For Knxwledge, the two-time Grammy-winning producer behind music for Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, and likely as part of NxWorries with Anderson Paak., life in America became too “routine.”
“I’m a totally different person when I’m in America,” Knxw says in HEAR EVERYTHING, the new short film produced by Audio-Technica that explores his decision to move to Japan. “It’s more of a routine thing, which, I’ve never been down for a routine.” He also explains that, at some point, we all have a voice that guides us to where we need to be. His voice told him to make the decision to move to Japan, a place that has not only been the epicenter of technology and culture but also a destination for creatives for decades.
Nick Dwyer, who directed the film, says that Knxw’s story is not only familiar, but that there isn’t “a single creative on the planet now that hasn't been influenced by Japan’s popular culture or the seriousness in which Japanese people take with cataloging the culture they love these past four decades.”
That’s how we got to meet Hayashi-san, who Dwyer calls “a dear friend.” She’s the one we see Knxw vibing to John Coltrane with. After seeing at her exquisite collection, we had to ask: how much vinyl does she have?! “I’ve been visiting Jazz Spot Candy for more than 10 years now,” Dwyer shares. “I asked her this on one of my early visits and from memory it was around 15,000 records.”
As we ride shotgun with Knxw through HEAR EVERYTHING, we even get to visit video game composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, an obvious influence on Knxw’s sound. The film also does a great job of giving you a better look at Knxwledge the person. You can catch him regularly making beats and playing video games on Twitch, but it was dope to see him in an arcade in Japan, fully immersed in the culture that influenced him so long ago.
HEAR EVERYTHING is an inspirational story, one that highlights the importance of finding your path and staying true to yourself. The routine of living in America may have bogged Knxw down, turning him into more of a workhorse, but now Knxw is living his best life in the exact manner he chooses.
Watch HEAR EVERYTHING below.
