Nigo is a 51 year old fashion designer, DJ, producer & entrepreneur from Maebashi, Japan who famously created one of my favorite clothing lines of all-time: A Bathing Ape. He’s also been involved with the hip hop industry as well, being the DJ for the Teriyaki Boyz ever since their inception. But finally, Nigo has seen fit to host his very own full-length album with the help of Steven Victor’s very own Republic Records imprint Victor Victor Worldwide.
“Lost & Found” by WANG$AP starts things off with A$AP Rocky on top of a “3 Kings” sample talking about wanting his credit prior to switching up into a sample of “Like a Boss” by Slim Thug for Tyler, The Creator to spit some braggadocio whereas “Arya” by Rocky works in a piano-heavy instrumental shouting out the Game of Thrones character of the same name. “Punch Bowl” by Clipse sees the duo reflecting on their past on top of an atmospheric Neptunes instrumental leading into “Functional Addict” by Gunna & Pharrell taking a funkier route getting sexual.
Meanwhile on “Want It Bad”, we have KiD CuDi on top of an electropop beat talking about how his work is never done just before “Morë Tonight” goes into hip house territory for a fun Teriyaki Boyz reunion. “Paper Plates” by A$AP Ferg continues to flex over a riveting beat, but then “Hear Me Clearly” by Pusha T follows it up with a boom bap banger produced by Kanye West telling everyone who fears him to admit it.
The song “Remember” by Pop Smoke has a dope sample of “Sound of a Woman” by Kiesza to go at anyone who opposes him while the penultimate track “Heavy” by Lil Uzi Vert takes influence from UK Drill talking about repping Moncler hard. “Come On, Let’s Go” by Tyler, The Creator ends the album by telling a bitch the time she’s wasting is on him with the beat giving off heavy summer vibes.
In comparison to a lot of producer/DJ curated albums these days, I came away from I Know Nigo loving a good portion of what I heard on it & hopefully this is only the beginning for the icon. The guests are all well picked out & I love the diversity of the production ranging from boom bap to hip house & even UK Drill.
Score: 4/5
Legends Will Never Die 