Today, rising Chicago musician Knox Fortune celebrates the release of his debut album, Paradise. Apple Music and Spotify users can stream the self-released (via Stem) LP in its entirety below.
Though his first official full-length, the 11-track effort follows a handful of impressive collaborations. Over the last few years, the Grammy-winning artist/producer has linked up with some of Chicago’s finest, including Joey Purp (iiiDrops), KAMI (Just Like the Movies), and Chance the Rapper (Coloring Book selection “All Night”).
For Paradise, Knox Fortune is again joined in the studio by both Joey Purp and KAMI. He also welcomed new special guests in Will Miller of Whitney, Twin Peaks’ Colin Croom, Nico Segal, fka Donnie Trumpet, and Lido.
In a recent interview with Complex, Knox Fortune spoke about the creative process behind the new songs:
“I’ve been working on some of these songs for an incredibly long time. Some songs have probably been around for three and a half years. The opener, ‘No Dancing,’ is an example of an older one. ‘Lil Thing’ might have been the last song written for this project, but so many of these tracks are kind of a blur. They’ve evolved so much since I started out with them, either writing in my house or in between studio sessions.
I really kicked it into gear after Chance’s project came out and I realized that I’d be tweaking if I didn’t pursue my own music. I was given this amazing platform and I didn’t have material to follow that up. When we recorded ‘All Night,’ it was right before the project dropped and I had no idea it would end up on it. I’m happy I didn’t put out what I had because it wouldn’t have been ready. Realizing that was the turning point for me to really make a project I could be proud of.”
Paradise Artwork:
Paradise Tracklist:
01. No Dancing
02. Lil’ Thing
03. Help Myself
04. Stars
05. Torture
06. 24 Hours
07. I Don’t Wanna Talk About It
08. Strange Days (feat. KAMI)
09. Stun (feat. Joey Purp)
10. Keep You Close
11. Spill
