Right where to start with the enigmatic Dr Knox, first off I’ll start off by saying I’ve known these guys for about a year and there art definitely reflects their mentality. Dr Knox consists of Wisdomtooth who instigates the production, which I would describe as perimeter free for the most part, never really standing still long enough to be boxed into a specific genre. Malaki provides the verbal guide to the revolution, with his insightful and unswerving approach. Which I feel is a breath of fresh air in the fog of mediocrity that I’ve recently heard going round.

Their debut album iEGO commences with an intro that set’s the pace for what follows. The sound is crisp; yet softly mellow, this is particularly evident in track 3 “Back To Innocence”, which for me is a definitive track on the album. It splices astute lyrics with an epic beat, yet still keeps to the concept of simplicity. “Choice” is also worth a mention with quotable lines such as “asking god for a revelation/to reveal my limitation”.

With the production, rhymes and content staying consistent, the album takes you to a few different places. Notably “Remain Elusive” is an example of this, while sucking you in slowly, it continues with almost a submerging sounding beat. “Absolute Resolution Of Feeling Part’s 1 & 2” is a like a winding road, where the production is ever changing, with the use of hand picked subliminal sampling to convey to picture, and a audio tour through it by Malaki. Another highlight is “Rest For The Wicked” with the use of sampling from “Kathy’s Song” by Simon & Garfunkel to provide the backdrop for the song, and some nice distant vocals to hook you in. “Waking Life” draws the concept to a close with the baggy hint that of “was it all a dream”. On track 22 a segment taken from Bill Hick’s followed by apocalyptic feeling verse from Malaki rounds things off nicely. All in all this album is the first from Dr Knox and is a journey not be missed, 22 track’s of diverse production in the form of Wisdomtooth, united with the technically brilliant, but more important contently relevant lyrics of Malaki. Opinion is relative though, so don’t believe me, go and listen to it and decide for yourself.    

Anokh Goodman
More Info
www.myspace.com/drknox