Don Knock | ‘IV: A Short Film’ Review
Sometime last year, Don Knock released a project titled IV. In nine tracks, the musicians speak about the highs and lows of love. One track sees a man professing his love for a woman, whereas the other could talk about heartbreak and utter betrayal. IV doesn’t go with a specific genre but instead dabbles between Afro beat, R&B, and rap. In summary, each song flows well, carries a bounce, and is relatable to those who’ve been head over heels (if not, at some point.)
“I can create music from multiple genres, which is one of the characteristics that makes my music unique,” Knock says, “I create what I call in between music. It’s music that fits in everywhere but doesn’t quite belong to any specific genre. It can play in the club, stores, back yard BBQ, wherever, but it doesn’t quite belong to any particular group. It’s a calm turn up.”
Following IV, Knock created a short film in January, and it took five months for everything to come together. This film was one of Knock’s most extensive creations to date. “We started with the story-line and plot which I wrote. To sequence the songs on the project, we had to create a rough story. Once I completed the story, I sat down with Director, @Sherm_in, to work on the story boarding. Once we completed that, it was on to shooting, so we had to break down the shoot into a few days to get everything done. Due to rain on day one, we had to add another improvised shoot and create a whole new story line to match. I loved shooting, it was great on set all three days, and the cast did an excellent job at executing their roles.” IV: A Short Film Pt. 1 carries an engaging plot that keeps one locked in due to the cool camera effects and different scenarios that seemingly align. It follows the saying, “everything that glitters isn’t gold.”
IV: A Short Film Pt. 1 starts with a teal TV shutting on. Once the cameras get to rolling, viewers see a black car cruising around and a call comes in front of a new-aged iPhone, while Knock is jamming away to a beat he’s creating with a keyboard and pad controller. Eventually, he picks up the phone, and we find out that Knock’s friends are the ones that were in the car, calling him. The friend conducting le whip told him to be ready a while ago, and he seems agitated. Before the conversation trails off, he gets to the point. As he emphasizes his frustration through a hand gesture, he says: “I told you I was on my way.” In the midst of this, Knock’s other friends also exchange banter about why Knock didn’t answer initially. But Knock was already prepared to go. Missing calls from friends seem to be almost normal for Knock. Once sensing his friend’s aggravation, Knock says sorry. Next, he responds with a, “you should’ve hit me though, I’m bout to pull up right now,” and “Ight we outside, we outside.”
The following scene sees Don decked out in a white tee, a silver chain, earth-toned joggers. At the meetup, Knock, well, meets up with his friends, and they converse in Patois. He hops in the back seat. Then the car pulls off from Paul The Apostle Roman Catholic church. After, the camera pans out and focuses on another TV screen. By the looks of it, a song called “Cairo To Soweto” is about to play in the next scene. And as fate would have it, that’s what happens. Before someone knocks at the door, we see a dread head checking out a girl (and liking what he sees). That someone is introduced as King K.C, a musician who gets everyone in the groove. Donning a brown pea-coat and fedora, K.C. greets the dread-head and gets ready to deliver his verses. Somewhere in the social gathering, a man slides a woman some cartoon-formed drink and homies “puff, puff, pass” a joint. Then, the beat builds up once a finger pushes a button on the pad controller. In Afro beat fashion, K.C. catches the vibe and sings with a velvety, harmonic register. Amid K.C. and his newfound buddy swaying to the beat, the camera uses a Polaroid lens to snap pictures. When the video hits the two minute and twenty-five-second mark, we see K.C. and some beautiful gals doing what seems to be a front jump kick. On “Cairo To Soweto,” the crooner speaks about his fondness for a woman he’d like to climb mountains and ride waves for. In short, he wants to show her the finer things in life. As the scene progresses, K.C. dances with others at the function. Towards the three-minute mark, we’re introduced to the next scene.
