Since Chico & The Man was “announced” in 2003 I have overseen 16 different releases—producing and mixing them in full, rapping on some, even mastering them and doing all of the graphic design for them in some cases. I’ve reluctantly taken beats from Chico & The Man and placed them elsewhere during this process (Things I Dream, The Gates, Embers, etc.) for the sake of putting out the best quality music for the fans. Hell, at the risk of sounding melodramatic I’ve watched my dedication to music crush personal relationships and allow my health to crumble as I, like you, have waited for this album to come to fruition. Music is what I love, this is what I do for a living and when it comes to delivering for our fans I don’t fuck around—my output reflects it.

I want this album to exist in your world as much as you do, but I refuse to allow something that I could eventually be the most proud of to A: become the bane of my existence in a pit of regret and B: not get heard by as many people as possible while it mires in some dark, dusty corner of iTunes.

That is why Chico & The Man will not be dropping in December and from this point forward won’t even be discussed or have questions about it entertained until I hold a finished product in my hand that I am 100% happy with. December release was contingent on it being unceremoniously “dropped” digitally on iTunes and Bandcamp just for the sake of getting the monkey off of our backs, but after sitting with the record I simply can’t have that happen now. Tonedeff is one of my best friends and I have no intention on throwing him under the bus—but I waited patiently while the brilliant writing on this record got to marinate, grow and take shape over the course of nearly 6 years and I feel it is simply unfair for the mixing & promotion process to be granted a few months, especially with such great distribution and promo opportunities on the table that we’d have to pass on otherwise. Even Matt Hobbs had nearly 2 years to work on the video for “1000 Ships”—I feel that the rest of these things deserve more than 2 months. You deserve it. The album deserves it. Our fans have shown a level of dedication to a record that only existed in theory that I truly appreciate—I want it to be available outside of the internet, I want it to be available on vinyl, I want you to actually hear about it outside of QN5.com.

A little while before the release date was announced I was about as close as you can come to just scrapping the entire project out of sheer frustration and resentment—I was tired of talking about it on tour, tired of making excuses for it, tired of it stressing me out, tired of the strain it was putting on my friendship with Tone but most of all I was tired of sitting on this awesome thing and feeling completely handcuffed. Reconciling my creative process with Tone’s hasn’t been easy, but I realize now that people do need to hear it and it has to be given the care & effort that 8 years of work deserves. No more “clues”, no more teasers, no more questions, no more anything until I am happy with not only the finished product but also the distribution, promotion and reach in place to make sure everyone who should hear it does hear it.

I know that I have deferred all questions and comments about this album to Tonedeff for the past 3-4 years, but the record is in my hands now and the decision to push it is mine and mine alone. I’ve only had two release dates pushed back ever—APOS thanks to a label snafu and Death Is Silent due to Souljah Boy—and both irritated the shit out of me, but this is the best move here and it simply has to be done. Hopefully the 3 albums I’ve dropped in the past 12 months can tide you over a little bit longer—they’re pretty dope, too.

Thanks
Kno