Why Lawd?

Though NxWorries—the duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge—took eight years between their first and second albums, the sound remains perfectly the same. On *Why Lawd?*, the producer from New Jersey uses his backpacking past to conjure up dusty grooves that serve as the perfect counterpoint to .Paak’s silky-smooth voice. On “Distractions,” Knx cues up Spanish-inspired guitar and echoing drum clicks to give .Paak the perfect stage from which he can sing of long nights and beautiful days: “I don’t need no more distractions, but I’m gassed to see what might happen.” It’s an album of impeccable textures and an ode to the “you only live once” mindset. “SheUsed” is a throwback gospel track with soaring vocal harmonies that finds .Paak unearthing his scratchy falsetto. “Said I’ll be back but won’t be mad if this time is the last,” he raps after multiple innuendo-laced bars. It’s all good, though. *Why Lawd?* is what happens when two of the game’s best link up in the pursuit of pure hedonistic joy.

Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge’s sly, smooth-talking rap&B sounds older and wiser these days. The duo’s stellar second album layers doubt and insecurity into jet-setting antics and featherbed-plush beats.

Hip-hop superduo NxWorries return with a new studio album for the first time in eight years, delivering the sonic smoothness fans have come to expect.

Why Lawd? by NxWorries album review by Tuhin Chakrabarti for Northern Transmissions. The duo's LP is now available via Stones Throw Records

The producer-singer duo’s sweet nostalgia-funk now has a sour vibe as .Paak switches between anger and self-pity