Happy Friday folks. To help everyone stay warm in the miserably frigid remains of January, OKP is premiering "Cold" and "The Light," two new bedtime lulls from DMV-native Nick Hakim on this bittersweet First Look Friday. Hakim is a talented singer-songwriter who's stirring the pot of washed-out soul to a perfect simmer. "Cold" boasts a chilly r&b groove comprised of a driving bluesy guitar strut and Hakim's sweet vocals painting the thing six shades of subterranean purple. "The Light" is a heady deep-croon bedtime ballad of the highest order, bringing to mind the honeyed haunted hush of his former collaborator and bandmate, the ever-so-delicate Emily King. There's a sweetness that bleeds from the seems of these two offerings, but to the effect of something deceptively dark and entrenching. On his tonal and structural choices he made on his forthcoming solo debut Where Will We Go, Hakim explains:
"Where Will We Go stamps a point in time that I was dealing with death within my family and community, the questioning of religion...there's just a lot of different elements. I guess, it's just a young kid trying to figure out what's going on. To have other people listen to it and connect with it, and then to link with Emily King and J. Most and do an east coast tour was just amazing. They're like family, and that experience was definitely the beginning of something"
Without even a firm release date on WWWG, Hakim is already back in the lab working on some new funk for the people. With influences ranging from Jimi to MF DOOM and a co-sign from fellow DMV-native Oddisee, we can be sure whatever the soul-scientist is cooking up will be a specimen all on its own. It's only right that a work week that was subject to the worst tyranny of Janus should dissolve in the bliss of Nick Hakim's soulful "Cold" and "The Light." Warm up with the first drops from Where Will We Go below.
