Album Review: Why Lawd? by NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge)

The duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge is back with a new album after eight years. It has a smooth sound that fans love, and it uses old R&B to make a wide range of modern music.

Courtesy of Stones Throw Records.

Anderson .Paak was a pop star for a bit in 2021. He was in a group called Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars. Their big hit song and album sounded like soul music from the ‘70s. Paak and Mars had just won some Grammys and had songs playing a lot on the radio. So it was a surprise when Paak’s other group, NxWorries, returned. Both artists grew up with this music, even though they were born in the ‘80s. The timing was perfect because people needed an escape. Paak has been making solo music since 2012 as Breezy Lovejoy. He was a good match for Bruno Mars because he’s a strong singer and songwriter who knows a lot about the music Silk Sonic was inspired by. But he’s not really a celebrity. He listens to many different styles from different times and figures out how to make them his own.

Paak is back with Why Lawd?, his second album with producer Knxwledge as NxWorries. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s Yes Lawd! They use much old music again, but this project has more variety and sounds more current than Silk Sonic. Knxwledge is like other producers who use a lot of samples, especially from soul, jazz, and R&B from the ‘60s to ‘90s. He collects a lot of records and DJs. He’s put out many albums and EPs on his own. With Why Lawd?, it’s like he and Paak are making an incredible 44-minute mixtape of their favorite songs, but they created the songs themselves.

On Why Lawd?, Knxwledge likes to use R&B sounds—bits of guitar (listen to “Distractions” and the silky smooth “MoveOn” as Ann One, Andra Day, and BJ the Chicago Kid sing backgrounds), shiny keyboards, and floaty backing vocals. He adds in new instruments and drum beats, too. It works well with Paak’s rough, pleading singing, which goes from gritty soul like Al Green to smoother ‘80s sounds. It was also a surprise to see the track list for Why Lawd? had eight other guest artists. Part of what made Yes Lawd! great was that Paak and Knxwledge kept it just them. But the extra voices on Why Lawd? don’t make it feel crowded or messed up. Like the first album, this is primarily an R&B record based around Paak’s playful, lovelorn singing and Knxwledge’s twisted sample-based beats, as shown on “MoreOfIt” and the People’s Pleasure-sampled “HereIAm.”

Throughout, the guests love Black music as much as the duo does. Comedian Dave Chappelle, a friend to many rappers from hip-hop’s golden age, tells a couple of jokes in the short intro “ThankU.” Singer and bassist Thundercat adds a spooky backing vocal to the soft ballad “KeepHer.” Singer H.E.R. does a duet on the rock-soul song “WhereIGo.” On “FromHere,” Snoop Dogg adds some chill raps to a pretty ballad that sounds like the smooth harmonies of groups he likes, such as the Stylistics and the Dramatics, and October London channels his Eddie Holman than Marvin Gaye.

These guests make Why Lawd? feel like a big celebration of music that anyone who shares NxWorries’ excitement and broad tastes can enjoy. But the album isn’t all happy classic soul songs. “86Sentra” has Paak rapping over a crisp G-funk beat that could be from the early ‘90s. “Daydreaming” has a wild guitar solo that sounds like Prince (it’s Jairus “J.Mo” Moose). Deep bass and tight drums on tracks like “FallThru,” the fantastic “OutTheWay” with Rae Khalil, and “SheUsed” bring to mind neo-soul from around 2000 by D’Angelo and Erykah Badu, showing the strong hip-hop influence.

The beats and tunes on Why Lawd? stick with you more than the words, which jump between sexy come-ons, love notes, and stranger stuff, as Knxwledge plays with samples and drops some quick instrumentals such as “Lookin’” and the album’s closer, “EvnMore.” Sometimes, the album gets by on just feeling good, enjoying a perfect beat more than making you think. Charlie Wilson deserved more than just singing on the hook on “NVR.RMX.” However, it transitioned nicely into “DistantSpace,” which keeps the consistency. Near the end, some great verses from rapper Earl Sweatshirt on “WalkOnBy” might make you wish the album had a little more variety.

But it’s easy to get past that when it’s done so well. Maybe it’s the warmer weather or all the recent records about doubts and pain, but right now, this collection hits the spot. It’s the kind of album you put on when hanging out with friends or working outside, and you always feel like it was the right pick. Much of that comes down to how steady Paak is and how much he cares about all of music history.

Great (★★★★☆)

Favorite Tracks: “MoveOn,” “KeepHer,” “FromHere”