Immersive and intricate in his artistry, North-West Londoner Knucks has been traversing the realms of hip-hop for over a decade now, aptly rendering himself as one of the most consistent new-age lyricists in the British rap canon. Since his 2014-released debut mixtape, Killmatic—his well-done hat-tip to Nas’ epic Illmatic—Knucks has infused his rap sensibilities with the sounds of jazz and influence of grime, giving each and every one of his releases an instantaneous rustic and nostalgic edge.
Managing to avoid markers of redundancy as he’s grown, Knucks arrives eight years later ready to merge his early talents with a contemporary flair across his latest project, Alpha Place. Making clear to us that the release serves more as an extended EP than a full-length LP, Knucks reveals that Alpha Place was executive produced by both himself and the Brit-jazz extraordinaire, Venna. “I knew that I wanted to make a project that sounded like my song ‘Home’,” he shares over Zoom from LA. “We wanted to structure the sound so that it was a mix of rap, drill and jazz. I wanted to show that I had more to me, but at the same time reinforce the ‘Home’ sound. I wanted it to be natural.”
Gliding across the 13-tracker feels like an amalgamation of one, complete narrative, which Knucks explains is intentional. Alpha Place acts as an embodiment of memories, paying homage to the rapper’s South Kilburn roots, but also his confidants and best friends who made it out of their surroundings with him. Track 12, “Three Musketeers”, is an anthemic composition that summarises all of Knucks’ findings to date, the rapid succession of drums leading the way.
The respect that Knucks has garnered from the industry is realised on the much-loved Stormzy team-up, “Die Hard”, which arrived in a matter-of-fact, nonchalant way, almost emphasising that the pair’s meeting was inevitable. M1llionz, Sainté, SL and more also make the cut, ushering in an array of shades across the rap universe—one reflective of the diversity and potential that’s in the space at present. Alpha Place is a striking showcase of the rhymesmith’s intentionality towards sonics and lyrical prowess, as well as his dedication to the craft and the long game, positioning himself as a project artist who is firmly leading the future of UK emcees.
We caught up with Knucks to break down every track on his latest outing, Alpha Place. Take in the conversation below, and cop or stream the full set on Apple Music, Spotify or TIDAL now.
“Alpha House” f/ Venna
“I actually made the sound design for this one. I just wanted to recreate the sounds of the area that I grew up with. My block was behind my school, so every morning I’d just be hearing kids playing, or the traffic on the high road. You know EastEnders, where you hear trains all the time? I wanted that too. I’ve moved out now, to Hertfordshire, and it’s only when I go back to my ends that I realise certain things, and I wanted to put the listener in my surroundings. The police sirens were part of the symphonies of my environment, too, so I wanted to include that. ‘Alpha House’ is a verse, and I’d said everything that I’d wanted to say, so I wanted Venna’s instrumentals at the end to act as a verse—his verse. It’s a nice way to outro out the song and shows the level of musicality that will follow on the project.”
“Nice & Good”
“This song was the first time I’d ever met SL, and it all happened super quick. I had a big folder with 100 or so drill-type beats, and I just started playing them. I had an idea for the hook and I told SL to just freestyle the chorus after a few lines at the beginning, which I told him to include. It was such a natural recording, though. This one just made sense. Jazz and drill—of course he had to be here… SL’s the oldest young guy I’ve ever met! [Laughs] He acts way older than he is but then will come out with slang like ‘Stockey’. London slang is growing all the time and it’s crazy to see, but it’s important to include it to reflect the time and have a record of that.”
“Hide & Seek”
“‘Hide & Seek’ is inspired by The Wire. A lot of the project is actually inspired by TV. This particular song was inspired by the relationship between Jimmy McNulty and Bodie. I just clocked that there was a respect there; even though McNulty is chasing these criminals, he can respect that Bodie is sticking to his morals even if they differ from his. They need each other, but they hate each other. It’s an oxymoron. That’s why the main character is let go at the end of the video. It shows that duality. Even the ‘fine by me’ is chasing one another constantly between the police and criminals.”
“Bible” f/ Youngs Teflon
“Unlike a lot of the other collaborations, I heard and recorded the song with Youngs Teflon in mind. I recorded with M1[OnTheBeat] and thought, at the end of the first verse, I needed him to do the second verse. So I reached out, and I’ve reached out to him in the past about being a fan of his music. We set up a session and we put the track down. Temptation definitely comes when you’re not doing something positive, when you’re idle. I always try to commit to doing something positive and always stay on the move to avoid those thoughts. My thing is my music and I use it to tell other people to do something positive through it.”
“Decisions” f/ Shaé Universe & Millionz
“Decisions’ is another song that I recorded first at Disturbing London and then wanted someone on it. My manager knew about M1llionz for years, so it wasn’t as hard to set up. I changed the drums and added a different bass to it and my manager initially wanted a singer too—originally a male R&B singer—but as soon as I thought of Shaé, I said: ‘This makes sense, man.’ With the R&Drill thing that she’s doing right now, it just made sense. This is the first song I’ve done with Shaé Universe where she’s credited. She’s been on ‘Wedding Rings’, ‘Vows’ and ‘Big Kahuna’. I also used a ‘Knuckles’ sample on the song, and with part of my nickname being Sonic, it made sense. Knuckles is definitely Black to me.”
