Knxwledge
Hud Dreems
Stones Throw
Street: 05.05
Knxwledge = Flying Lotus + J Dilla
 
The term mellow jams comes to mind, though that hardly begins to cover it. In his debut album, DJ Knxwledge has created 26 tracks of instrumental hip-hop that play as if they are one extended composition—the transitions are so natural, it seems that they must have been written one after another in succession. The jazz and funk influence in his tracks are obvious but not overwhelming, using juicy bits of samples that are just enough to highlight the beats and instrumentals. With a background in producing (ahem, he is one of the geniuses behind Kendrick Lamar’s latest, To Pimp A Butterfly), he has a knack for writing music that is subtle but impossibly interesting. In an age of instant downloads, Knxwledge has made a work that should be listened to from beginning to end. 
–Kia McGinnis