Our love for future beats is well documented. The genre and artists have been mainstays on our site over the past few years, from regular write-ups to premieres, guest mixes, and features. One of the genre’s rising talents, knick, landed on our radar at the beginning of the year in our January edition of Focus Five. Since then, he’s proved his promise and consistency with collaborations alongside FUXWITHIT favourites like cozy kev, Chromonicci, Roto, aedfx x Keeth, and more. Plus some pretty impressive solo releases. The North Carolina native is on track to heat up the remainder of 2021, so we decided it was time to connect with him for a guest mix + interview. The mix is almost exclusively his own work, truly showcasing his catalog with a vibe-filled journey. As for the interview, we discuss his start in music, how to bring the bounce, the importance of community, and much more.
Tell us about the mix. Where are you taking listeners with this?
I’m taking the listeners on a thrilling and exciting journey through my musical endeavors within 2020 and 2021. This is the proudest that I’ve been with my craft throughout my entire music career!
How did you get into making music?
I’ve always been sort of musically inclined for the most part, and would always be listening to instrumentals and beats and one day it just hit me like, “Why not make these yourself!”
At the end of the day, I want to look back and be able to say that my music had an impact on someone’s life, rather it motivated them to rise to new levels or gave them a place to kind of connect and relate to.
What’s your goal as a creator?
At the end of the day, I want to look back and be able to say that my music had an impact on someone’s life, rather it motivated them to rise to new levels or gave them a place to kind of connect and relate to.
What’s the secret to bringing the bounce on tracks?
To be honest man, it’s all about not having everything quantized. I cannot stress it enough how important offsetting your drums is and how big of an impact it will have on your tracks and mix.
I used to get picked on for my networking 3 or 4 years ago, but now look at the foundation that was built from it. Working with the goat chromonicci is a prime example of this mentality finally paying off for me!
You’ve collaborated with a long list of impressive artists from chromonicci to Roto, aedfx x Keeth and more. How did you connect with all of these artists?
I came up with a few of the artists I work with like Keeth many years back. I’ve always been big on manifesting things and aiming high for my goals, no matter how impossible or unrealistic they may look. And I used to get picked on for my networking 3 or 4 years ago, but now look at the foundation that was built from it. Working with the goat chromonicci is a prime example of this mentality finally paying off for me!
How important is community in the music industry? What can artists do to better build or join the community?
The community is everything to be honest, it can make or break you. When you surround yourself with people that are going to better you consciously and unconsciously, and y’all can motivate each other to constantly level up, it just makes everything that much better.
The community is everything to be honest, it can make or break you.
What excites you outside of music?
Gaming, traveling the world, and spending time with my family are my go-to hobbies outside of music.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
A lot of crazy collabs, hopefully linking with some of the music homies at some point down the road, and overall I’m just excited to see what God has in store for me this year and the coming years!
Any final words?
Never let ANYONE discourage you from achieving your dreams/goals. If you have a plan, execute it, work as hard as you can towards it, and just trust the process. I never would’ve thought in a million years that I’d be where I am right now musically, and I still have a very long ways to go! :)
Tracklist:
knick – ghost w/ aedfx & keeth
knick – shallow w/ $teev
knick – sunshine w/ yugi boi & anu
knick – astral w/ cozy kev & $teev
knick – love story w/ yugi boi & ohgoddc
knick – snickers w/ milye & keeth
knick – dissolve w/ yugi boi & anu
knick – elevate w/ $teev, koru & ohgoddc
knick – echo w/ chromonicci
late year – play
knick – drift w/ anu
knick – krankt w/ ini & anu
knick – blackout
