Henny Knightz – Pontiac Black
Vibrant new video for spacey banger ‘Pontiac Black’ from Hackney’s Henny Knightz. Yet another reason to check out this year’s superb Random House of Evil EP if you haven’t yet. Don’t sleep!
Henny Knightz – Devil’s Locker
New cinematic visual for ‘Devil’s Locker’ from Henny Knightz is yet another reason why heads shouldn’t be sleeping on the unique lyricist and producer. Lifted from this years excellent Random House Of Evil EP (read our feature on it here).
IYDK: Henny Knightz – Random House of Evil
Supposing we lived in a world where you could bio-engineer lyricists by mixing strands of great MCs together into ungodly bar spewing hybrids… If some mad scientist had decided to blend Ocean Wisdom‘s vocal clarity, with Onoe Caponoe‘s penchant for the weird, Kojey Radical‘s jaded conviction and then thrown in a concoction labelled ‘?’ consisting of a blend of MCs that only exist in the imaginary world this elongated analogy is based in… You might end up with Henny Knightz.
As a full time hip hop fan, a lot of the passion for the genre is rooted in being periodically surprised and amazed by artists who had somehow been overlooked. We got switched on to Henny shortly after the release of Random House of Evil and can safely say, as hip hop induced jaw drops go, this was a contender for furthest distance from my nose.
Random House of Evil is a 6 track EP of pure fire that dropped back in May and is the most complete project to date by Knightz. The Hackney rapper has been about for a long while, somehow evading the spotlight the whole time. Dope solo EP, MCMXCIII Wednesday Addams, shows him already artistically adept back in 2017 and moves with Knighthood Society alongside Nicki Knightz (who we discovered at the same time and is deserving of her own feature) date back 6 years. The earliest output from Henny that you can find on the internet shows he was sick since day one (see ‘Sativa‘), but lets skip forward to 2020.
Random House of Evil is a unique sonic experience. From the moment that the gloriously ominous appropriation of the eerie “AaHahahAAHah” backing from Gorillaz‘s ‘Clint Eastwood’ echoes over the intro of first track ‘House of Evil’, the listening experience plummets sharply into Henny’s sunken place. Far from being a straight downer, these depths bang throughout.
It’s an impressive balancing act that at it’s core the project is deeply honest and in frequent places dark but at the same time also a VIBE on every track. This is in no small part due to superbly textured production. Which leads neatly on to the next reason that Henny Knightz is a threat. The whole thing is self produced. Once the penny has dropped that he’s made all the soundscapes himself the scope of Henny’s vision becomes clearer. Proudly alternative, (self described as a voice of social misfits over avant-garde beats) and championed by The Pit London‘s Alt Hip Hop movements, its not surprising that the synthesis between beats and words on the EP forms a boldly different whole.
Even within the umbrella terms of alternative hip hop or new wave, to his credit, Henny is still something of an outsider. Both terms have been floating about to try and give form to the explosion of diverse offshoots of hip hop that are in places coalescing into scenes, still in their nascent phases. By its very nature, this movement of innovation in multiple directions, means that the scene has yet to solidify into a particular distinct sound, but umbrella-ing has meant that already variations of commercial sounds are fighting for the foreground. Whether it’s UK Rap 808 influences, garage infused beats, kids from the sticks who wanted to make something similar to drill but weren’t road enough or retro-synthy alt-pop with a rap on it… all fit within the realm of the sort-of-genre. Not to detract at all from the numerous heads doing creative and exciting things within that sphere, but Henny stands out starkly as the antithesis of the portion of the scene that’s bubblegum. Distinctly less pop. Distinctly more raw. Distinctly less of a mimic. For all the ways that production on Random House of Evil is drenched in UK stylings and sounds like it was made in London in 2020, there’s also something visceral about it that’s reminiscent of the longer standing and more sizeable alternative hip hop scene in the US. Like if he’d been born stateside 20 years earlier, he’d have been quite at home on Def Jux Records circa 2001. (Even more so if you listen to his last single of 2019; ‘Track:Red‘, which features an instrumental that sounds like a Cannibal Ox wet dream.)
As with beats, so with bars. Henny’s legitimately alternative standing is voiced in defiance of expected rapper norms. Without coming across weak, lyrical content is fiercely human. There’s no front. In contrast to the widely expressed hustle narrative of life in the ends, Random House of Evil clearly situates itself in that world from start to finish while rejecting any cliched topic material. Lyrical focus switches from insulin dependency, to realities of poverty, to the weight of feigning strength while dealing with depression, to suicide. Lyrics like “Because you’re black you ain’t allowed to be depressed/keep it in and keep it solid/scream and shout to show your chest/All that sad shit’s for the white lot” bring home a tangible sense of isolation.
