Favorite albums of 2024: Why Lawd?
Entry #3
As a man in a happy, committed marriage, breakup music usually doesn’t do much for me. It can be beautiful, abrasive and vulnerable but highly non-relatable. But, music doesn’t require the listener to relate to it to be enjoyed or appreciated. Otherwise, most music wouldn’t be worth listening to in the first place. This Anderson Paak and Knxledge (known together as NxWorries) project doesn’t need the listener to be a scumbag who lost his girl, but they will make you feel his (deserved) heartache one track at a time.
“Why Lawd?” brings the listener into a world of heartbreak, infidelity, lost pride and begging (oh, the begging!), with flashbacks of bright moments in a rocky and regretful relationship. Paak sings of being kicked out of the house, cheating, reminiscing about romantic vacations, cheating, pleading with his girl for her to stay, more cheating and telling his girl she can’t be everywhere with him all of the time. It’s all smooth as butter, with an obvious attempt at capturing 80s and 90s RnB with Paak’s charisma and Knxledge’s beat making prowess sprinkled over it. The very nostalgic, painful “FromHere” even employs Snoop Dogg for one of those old school Motown monologues towards the end of the track.
Compared to its predecessor, “Yes Lawd,” “Why Lawd?” is deeper sonically. Whereas the first album felt like Knxledge kept some beats for Paak and it just worked out, this album feels more like he made the beats for Paak. The sparse guest features do a great job of meeting the duo’s energy, with Thundercat employing his sobering, but hilarious, voice to “KeepHer,” and H.E.R.’s collaboration make me think she should pair up with Knxledge at some point too.
But, Paak carries most of “Why Lawd?” on his back. He’s less of a pimp than he was on “Yes Lawd,” personifying more of a lost, heartbroken heartbreaker who is at the end of his rope, using his pain to cry out one last time before going into isolation. He screwed up by being horrible to a good woman, so much so that even his own mom is pissed at him. The raspy delivery matches well with lyrics about gaudy vacations covering up a nasty relationship and the more self-referential tracks “Battlefield” and “86Sentra.” More important than anything, the album flows through its highs and lows with comedy, self-reflection and smooth ass vocal runs.
Considering Paak recently filed for divorce, it’s basically a cheat code that he was able to pour that energy into this project. It’s dark, but not up its own ass about being realistic about how some men treat women on a daily basis. It’s apologetic, but not martyr like at all. He knows what he did to his (fictional) girl and he’s owning up to it. If only every man who was a scumbag to women could produce music this gripping.
Favorite Tracks: 86Sentra, FromHere, KeepHer, Distractions, Daydreaming