Without delay, “Rosalina” begins to play, and we see K.C. singing along as he sits in front of an abstract wall. Here, he dons a white shirt, fedora, and a white necklace. During K.C’s act, models begin to pose and dance to the rhythm. Shortly after, the camera creates four mini-screens that see both the models and his friends dancing along. The scene then shifts back to the party, where he sees a Rosalina. From there, the film alternates between both stages.
At the 5-minute mark, a tv displays the upcoming song, “One Time” with KAE Hock. From there, we’re taken back to the function scene, but this time, we’re focused on a different individual. After wiping his drink off the table, Hock delivers his verses over a jazzy beat and begins with “You gon’ want it forever, if I give it to you one time.” From context clues, it can be assumed that Hock is the bartender (and mood setter) in this scenario. In “One Time,” the musician uses his raspy cadence to speak about his willingness to go the distance for a female who means a lot to him. He says at one point, “You gon’ want it all the time, not sometimes. And I’ma give it to you cause you’re all mine.” As soon as he tightens the top to a Henny bottle, Hock gets sensual, saying, “we can lay down, while we listen to trap.” And what’s so cute about this scene is the doodle of headphones that appear over his ears. During Hock’s performance, we can see Don Knock vibing with a woman. Hock, eventually, begins to rap toward the six-minute mark. Sparks seem to be flying because the woman that Knock was with ends up pulling him into a more intimate setting. The seventh minute, shows the two between the sheets and Hock rapping from a picture frame. In this snippet, the camera shows a glimpse of bands and gold jewelry, which is taken by the woman once Knock falls asleep.
Last but not least, the short film gets prepped for its next scene, “Wish You Well,” by Haile Supreme. At eight minutes and thirty seconds, someone in an orange windbreaker stands in between black bars and in front of a folding chair. As a soft register sings over an ethereal backdrop, the camera unveils that Knock is the person that’s seen in the beginning. The jacket reads “The Fourth Coming.” Afterward, a crowd stands behind him. Some are donning black hoodies, while the others wear hoodies that resemble Knocks. Pretty soon, the camera uses a kaleidoscopic lens and flips the angle at a 360-degree. Then, it pans out, and we see Knock and his crew standing in formation. During the cool camera effects (especially when it alters the street-lights), an anonymous individual is being guided by one of them. Looking in, we can see that this person has a bag over their face and their hands are tied behind their back. As the scene continues, we find out that it’s the girl who Knocks got intimate with. He knows that she took his prized possessions and gives her an ultimatum, “Now, I gotta take something from you, or you can take these 100 bands and do something for me.” he says. “Wish You Well” sees a man experiencing a horrible split, but hoping she still prospers.
Don Knock is a Jamaican artist, producer, and label owner from St. Andrew, Jamaica. Then, he moved to Queens Village, New York, at the age of 12. He began making music for the first time in Junior High School. “We had a new principal, Shango Blake, who instated a rule that all students will wear a uniform in a public school. To gain support for the uniforms, Mr. Blake decided that he would create a song and get the entire school involved. I was in the Drama club in school at the time and became the lead in the song and music video. We recorded everything in a classroom, and this was the first time I heard myself on wax. I fell in love with the process of creating music.” A few years and songs later, Knock met a dope artist named Anik Khan. He came to his house, listened to some of Knock’s beats, and at the time, he said that everything “Knocks” or the drums were hitting. As a result, Khan said others should call him “bad mon don knock.” Knock liked the name because he felt like it represents the music he makes. Drums are one of his strong suits and favorite components of making beats, so Don Knock was created!
Read some of the questions I asked him in regards to IV: A Short Film Pt. 1, his artistry and more below:
Me: Did you come across any difficulties while creating IV: A Short Film Pt. 1?
Don Knock: The difficulties I experienced while filming was people management and improvising when I needed to when something went wrong. I had to deal with numerous people and make sure everyone was punctual. I also had to ensure that I had enough resources to get everything done, make sure nobody broke things on set, and see if everyone was having a good time so that it didn’t look awkward on camera. Being a producer/artist at this level, you literally have to do the job of an entire record label on your own. There were also things that did not go as planned that I had to workaround. In fact the whole scene from Rosalina was not in the original script. We added that after we forgot to shoot a scene due to a model’s late arrival as well as unsuspected rain. We had to add a view to make the video not look too repetitive and monotonous. These are some of the MANY challenges I faced while trying to complete this project.
