Knucks

Knucks is a highly introspective rapper whose output has been shaped by Stateside MCs such as Nas and J. Cole, and the trap and drill movements, as much as the grime scene of his native London. Representing Kilburn, he debuted in his late teens with the mixtape Killmatic (2014), and advanced further with tracks such as the self-produced “21 Candles” before signing with major-label Island for the NRG 105 EP (2019). Knucks has since established his NoDaysOff label with his second EP, London Class (2020), and the full-length Alpha Place (2022), a Top Ten U.K. hit.
Born and raised in North West London, Knucks (Ashley Nwachukwu) traded bars with classmates long before he started taking rap seriously. Inspired foremost by grime, he eventually gravitated toward U.S. hip-hop, his head turned by the likes of Nas, J. Cole, and Curren$y. Knucks tried his hand at production in his early teens, first performed for an audience a couple years later, and in 2014 issued Killmatic, his first mixtape, just before he turned 20. He acknowledged another milestone with the biographical 2015 single “21 Candles,” and issued other stray tracks that attracted a deal with Island. Although his major-label affiliation was brief, resulting in 2019′s NRG 105 — an EP featuring a collaboration with Wretch 32 and “Home,” one of his most popular tracks to that point — it led the way for greater gains as an independent artist. He set up the NoDaysOff label, launching it in 2020 with the London Class EP. Two years later, “Leon the Professional” put him on the U.K. singles chart for the first time and heralded Alpha Place, which entered the album chart at number three. The LP’s “Die Hard” (featuring Stormzy) and “Los Pollos Hermanos” vaulted into the singles chart the same week. ~ Andy Kellman