1988 is the second studio album by American hip hop record producer Knxwledge, released on March 27, 2020 through Stones Throw Records.
Background
Knxwledge has released over 100 projects; 1988 is his second studio album released through Stones Throw Records.[1][5] It follows MEEK.VOL5, released on January 24, 2020, the fifth in a remix album series of Meek Millfreestyles, and is an official follow up to his first studio album, Hud Dreems, released on May 5, 2015.[4][6][7] The album is named after the year that Knxwledge was born.[8][9] It contains themes of emotional growth as one ages.[10] It was produced at his home studio, using instruments including a SP-303, Mellotron, and Prophet keyboard.[1]
Composition
The album is primarily an instrumental hip hop record and contains samples from a variety of media sources, including music, film, and radio interviews.[8][11][2][12]
"Dont be afraid" features a pitched-up sample of “Surrender” by Kut Klose and galvanizing percussion and horns.[8][13][14][15] “[Bc] tm_s not promised” is an ambient track that contains a piano loop and vocal samples.[13] “Do You” contains layers of synths, piano chords, drum loops, and bass guitar, alongside a vocal sample of "Just Because I'm Wrong" by Gerald Levert.[16][17][18] "Listen" contains a sample of a church pastor and gospel singers.[7][15] "Learn" is a "warm, electro-based and lo-fi" track composed of drums and bass lines.[19][20] "Howtokope." contains a vocal sample of a Ebro Darden radio interview.[19] "With[reality]" features a rapper making aggressive threats over an analogue synth riff that gives the track a "dreamlike quality."[15] "Solivelife" contains pitched Anderson .Paak vocals over horn samples.[15][21] “Watchwhoyoukallyourhomie” samples a Meek Mill freestyle.[22][23] "Don_tgottabe" contains a humming vocal sample, guitar strums, punchy drums, and minimalistic percussion.[24] “Awomanslifeislove” is a funk track containing bass, drums, and a cracking snare.[7] "Amansloveislife_keepon" contains a sample of "Keep On" by Kut Klose.[8][2]
Release
On January 7, 2020, Knxwledge released the album's lead single, "Do You".[16][17][25] On February 12, 2020, the album's next two singles, "Learn" and "Howtokope." were released.[5][20][26] He released the album's next two singles "dont be afraid" and "[bc]tm_s not promised" on March 3, 2020, alongside an animated music video by Rhymezlikedimez.[14][27][28][29] The album released on March 27, 2020.[11][30][31] An animated music video for "makeitliveforever" was released on the same day.[32] An animated music video for "Don_tgottabe" was released on May 7, 2020.[24][33]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, 1988 received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[34]
Writing for Q, Rupert Howe said that the album "radiates a warmth often missing from other hi-tech laptop jams."[3]Exclaim!'s Kyle Mullin concludes that the album maintains a "soulful throwback sound" while "stretching in unpredictable new directions."[15] In his review for Pitchfork, Stephen Kearse praised Knxwledge as a "distinctive and prolific sculptor of sounds" but that said that 1988 did not do enough to distinguish itself from his other albums.[8] Andy Kellman of AllMusic praised the variety of samples used in the album as "cutting across genres, decades, and moods."[2]
Micah Peters of The Ringer described the album as "a shifting collage of analog sounds and surprise vocals."[8]Hypebeast's Patrick Johnson wrote that the album "craft[s] a narrative of gratitude, and offers up a soundtrack that can even be considered soothing given the current unprecedented times of self-quarantines and isolation."[32] The Asbury Park Press listed the album as a top Jersey album of 2020.[35] Writing for The Fader, Shaad D'Souza described the album as "another warm, soulful chapter of Knxwledge’s output."[36] Jim Wilson of The Michigan Daily wrote that the album was innovative in an "ultra-modern landscape" despite its "throwback nature."[37]
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