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge Release Sultry NxWorries Album ‘Yes Lawd!’

Jordan Bailey

For hip-hop aficionados, this week saw the early release of a collaboration album by NxWorries featuring LA-based producer Knxwledge and MC Anderson .Paak. Entitled “Yes Lawd!,” this is a jazzy, conscious, R&B heavy project very much in the vein of what fans know and like about both artists. Coming in at lengthy nineteen tracks, “Yes Lawd!” is a collab for the ages.

These two started working together as NxWorries last year before releasing their debut EP “Link Up & Suede.” Paak has made a name for himself with the release of his recent album “Malibu” which brought him a contract with Dr. Dre’s famed Aftermath label. Knxwledge also had a breakthrough moment with a prominent rap icon, when he was asked in 2015 to produce the track “Momma” from Kendrick Lamar’s outstanding “To Pimp a Butterfly”. Both have always had complimentary styles; their genre-shattering productions have become a staple in hip-hop culture and their symbiotic relationship, where fluidity reigns supreme, is showcased on “Yes Lawd!” This retro, smoke-filled, soul-laden project clearly falls within the hip-hop and R&B genres, but it offers so much more.

“Suede,” from the duo’s debut EP, ended with an outro which had Paak spitting a few bars over a new beat separate from the song itself. Like many of their songs, it was smooth, soulful and amazing, but was just a teaser. Enter “Lyk Dis”, a single from their new release which picks up where the “Suede” outro left off. One year later, they’ve turned it into a full-fledged track which invites listeners to “Let your hair down / just like this” and “Pick your legs up / just like this.” Another single, “Best One,” features a lo-fi vibe, peppered with the slap bass sound made famous by legendary funk artist Bootsy Collins. Yet another retro sounding single is “Get Bigger/Do U Luv,” which wouldn’t be out of place in any classic R&B collection. “Sidepiece” stands out as sweet, sexy and smooth with Paak waxing poetic on the real thing, love. “So I’ll give up my sidepiece, and make it come true” he says, as the stream-of-consciousness lyrics organically flow over Knxwledge’s effortless beat—the whole album focuses on love, sex and the power of women.  

Kendrick Lamar’s influence is vivid here, a mix of conscious underground hip-hop and mainstream rap that’s made K. Dot so well-respected with both critics, backpackers (alternative hip-hop fans) and those who prefer the top 40. Both Paak and Knxwledge have tapped into this style on “Yes Lawd!”  and the album’s overall aesthetic represents such a wide swath of tastes and influences that, regardless of your hip-hop preferences, it’ll be hard to ignore. Make no mistake, there’s something special here.

“Yes Lawd!” is available for download exclusively on Apple Music as of Oct.13 and will wide release Oct. 21.