Throughout, HK tells a personal story. While its frequently a brutal one, the combination of beats that bang and his flair for flow delivery means that it never sounds bitter. Just real. The lasting impression after listening to Random House of Evil enough times to digest it, is that Henny Knightz wants his listeners to compute a different, more grounded lyrical depiction of being young, poor and black in London. As he puts it on ‘Soul’, “We grew to survive/Glorifying the ends makes me sick/I can’t stomach it/You ain’t really from bits/I’ve had real friends that died.” The message is a powerful one. Obviously, Henny is not the first rapper to ever tear up the prescribed formula in favour of pursuing something more honest. Or even to follow that route to such personal depths. But very few have ever pulled off walking such a fine line between borderline despair and also somehow constantly styling on tracks with vocals and production which, in spite of all the darkness, hint that Henny could actually be commercially viable.
Since presently a global industry still ensures that the hood-life stereotype continues to shout by far the loudest, while more nuanced voices are mostly drowned out, the world could do with more artists like Knightz. Not simply because honest music of this calibre is no doubt a breath of fresh air for people in shoes similar to the Hackney native’s sneakers. Or equally that elevating more voices like his would help towards checking the at-times-moronic perceptions of privileged consumers of the culture. Mostly because, out of the minority of artists concerned with telling personal stories and ugly truths, very few possess a voice and sound with the potential to cut through the industry noise and actually be heard by a wider audience. Looking at Henny’s numbers its apparent that he’s still miles away from that eventuality. But listen to his discography culminating in Random House of Evil and his lack of exposure so far is baffling. Given the right breaks, he’s poised to go far. Hopefully the come-up is just over the horizon.
Follow Henny for all the inevitable good shit on its way. Support the don by copping the EP here.
The Pit LDN – International Affairs Vol. 1
Globally united by the constraints of lockdown, The Pit LDN manages to orchestrate an impressive cohesiveness between its disparate cast of rappers, vocalists and instrumentalists from both sides of the Atlantic. With each track being a standalone single complete with its own artwork and all proceeds going to the artists themselves, International Affairs Vol. 1 seems intentionally designed to platform its impressive roster of up & comers in a period that has been creatively, but perhaps not economically, productive. As the project moves from buried gem to buried gem, however, the platform begins to feel less like a “pit” and more like a treasure trove of undiscovered talent.
Despite being billed as showcasing the best in “alternative hip hop, R&B and Indie music”, there is nothing secondary about the appeal of the sounds conjured up here as not a single note or tone goes amiss throughout the project’s dreamy 30-odd-minute runtime. And this is no small feat, considering International Affairs Vol. 1 is a compilation of tracks from a young and diverse cast. Fortunately, the project turns out much like it’s depicted in the cover artwork: cut-outs of each artist and their contrasting backgrounds spilling out and overlapping each other in interesting and surprising ways.
Opening with ‘Liars Lullaby’s dense and emotionally conflicted soundscape furnished with the soaring melodies and overall aesthetic insight offered by BINA (also see her previous single ‘Caged Bird ft. Kish!), the project immediately kicks back into a groove with a lesson in modern boom bap mastery from fresco.’s ‘Beam Hi’, starring flow patterns that leave just enough room for its reverie-filled kicks and samples to fully shine. Approaching the project’s halfway mark, London rapper Life’s incisive rap verses cut through Gilly Heller’s ethereal R&B tones to sonically bridge both sides of the project. On the other hand, Leo Chavez’s ‘Think About You 24:7’ comes rather left-field amongst the rest of the track-list as the multi-talented instrumentalist’s droning drawn out vocals mimic his signature guitar twangs to psychedelic effect.
The other sole individual effort on the project, rapper-producer Henny Knightz’s ‘Little Ol’ Me’ shows off a rare synergy between vocals & production as his perspective-heavy story-telling approach is mirrored by timely instrumental flourishes in a track that, above all, is chock full of character. Meanwhile, full set-piece Atlanta’s Twelve25 hits an impressive range of emotions in just under 2 minutes, with its gentle guitar riffs, buried vocals and cutting rap verse emerging as potentially the fullest soundscape on the project (and that’s really saying something). Finally, triumphant trumpets and energetic chopped up vocal samples are navigated by Joyla’s carefully-managed dynamic voice to close the release off in style on final track ‘High Heels’. Repeating the lines “take my high heels off” as artwork depicts Joyla staring off into the distance in her sunglasses. International Affairs Vol. 1 leaves with a sense of hopefulness- a feeling that rings ever more true given that the project drops in line with the gradual repeal of lockdown and reopening of bars and event spaces.
Going to such lengths to platform each of its hidden talents, The Pit LDN plays no small role in making this project feel like a genuinely special and worthwhile creative effort. Despite such physical and sonic distances between them, there is a great deal of harmony between International Affairs Vol. 1’s disparate cast- unlike the other international affairs of late. Perhaps the UN should be taking note?
The Pit LDN’s International Affairs Vol. 1 dropped today on bandcamp and plays an admirable role in platforming its treasure trove of talent during a critical period. Show some support HERE!