A new segment for ayebro readers.. “Behind The Music” is all about bringing you inside information about your favorite releases and better yet its direct from the artist. First up with have Louie Knuxx with “Wasted Youth”. Enjoy.
Artist: Louie Knuxx
Album: Wasted Youth
Realease Date: 28/02/06
So it would have been around mid 05 when I unassumingly began work on the Wasted Youth album. I had written maybe 3 or 4 solo songs in my Kingsland home with no real aspiration or goal in sight. It would have been near the time BreakinWreck had lost a few of our bigger acts to other labels (namely PNC and David Dallas). I had these songs and Cyphanetik hit me up about doing a street album (it obviously later on became a retail LP when shock had a listen to it) which I of course was keen to have a crack at. At this point in my life I didn’t really have much clue about song writing, I hadn’t developed a particular sound and had no idea what I was capable of. Despite this I wasn’t really phased at the seemingly daunting task of writing a whole album, I think the fact Jared (Cyphanetik) had faith in me to do it made me believe in myself to the point where I never even questioned whether I was capable or not. In addition to these factors I didn’t feel any expectations or pressure to deliver which is really liberating as an artist (I don’t think I deserved to be referred to as an artist then but this was definitely apart of the progression that has made me one today). Progress on the album seemed to come together effortlessly, Dan Mawby was great throughout the recording process and my fiance and BreaknWreck people were all really supportive and encouraging.
1. Louie Knuxx vs Ghandi prod by 22
Originally I had written an extremely long verse on this beat to intro the album with, I think it was around 30 bars or something. We recorded it and it really wasn’t strong enough to open the album on so I decided to just talk some shit. In the room we were using as a booth there was a pile of VCR tapes within which I found the Ghandi biopic, the the lil blurb I read is from the back of that.
2. They Call Me prod by 22
I can’t for the life of me remember writing this song but I have a feeling it was near the end of the recording process, from listening to it I can tell I was trying to use this track to show a lil versatility with my vocal dexterity and flows and just talk some shit. I have a habit of writing some fairly witty lines completely by accident and there’s a couple in this song. At the end of the song it fades into my then fiance Astra singing the hook.
3. Fly prod by Exhile
My memory of writing this song is really vivid, mainly because the whole thing took about 15 minutes. One of the those examples of when everything goes right and shit just seems to happen by itself. I’d been recording some album shit with Dan and he gave me this beat, I rushed straight home and wrote the song. When I wrote it the vibe of the beat kinda reminded me of PNC’s “day in a life’ and I used an approach i know Sam (PNC) often used where you just make rhythms in your head with non nonsensical mumblings then fit the words in later. This song got a lot of radio spins and was even on the Air New Zealand in-flight radio program for some time. Was bummed we never shot a vid for this as I’m sure it would have really propelled the momentum of the whole project, FUCK NZ on air!
4. Drink Myself Sober prod by Te Ata
This beat got me gassed, sounded like some classic 50 shit, I wanted to fuck with a different flow on this and did. Tyree later told me he had wanted this beat.
5. Don’t Cry For Louie prod by 22
I had found the sample for this and given it to 22 and he came back with a very cool and different sounding beat, a very biographical song told in a light-hearted manner. I remember struggling with writing this as I didn’t want to come off too arrogant so i signed it off with lines like ‘prolly fucked more girls than you heard of…cunt’ hahah
6. We’re Back God Feat. PNC prod by Saia
Killer Saia beat for this one, a lot of people probably don’t remember but at this time PNC and I had a group called BlackHearts and plans to do a project which never eventuated. Sam smashed his verse on this and it was hard as fuck to hang with him on a beat that was definitely more suited to his style, he also wrote the hook. At the very end you can hear Dom barge in the booth and scream “TOURETTES”!! how apt.
7. NP Till We Die prod by Kase
This beat was weird as fuck to me at first, particularly to try achieve something anthemy on. I had asked Fact to jump on this to begin with but he hated the beat so I went at it alone. All true stories in this shit chronicling little bad bastards being little bad bastards. I’m led to believe this song still gets played a lot amongst NP kids
8. I Gets Gully prod by Saia
This I think is the first song written out of all the ones that ended up on the album, I had a real bad block when i wrote this and decided to just bang out some verses without thinking about them (hence how nonsensical this shit is). You hear my voice fuck out real bad towards the end of one of the verses but being the lazy prick I am it stayed in the final mix.
