BY KATHY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Japanese streetwear fashion designer and DJ Tomaoki Nagao, known as Nigo, released an 11 track collaboration album titled “I know NIGO!” featuring major hip-hop artists such as Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell Williams, Pusha T and more on March 25.
The first track titled “Lost and Found Freestyle 2019” features rappers known professionally as A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator. Opening with a track featuring this duo had hip-hop fans excited to see the pair come together again after collabing on their fan-favorite song “Potato Salad” from Sept. 2018. The vocals of the two work over a horn-filled beat featuring samples from “3 Kings” and “Like a Boss” by the artist known as Slim Thug. The energy from this song starts the album strong and upbeat and flows into the following track titled “Arya” featuring A$AP Rocky, again, but this time over a beat with a melodic piano.
“Punch Bowl” featuring Clipse and Pusha T offers a change of pace from the two prior tracks with an upbeat instrumental that has a stronger hip-hop vibe. The following song “Functional Addict” with Pharrell Williams and hip-hop artist known as “Gunna” is a twist in the albums’s story-telling by its more sexual-oriented lyrics that have an atmospheric chorus.
The opening of “Want it Bad” has the artist known as Kid Cudi belting how he “Wants it bad” and how there is “No turning back” and switches into a fun, upbeat tempo with a vocal chorus overlay that is bound to be a summer anthem that has people bobbing their head along. “More Tonight” featuring the hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz offers the same vibe as the Cudi piece through its electronic beat that could easily be played in dance clubs for summer 2022.
Pharrell Williams appears again on the album on the track “Paper Plates,” this time with the artist known as A$AP Ferg. This track is more aggressive than the previous songs and has a beat that switches from a softer, futuristic sound to a loud, bouncing beat that pairs with Williams’s vocals. “Hear Me Clearly” has Pusha T rapping over a high-pitched beat that switches the album to a more traditional hip-hop feel.
The artist known as Pop Smoke, who unexpectedly passed away in 2020, appears on the ninth song “Remember.” The song offers a vibe that nods to Pop Smoke’s drill-scene style of rapping with his deep vocals and up-tempo beat paired with a sample from the song “Sound of a Woman” by the artist known as Kiesza.
“Heavy” follows with a feature from the artist known as Lil Uzi Vert and provides a similar feel as “Remember” with its drill-scene inspired beat, but it does not take away from the rapping style of Lil Uzi Vert that fans are used to.
The final track titled “Come On, Let’s Go” features the artist known as Tyler, the Creator where he is impatiently waiting for his girl to be ready. A visual video was released on YouTube a day prior to the album’s drop and left fans waiting in anticipation for the album. The video shows Tyler, the Creator in front of a yellow Ferrari and follows the same aesthetic and storyline from his album “Call Me if You Get Lost” that he is currently on tour for.
Nigo’s album can be listened to on most streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, and music videos for some of the tracks such as “Heavy” and “Arya” can be watched on YouTube.
