Nyck @ Knight presented by Closed Sessions
Kidd Marvel
Sherif Mattar
Jayy Gramms
AlexNOIZE
18+
7:00pm Doors – 11:00pm Curfew
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Nyck Caution:
By this point, hip-hop heads all over the world are familiar with Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era. But the Brooklyn crew has more than one quality MC in its ranks, and rapper Nyck Caution is out to let the people know. Growing up in Brooklyn’s Mill Basin neighborhood, Caution picked up hip-hop as a hobby, with Eminem and 8 Mile in particular as a main influence. As a teenager at Edward R. Murrow High School, he met a group of kids who would turn that hobby into something much bigger.
“When I was younger I was always just like rapping and shit, not seriously but just to fuck around,” he says. “And then when I went to Murrow, I met Joey and everyone and everything just started falling into place.”
Caution began recording at a local studio in Mill Basin when a chance performance at a friend’s show at the Knitting Factory put him on the radar of Capital STEEZ, a local MC who Caution had met in their geometry class as a freshman in high school. The two began working together and Nyck Caution signed on with the new buzzing crew Pro Era. As Joey’s breakout mixtape 1999 began to take off, Caution re-evaluated what he was doing, dropped out of Brooklyn College and devoted his time to hip-hop.
“I was the newest member, so I felt like I had something to prove and I had to really step up to the plate,” he says about when Pro Era began popping. “I didn’t want to just be overlooked because I was the newer dude. And at that time I just started really going hard with it.”
STEEZ’s death at the end of 2012 was a blow to the crew, but they regrouped with a pair of collective projects, helping to establish more members as solo talents and individual artists in their own right. As Pro Era’s only white member, Caution knew that he stood out, but he didn’t want his race to define him. “I think that’s automatically like, ‘Oh shit, who’s that white dude?’” Caution says about what sets him apart. “That’s a visual thing that people pick up. Then it comes down to, I feel like a lot of white rappers have a corny edge to them. That shit doesn’t go further than college. I don’t have a gimmick or anything like that, I just think that people feel what I say. I’m really sayin’ shit that’s coming from my heart. I’m not just saying bullshit.”
Caution released his debut project Disguise the Limit on February 29th and has become an integral part of Pro Era’s rapid expansion. The project features Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, Metro Boomin, & more. Look out for Pro Era’s latest breakout artist on the rise
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Kirk Knight:
There are few artists hailing from the east coast with more versatility than Pro Era’s very own Kirk Knight. Born Kirlan Labarrie, Kirk Knight is a prolific emcee, producer and songwriter who, regardless of the type of project he puts out, always ends up finding a way to successfully embody New York City and Brooklyn’s grit and ruggedness; it is the focal point of his sound, and what makes him so unique among other rappers and producers.
Kirk Knight started rapping and working on music in his early teens, but it wasn’t until he met Joey Bada$$ and became a part of the Pro Era crew that he started taking his medium of self-expression – making beats, rapping and working on songs – seriously, to the point where he decided it’d be his destined path in life. From beating on tables at lunch, to being introduced to FL Studio and the likes his junior year at Erasmus Hall High School, Knight first realized his potential and then actualized it by staying true to the foundations of hip-hop: through expression, art, and dedication.
Kirk Knight delivered his debut project, “Late Knight Special”, via Pro Era/Cinematic on October 30, 2015. The project featured Joey Bada$$, Mick Jenkins, Thundercat, & more and is fully produced by Kirk Knight himself with coproduction by Thempeople.
Knight is known for his production work with Joey Bada$$, Mick Jenkins (with whom he toured with nationally) and his fellow Pro Era members. Notable contributions include his stand out work on Joey Bada$$’s debut album B4.DA.$$ (including “Big Dusty” and “Hazeus View”) and hit single “Devastated”, and A$AP Ferg’s “Flem”. Knight is also particularly recognized for his production credits on Joey Bada$$’s earlier efforts including “Summer Knights” as well as a feature on Joey Bada$$’s debut mixtape “1999” on the song “Where It’s At”.
Knight remarks that he “uses music to capture his interpretation of everyday moments.” This concept is most evident on Kirk’s self-produced and recorded songs “Early Morning Hiatus,” “Brokeland” and “Extortion.”
Drawing inspiration from iconic artists like J Dilla, Madlib, Kanye West, and the Notorious B.I.G., Knight leaps from smooth melodies to raw, uncut sounds effortlessly. Staying true to himself through his art, by believing in himself and his ability to connect with the youth, Knight invites fellow hip-hop fans and listeners to live vicariously through his music, whether through his beats, songs, or full-length projects.
Knight has toured extensively throughout his career, including joining Joey Bada$$ on the World Domination Tour, co-headlining tours with Mick Jenkins and The Underachievers, and 2 headlining European tours.