“Leon The Professional”
“This is a story based on truth without using real names. Every ends has that guy where people know a version of a story about them. It’s like they’re mythical creatures. The sample is the same sample that was used for the ‘Blind Hitman’ challenge. That’s what made me think of hitmen and this challenge. It’s all about the not knowing and also the magical status around these people.”
“Send Nudes”
“M1OnTheBeat also made this one, adding the legitimised drill drums and patterns. I can only go so far as a producer that’s only now getting into drill, but M1 added the harshness to the song. Weirdly enough, it includes the same sample used on Potter Payper’s ‘Gangsteritus’.”
“Playa” f/ Sainté
“The fans wanted this one to happen—everyone kept asking for Sainté to I to catch up. With Sainté, I rated his music as soon as I heard his music. I rate what he’s doing, man, but it’s so weird that he listened to me in school. I fail to forget that I’m getting older than I am. The younger ones are listening to the music I make in school now, which is crazy. ‘Playa’ is me being myself, and just talking my shit about girls. If you’re trying to be a ‘playa’, you have to be careful—playas can’t fall in love.”
“Far” f/ Ragz Originale
“‘Far’ is one of my favourite songs on the project, I have to say that. But how it came about was interesting too. I was about nine tracks into the project, and I hadn’t done ‘Three Musketeers’ yet. Then Ragz asked how many tracks I had left and when I said just a few, he said he’s taking the spot. We had to make the song as a collaborative effort, making sure our own voices—or vocal styles—can align properly. It’s me because of my samples, and Ragz because of his drums—these aren’t drill drums, but they are in the same tempo.”
“Die Hard” f/ Stormzy
“Stormzy has been supporting my music for a while now. There was actually a time when there was going to be a collaboration with my older song, ‘Turnover’. The remix just didn’t happen though. I’m so grateful that the other attempts at collaborating didn’t happen until now with him, just because I wanted to come to him as someone with a career and who has grown their own fans. I actually had a loose verse, which was like a year old, and I couldn’t find inspiration that day so used that. Part of it sounded like a hook, and then I used my first verse for this song as the first half of this verse. As soon as I sent it in, Stormzy was feeling it. We had a few different songs recorded, but I think this one’s really the one with him saying something that felt intentional and was a little break from the drill drums. It’s about me wanting to live a great life and as someone people remember as being a great person, as opposed to someone who was hard and feared.”
“Checkmate” f/ Lex Amor
“I’ve rated and respected Lex for such a long time. It’s kind of like the Stormzy love, in that we haven’t done a lot of songs, but I’ve been watching her. The pen, the energy—she’s just so cool and close with my sister, so it always felt like family. I had a session with ENNY who was originally on the song, but I don’t think she liked her verse. I begged for it but it wasn’t gonna work. The song’s about such an important topic, so I knew I wanted to put Lex on but she wanted to okay it first with ENNY, which was fine, and we patterned the song and made it something real special. It’s actually a play on words in terms of concept. There’s always that friend that checks on everyone, but then because everyone’s used to being checked on, they don’t get checked themselves. It’s a mental health song that shows that we have to check on our bredrins. The worst can happen if you don’t.”
“Three Musketeers”
“Us talking now about this song has made me realise that some of what I’m talking about is survivor’s guilt. That’s what it is. There’s a feeling that partly makes me feel like that sometimes. It’s an irrational feeling, though, because it’s not my fault, but these are people that I’ve spent my childhood with but they’re in the exact same place. Some may be in worse positions. It’s sad. But I also talk about me moving to Nigeria when I was 12, which was one of the biggest moments that shaped me as a man. Only talking about it here kind of downplays the significance, but I had to grow up very quickly in Nigeria. I matured so much over there. People say I act older than my age and it’s because of that experience—my self awareness grew. Without bringing up the story of my two best friends, I feel like it’s almost incomplete in telling my story—this song makes all of that make sense. ‘Three Musketeers’ contextualises everything I talk about meeting L’s and T.P. We survived so much: jail, a lack of the right environment. I needed to share our moments, too.”
“Los Pollos Hermanos” [Bonus]
“I wanted to tribute the Breaking Bad reference because I love TV and I like referencing food spots throughout my discography, as you know. I think, if anything, this song in particular is more drill and jazz than any of the other records; it’s just one of the songs that merges those two the best. I wanted to include this track as it fits in with what I’m talking about on the project and it still feels very me in the grand scheme of things.”
Photographer: @laurenluxenberg
Creative Director: @milenoheleno
Styling: @ededugdale
Assistants: @louis_gilbert_ x @hirobjones
Management: @sa_trutribe x @hush_trutribe
