The gray Polish reality is not conducive to positive thinking and has rather discourage properties from doing anything. It was just one of such ordinary, rainy, typically Polish days, when I decided to visit an old, good friend. As soon as I crossed the threshold of his apartment, I heard: “Hey! Listen to this!” That’s how I met Kuba Knap.
Born in an artistic family, living in Warsaw, Kuba Knap is a person who can stir up a lot of things on the Polish rap scene in the future. Knap’s style is characterized by an extremely loose approach to life and distance to both himself and the whole world. The artist himself describes his music as “country rap tunes”, i.e. lazy, down-tempo beats mixed with the Californian sun and Texas reluctance to hurry, additionally poured with a large amount of beer. After he sent a few demos, the two-meter 22-year-old became interested in Ten Typ Mes, who took the young rapper under the wing of Alkopoligamia.
Knap’s debut album “Bez nerwów, bez złudzeń” met with extreme opinions. Many praises were accompanied by criticism describing the album as lazy and boring. The fact is that many recipients of Polish rap are accustomed to a faster tempo in songs, not unhurried, slowly developing and carefree flair. You can certainly complain about the quality of featuringów, which in places are simply bland. It may also be due to the fact that they were probably recorded spontaneously. However, it should be emphasized that the solo tracks produced by Knap really hold the level. They seethe (if you can say so, of course) with looseness and irony. Knap is not afraid of words and presents the reality around him as it is. The lyrics are self-critical and often touch on the subject of aversion to adult life.
Knap creates himself as a man who is irresponsible, down-to-earth, constantly wastes time, thinks only about having fun and spending time with friends and wants to drag out his youth as long as possible. In fact, it reflects the dreams of most people his age. He does it with such flair and authenticity that he brings a smile to the listener’s lips, thus introducing him to the blissful carefree world about which he raps.
Knap is currently working on a new album and, to be honest, I’m very much looking forward to it hitting store shelves.