Knxwledge is one of the most creative, boundary-pushing artists of the lo-fi hip-hop movement. Since his 2009 debut, the impossibly prolific producer has released dozens upon dozens of digital albums, EPs, and beat tapes, in addition to a few vinyl LPs, singles, and cassettes. His recordings typically consist of brief, cryptically titled tracks with blown-out, off-kilter beats and samples. After building up a following throughout the early half of the 2010s with his solo releases and productions for underground MCs like
Blu and
Joey Bada$$,
Knxwledge received greater recognition in 2015, when his album
Hud Dreems was released by Stones Throw and one of his productions appeared on
Kendrick Lamar's highly praised
To Pimp a Butterfly. He earned further acclaim as half of
NxWorries, his collaboration with
Anderson .Paak, whose debut full-length, Yes Lawd!, appeared in 2016. His bond with Stones Throw was tightened with
1988, issued in 2020.
New Jersey-bred Glen Boothe began producing experimental hip-hop under the pseudonym
Knxwledge in 2009, releasing music via MySpace and Bandcamp. During this time, he was associated with the Klipmode collective along with Suzi Analogue,
Mndsgn, and
Devonwho. His glitchy, abstract tracks quickly caught the attention of the international beatmaking scene, and his debut LP, Klouds, was released by Dublin-based All City Records in 2010. A relentless stream of Bandcamp releases continued, and
Knxwledge worked with artists such as Exile,
Shawn Jackson, and
Iman Omari.
Boothe relocated to Los Angeles and became associated with
Matthewdavid's Leaving Records, which released the Buttrskotch cassette in 2012, as well as
Anthology, a double cassette (reissued on vinyl in 2015) compiled from
Knxwledge's numerous online releases. His second LP, Kauliflowr, arrived on All City Records in 2013.
The year 2014 saw
Knxwledge producing tracks for Stones Throw artists
Homeboy Sandman and
Pyramid Vritra.
Knxwledge contributed to
Kendrick Lamar's
To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015 and released the beat tape
Hud Dreems on the Stones Throw label that same year. Production credits for
Ghostface Killah,
Earl Sweatshirt, and
Hodgy followed in 2016, but his most high-profile work that year was Yes Lawd!, the Stones Throw-issued debut full-length by
NxWorries, his duo with
Anderson .Paak. Following 2017's Yes Lawd! Remixes and his usual deluge of digital releases,
Knxwledge returned to Stones Throw as a solo artist with 2018's
Gladwemet EP. Another slew of self-released material preceded the 2020 arrival of
1988,
Knxwledge's second solo Stones Throw LP, featuring brief appearances from
Paak, Durand Bernarr, and
Rose Gold. ~ Paul Simpson