Photo Credit: Nick Wotton
Life’s whipping boy Henny Knightz has created a project that has no equal in today’s climate. Managing to take the experiences of the ends and make it into a work of twisted art, this criminally underappreciated Hackney producer/rapper has come for blood with his 6 track autobiographical masterpiece ’Random House of Evil’.
The project has been self-produced with astounding technical dexterity, merging live instrumentation with samples warped by analogue techniques. The linoleum floors and kicked in doors dissipate and re-emerge as fantasies and nightmares so poignant that you can FEEL Henny walking instead of being able to get the train; can taste the sweat on his brow as his blood sugar plummets. The high rises of his Hackney estate loom above you and suddenly swan dive into your chest and rise up in a flurry of hi-hats. The pitched down melodic bass lines are a true testament to the criminally undervalued history of Hackney’s block hero instrumentalists, who have moulded the culture which we now know so intrinsically.
This album is for the poor, ugly, ignored, mistreated and misunderstood. It is also undeniably a sonic triumph and has set the bar for producers everywhere. It has put the REAL Hackney back on the map for all the right reasons and you will tremble with every tale of poverty, fear and dejection whilst you weep for the small victories that this brilliant artist finds amidst the cold concrete and thistles of East London’s wretched underbelly.