Me: Where should someone be when your E.P. comes on?
Don Knock: I think the beautiful part of the IV EP is that you can be anywhere in the world, and there will be a song to fit your current situation/environment. For example, Cairo to Soweto gives me tropical vibes. I am somewhere warm with some swim trunks at a swim-up bar drinking mai tais. In the push and pull, I just got fired from my job in New York City, and I put my headphones on and start listening to help me bounce back, “They want to see me buried under 6 feet, but I ain’t gon’ let no ni**a get the best of me.” Lastly, in Cost to be the boss, I can be anywhere from the gym to being in the middle of a high stakes poker game. No matter where you are, there will be a song for you.
Me: One track you enjoyed making off The Fourth Coming:
Don Knock: I enjoyed making them all!
Me: Describe your E.P. in one sentence & its name:
Don Knock: The IV EP is Refreshing.
Me: What do you hope people take from your E.P.?
Don Knock: On a small scale, with this E.P., I hope that it can be the soundtrack to their life to some extent. The diversity of the E.P. gives people the ability to have a song for every mood/time of their lives. No matter where a person is in their life at any given moment. There is something for them to listen to. On a large scale, I want this E.P. to motivate people. I embarked on this entire process to encourage people to follow their dreams and to pursue being the highest version of themselves. The best way I felt like I could do that was through leading by example. I can’t motivate anyone to be “Fourth Coming,” or a higher version of themselves unless I am also attempting to reach the same great heights, so here we are! I hope that I can be a source of inspiration for those that are also chasing their goals.
Me: What would you say is your strength in music?
Don Knock: My greatest strength in music is also one of my most significant weaknesses. I have no music background; actually, everything I learned from music was mainly on my own. I took a few college classes in computer music, but it was fundamental, so I didn’t learn anything new per se. I consider this now to be a weakness because I learned music with no boundaries; there was nobody there to correct me. I had to learn through trial and error, which gave me limitless possibilities. I am also pretty hard-headed and internally motivated, so that also helps me push through. It takes a lot for an artist to create music, and it goes unnoticed quite a bit. You need that motivation to keep going. Not everyone is going to like your music, so you have to believe in yourself and trust the journey.
Me: What about rapping inspires you?
Don Knock: Rap inspires me because if the music is right to the artist, it paints such a vivid picture and takes you into that artist’s world. I didn’t realize this until I started making the music myself how hard it is to make songs about the things I have never been through. There’s a reason why an artist from the south sounds different from the artist in the North. This is what makes rap so interesting to me. Besides, I also think that music is one of the most powerful things on the planet; a song can come on and change your mood or remind you of someone or better your day. There are not many other things that have such a profound hold on us human beings.
Me: Advice to those who are inspired to become rappers:
Don Knock: If you are not passionate about music. Don’t do it. Be true to yourself because when the song cuts off, you will only have yourself to look at in the mirror.
Me: Favorite element of music:
Don Knock: My favorite aspect of music is the drums. Drums are the essential part of the song because it gives the groove or the vibe of the record. The drums tell you whether you need to Dutty whine or two-step.
Me: Biggest influences:
Don Knock: Of course, I am inspired by greats like Pharrell and Travis Scott, but my biggest influences are the people around me, my friends, and my family. For example, if I never met @KingKCofficial, I am not sure I would have grasped being able to make Afrobeat as quickly as I did. Also, I just went on a few tour stops with @Anikkhan_ and @Sango_. Seeing them sell out a few of these stops and seeing them grow from 100 cap venues to now 1K cap venues is inspiring to me. It shows me on a realistic level that anything is possible. Lastly, seeing my mom leave home at 7 AM every day and come home at 9 PM every day for 30 years motivates me the most because it shows me what hard work looks like but also makes me want to change her situation as well.