9. What I Do Feat. Con Psy prod by Exhile
I found this sample when we where really close to completing the album, Maia murdered it with that hook and I put a verse down. We got Dave in and obviously he killed it so I re-did my verse and still got smoked, still really like this song. My fiance and I were non-stop singing Maia’s parts on this round the house for a few weeks after it was recorded.
10. Broke As Fukk Feat. Dirt City & Astra prod by Des Davis
I’m really fond of this song, mainly because all the people who guested are dear to me. Sean (Fact) and I have known each other since we were kids and I’d known Neesh since he was a young buck. They both dropped killer verses and Astra sounded nice on the hook.
11. Uff That Ish Feat. Cyphanetik prod by Lues Fondue
This beat was wild to me when I got my hands on it, it was angry sounding and the lyrics followed accordingly. Jared smashed this, I guess people wouldn’t really know but he’s like my rap dad and Dom (Tourettes) is my rap mom, they nurtured and encouraged me into this shit, was pretty proud to get on a song with pops and tell everyone to get fucked together.
12. That’s Good Feeling Feat. Usual Suspects prod by Saia
This was first done over a beat by Saia’s brother Rez but he had lost the files for it so Saia re-made it. Wanted to do some good vibes shit with suspects and I think we all found some middle ground on this. Love the sing-songy shit Saia did in his verse. Once again that is Astra adding some vox on the hook.
13. I See The Good In You Feat. Maia Rata prod by Exhile
I dont rate this song very much sonically speaking (although Maia’s hook is beautiful) but the words are meaningful and heartfelt. Shit is pretty much just a rhyming letter to a few people I love who were or had been experiencing hardships. This song makes my little sister cry which I guess what I was trying to convey should achieve, trying to put that overwhelming feeling of love you feel for the people closest to you into words in a song is some difficult shit but I guess when it is genuine those people it is meant to touch can feel it. This song was only there for them.
14. Wasted Youth prod by Exhile
This song was also done first time around over a different beat. This song is just straight up and down for poor kids and ones who experienced similar shit to what I did, I was no where near as socially aware then as I am now but i definitely knew the world isn’t a fair place for a lot of people. My loyalty and heart always has and always will lay with those people.:
15. Keep Steppin (Spoken Word)
I fucking hate this shit, don’t even post it! not sure what I was trying to achieve here but the delivery is awful! If anyone tries to play this at my funeral I hope you fall in the grave with me!
16. Lose Ya Body Feat. Tourettes prod by Lerch
Dom likes drugs, I like drugs, Lerch makes crazy beats. Dom slid a nasty line the way of Fast Crew on this. Around that time Fast Crew’s management had called Jared threatening to put a retraining order on me because they thought I wanted to beat them up. Another tidbit for this song, I think if you follow a current NZ group who I wont name you’ll find they have re-arranged a phrase from my hook on this for a hook on their song, I see you!
17. Melancholy Feat. Maia Rata prod by Saia (it was credited incorrectly on the album to Exile)
This was the very last song written and recorded for the album and probably my favorite. This was pretty much just me pouring out everything on a song, acknowledging it all and letting go of it and probably my first experience of writing in a therapeutic fashion (which I do a lot more now). I love this beat so much and Maia once again really enhanced the song with his vocals, originally I had sung those parts he did but it sounded shit.
18. Comedy Hour (Skit)
Not really very funny at all hahaa
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In hindsight I often refer to Wasted Youth as a fluke or lucky, It was like an unplanned pregnancy that came out kind of beautiful, my new LP has been laborious in comparison but rewarding in different ways. The response the album received was amazing, great reviews, respect from my peers and a family that was enormously proud of me. I think one of the happiest moments in my life was arriving at my release party and seeing the huge crowd of people outside there to celebrate with me (much thanks to D-Form). I very rarely listen to anything off the album but when someone else puts it on the proud and happy feeling that was abundant in that time of my life resurfaces and that’s an amazing thing, it’s like a time capsule in audio form that brings back a lot of fond memories. I’m eternally grateful to Jared, Dan, Dom and all the guests and producers that contributed to the album.
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Check out part one here and then buy the album here. More “Behind The Music” coming soon..
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