U-Know’s first (!) full album is scheduled for early next month, but prior to that he’s dropped pre-release Body Language to offer a hint of what we might be in for. With over twenty years in the industry, he’s tried his hand at just about every genre you can imagine, but Body Language pairs him with trendy producer Dem Jointz for the first time.

I won’t lie. My heart sank a bit when I heard that familiar “incooommmming!” producer tag at the start of Body Language. Dem Jointz’ work has been prolific this year but I rarely enjoy his style of production and (especially) arrangement. Songs like Body Language feel a bit too repetitive to me, hinging on sampled loops that restrain the track’s ability to grow. The instrumental here is interesting and stuffed to the brim, but often takes precedence over the song itself. U-Know spends most his time riffing on the beat, limited by the herky-jerky rhythm. His performance exists in service to the production when it should be the exact opposite.

While I find the rootsy sample at Body Language‘s core grating, the percussion has a nice sense of heft. However, it’s not very melodic and that quality infects the entire song. Even when U-Know is singing, the refrains land with a thud. It’s a series of vocal flexes without the needed context to make them work. Because of this, Body Language becomes strangely inert. It has no memorable hook and feels like a waste of U-Know’s considerable talent and legacy. I hope the rest of the album is far stronger.

Grade: C