- NxWorries, a duo comprising vocalist Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge are back. Since the release of their album Yes Lawd! in 2016, they haven’t offered any new music, until now. Although not entirely new, Stones Throw has just put out a collection of remixes of the album by Knxwledge himself.

Both contributors are accomplished musicians in their own right but ultimately it is Knxwledge whose contribution is most felt here. Three of the eleven tracks are new instrumentals without vocals (obviously his doing). The other eight are his reconfigurations of their old material. As is typical of his production style, the vocals are stretched, slowed, and repitched, creating unusual timbres. This serves to compliment his distinct sound, marked by inventive sampling, stilted drums and dense atmospheres.

It reminds me of their first EP Link Up & Suede from 2015, where two of the tracks were just Knxwledge rearranging Paak's solo work; it’s similar in the way that the originals are flipped to create something entirely different. Livvin is stripped down to a muffled sample and Paak’s vocals. It’s great hearing his vocals unadorned, giving us an opportunity to savour his soulful voice. The slowed downed Scared Money (Remix) turns the joyous song into a sultry groove. The sexually explicit Lyk Dis is taken in a different direction, the original upbeat while the remix sounds darker, complete with flute and strings.

Conversely, some of the remixes do not work as well in my opinion (this probably has something to do with my attachment to the originals). Like the Kutless remix, which almost sounds like an MTV unplugged version, removing the lush arrangements that made it so good in the first place. This goes for Wngs also, with the rework's muffled groove seeming to amount to less than the original.

That being said, it takes me time to wrap my head around each Knxwledge release, and they almost always grow on me. Staying true to this collaboration, Yes Lawd! Remixs provides a reimagination and magnification of some smooth soul.

- Hill Folk.