Knox Fortune – Paradise

You might recognize Kevin Rhomberg’s voice from Chance The Rapper’s 2016 summer smash “All Night.” The creative producer behind KAMI’s Just Like The Movies, Joey Purp’s (who has writing credits on 2, 3, 6, 11 and a feature on 9) iiiDrops, the majority of Leather Cord’s catalogue and countless other Chicago hip hop favorites like Towkio, Vic Mensa, and The Social Experiment has finally put out a solo project. If freshmen albums are measuredby their ability to introduce an audience to the artist, this eclectic album – from an early look – seems to thrive. Despite his hip-hop track record, Knox’s album does not confine itself to this genre. The varied art piece is equipped with rock slaps and electro-experimental expositions alike.

The 37-minute, eleven-song invention flows seemlessly from track to track floating its inspiration between J Dilla, KAMI, The Beach Boys, 808s-era Kanye, and some deep Beck cuts.

Release Date: 9/22/2017

RIYL: Chance The Rapper, KAMI, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Play:

1 (No Dancing ironically kicks off a dance-track filled album. With some vocal manipulation, Knox sounds like MIA and powering drums as well as a driving bass and lite synths carry this song.)

2 (Lil Thing was the underground song of the summer to any hip head in Chicago. The upbeat, pop-py song leaves very little to be desired by the listener.)

3 (Help Myself‘s stripped-down sound builds from a raw tambourine and lyric and adds a simple, funky bass, melodic guitar, and lush background vocals in the chorus, check out the music video!)

4 (Stars slows the album down but its large sound collection keeps the energy driving.)

5 (Torture almost invokes a Beatles sound but with today’s LogicPro Pack and a Will Miller trumpet feature.)

6 (24 Hours has a simple structure and a set of guiding melodies to create Weezer-esque sound)

7 (I Don’t Wanna Talk About It sounds like Cage the Elephant’s Tell Me I’m Pretty, but somehow succeeds sonically with far more fervor.)

8 (Strange Days is the KAMI feature the album begs for and doesn’t sound far removed from the pair’s Just Like The Movies project, vibe-y with industrial hints, and melodic as heck.)

9 (Stun is a slow, atmospheric groove with a quite literally perfect Joey Purp feature. The song’s sonic beauty could nearly make you misty.)

10 (Keep You Close picks the album’s tempo back up the chord progression is nostalgic and familiar, but the overlaid, stagnant piano melody and lyrics keep the song fresh.)

11 (Spill closes the album not dissimilarly to its start: loose and large in sound. Knox nears chanelling some brand of U2’s Bono in the first half and the song closes with some excellent instrumental interplay between guitar, West Coast-style synth, and a rapid hand drum.)

So I guess play every song if you can- but if I had to pick a handful: 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10

FCC: Clean