NxWorries
appeared in early 2015 on
Stones Throw
with "Suede."
Knxwledge
provided the dazed production, its beat a clipped gait --
Gil Scott-Heron
/
Brian Jackson
's "The Bottle" stretched and dragged to support
Anderson Paak
's freewheeling vehicular exhibition and macking seminar.
Dr. Dre
then sought
Paak
for extensive work on
Compton
, while the rising
produced "Momma" on
To Pimp a Butterfly
and released a
album. As
and
sustained their prominence with separate collaborative and solo work, their activity as a unit gradually escalated to this full-length, released during the fourth quarter of 2016. It includes "Suede," two other cuts from an EP originally released as a download in late 2015, and 40 additional minutes of keenly bent and smudged soul loops. Though
is an accomplished musician and bandleader, as seen throughout 2016 in several televised performances to promote
Malibu
, he sticks strictly to singing and rapping, leaving
to handle all the music. Reflective of their collaborative alias,
doesn't sound particularly bothered, apart from some irritation related in "H.A.N.," a deflection of leeches and critics, and some serious concerns and confessions within the supremely dreamy "Khadijah." Otherwise, he keeps it lighthearted as an irrepressible rolling stone. Audibly and lyrically coarse, he rarely sounds less than entirely self-satisfied and at least a little amused, whether he's dealing out wisecracking wordplay or quoting
J Dilla
as he deftly coasts over and darts between the beats. If not quite as substantive as
, this is one of those albums that can be played continuously without risk of depreciation.
are so occupied with other pursuits that this seems destined to take its place in the
discography as one of the label's fine twosome one-offs in the manner of
Madvillainy
Champion Sound
. ~ Andy Kellman