Artist: Smoketown Knave
Album: Yall Made Me This Way
Articulation: Courtney Cosby
From the “Intro” to the last song “Show Me My Love Now”, Smoketown Knave kept my
head bobbing and body moving. “Y’all Made Me This Way” is a dope album with hard beats,
smooth samples and great lyrical substance. Starlito, whom I’m a fan of, is featured on the
second song called “Real Rap” and mentions Seafood Lady and UofL in his verse, which I
thought was really dope!! Rep the city Lito!! The third song started off with a fire sample so it had me.
I’ve always had a thing for old school samples being used in songs. Knave speaks
on police killings, senseless violence, and several other political issues that need to be
addressed in this song. He’s very aware of all the social and racial injustice within the black
community. Smoketown Knave represents the East end throughout the album ( it's even in his
name). He also mentions that Muhammad Ali grew there as well. “Tonight” and “Foolin Around”
have more of an R&B vibe to them so I’m sure other women will like those two tracks just as
much I do.
Knave has dealt with a lot of death in his family including the death of his mother, so
you feel the pain in his lyrics to the point it will have you thinking of the loved ones you’ve lost.
“My Flower” is a special song dedicated to his mother where he refers her as his best friend and
his everything. He lets us know she was a tutor to kids in the projects, that she kept his head on
straight along with his six siblings, and all the life lessons she taught him. Sounds like the
perfect mother! “What If” is a powerful track that will have you in deep thought. “What if the
world really didn’t see color, what if we gave a fuck about one another, what if you really could
slice American pie, instead Isis got em feeling like America lied” and that’s just the chorus so
as you can imagine the verses in the song invoke a fire! This album is most definitely Dope Tho with
10 solid songs and I’ll be looking forward to future projects by Smoketown Knave.
Dope Tho Rating: 9
Key Dope:
Real Rap
Tonight
Foolin Around
My Flower
Dope Tho Rating System
1-3 = Nope Tho
4-6 = Solid
7-9 = Heat
10 = Rated Dope Tho