# Why Lawd?
**Why Lawd?** is the second studio album by the American neo soul duo NxWorries, consisting of vocalist [Anderson .Paak](https://www.edgepedia.org/anderson-paak) and producer Knxwledge, released in 2024 by Stones Throw Records.[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/) It followed their 2016 debut *Yes Lawd!* by eight years.[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/) The album comprises 19 songs in about 44 minutes[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642) and won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.[3](https://www.stonesthrow.com/artist/nxworries/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | NxWorries, the duo of vocalist Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/) |
| Label and length | Stones Throw Records; 19 songs, 44 minutes[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642) |
| Release date | June 14, 2024 per Apple Music, Amazon, and The Guardian; June 7, 2024 per AllMusic and Amoeba[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/nxworries-why-lawd-album-review) |
| Predecessor | Second NxWorries album, eight years after *Yes Lawd!* (2016)[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/) |
| Featured guests | Dave Chappelle, Thundercat, H.E.R., Snoop Dogg & October London, Earl Sweatshirt, Rae Khalil, Charlie Wilson, Ab-Soul, and others[3](https://www.stonesthrow.com/artist/nxworries/) |
| Lead preview | "Where I Go," a downbeat duet with H.E.R., released ahead of the album[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) |
| Award | Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album (2025)[3](https://www.stonesthrow.com/artist/nxworries/) |
## Background
NxWorries formed through an exchange of files: .Paak sent Knxwledge a batch of recordings that became the track "Suede", which caught wider attention, and the pair built their 2016 debut *Yes Lawd!* from songs they had been assembling since the earliest days of the partnership.[6](https://www.vice.com/en/article/lawd-almighty-anderson-paak-and-knxwledge-are-clicking-as-nxworries/) By the time the second album arrived, .Paak's profile had risen considerably: his [Silk Sonic](https://www.edgepedia.org/silk-sonic) project with [Bruno Mars](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-mars) had recently won four Grammys and placed two singles in high rotation at urban adult contemporary radio, which made the return of the lower-profile NxWorries unexpected, as AllMusic's Andy Kellman noted.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694)
**Rollout.** Almost exactly six years after *Yes Lawd!*, the duo began preparing listeners with "Where I Go", the [H.E.R.](https://www.edgepedia.org/h-e-r) duet that AllMusic calls an accurate preview of the album's heartache theme.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) The label's album page, dated May 10, 2024, presents the full 19-track sequence.[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/)
Sources disagree on the release date: Apple Music and Amazon list June 14, 2024[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642) • [7](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FJKR4VZQ), and The Guardian's review states "Released 14 June"[5](https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/nxworries-why-lawd-album-review), while AllMusic and Amoeba Music list June 7, 2024.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) • [8](https://www.amoeba.com/why-lawd-cd-nxworries/albums/4381564/)
## Music and lyrics
Like the debut, the record is primarily an R&B album built on .Paak's variably frisky and lovelorn singing and Knxwledge's warped, sample-based productions.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) Apple Music's editorial description ties the sound to Knxwledge's "backpacking" beat-scene past, with dusty grooves serving as a counterpoint to .Paak's silky-smooth voice; it singles out "Distractions", built on Spanish-inspired guitar and echoing drum clicks, and "SheUsed", a throwback gospel track with soaring vocal harmonies in which .Paak unearths his scratchy falsetto.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642)
Where the debut was gleeful, the new record is darker in its lyrics. The Guardian's review describes .Paak's narrator as deep in break-up despondency, with lyrics switching between anger, self-pity, and desire, while Knxwledge's productions keep things sweet with a dreamy 1970s soul sound; the same review finds him an unlikable narrator at points, citing lines about prenups and an ex's social media activity.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/nxworries-why-lawd-album-review) Bandcamp Daily frames it as a breakup album from someone who had never been dumped, with .Paak grappling with the consequences of his actions.[9](https://daily.bandcamp.com/album-of-the-day/nxworries-why-lawd-review) Pitchfork's Dylan Green describes the duo's sound as older and wiser, layering doubt and insecurity into plush beats.[10](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nxworries-why-lawd/)
## Tracklist and guests
The 19-track sequence, per Stones Throw:[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/)
1. ThankU feat. [Dave Chappelle](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-chappelle)
2. 86Sentra
3. MoveOn
4. KeepHer feat. Thundercat
5. Distractions
6. Lookin'
7. Where I Go feat. H.E.R.
8. Daydreaming
9. FromHere feat. [Snoop Dogg](https://www.edgepedia.org/snoop-dogg) & [October London](https://www.edgepedia.org/october-london)
10. FallThru
11. Battlefield
12. HereIAm
13. OutTheWay feat. Rae Khalil
14. SheUsed
15. MoreOfIt
16. NVR.RMX feat. Charlie Wilson
17. DistantSpace
18. WalkOnBy feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Rae Khalil
19. EvnMore
**A shift toward collaboration.** *Yes Lawd!* was strictly a duo affair, and part of its appeal was that .Paak and Knxwledge kept it self-contained; *Why Lawd?* instead lists eight additional featured appearances, though AllMusic judges it neither crowded nor compromised by the extra voices.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) AllMusic highlights "Daydreamin'", a slow jam built on a deep cut from The Clarke/Duke Project II with a Jairus Mozee guitar solo, and "MoveOn", on which .Paak sounds wearier than ever over a breezy, folk-tinged backdrop.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694) Recording locations listed by AllMusic include BLE Compound, Record One, Sick Vibes, and Stones Throw Studios.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694)
## Reception and Grammy
Critical responses divided the album from its predecessor. Apple Music's editorial calls it an album of impeccable textures in the pursuit of hedonistic joy[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642), while The Guardian praises the sound but questions the narrator's likability.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/nxworries-why-lawd-album-review) Amoeba Music's listing calls it "lush, soulful" with a throwback, feel-good mood.[8](https://www.amoeba.com/why-lawd-cd-nxworries/albums/4381564/) The Weekly Coos found the album's middle stretch more bleak and depressing in tone than the duo's earlier work, while praising fully fleshed-out tracks and the features from [Earl Sweatshirt](https://www.edgepedia.org/earl-sweatshirt) and H.E.R.[11](https://theweeklycoos.blog/2024/06/24/nxworries-why-lawd-review/)
The album's institutional recognition peaked at the [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards): *Why Lawd?* took home the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.[3](https://www.stonesthrow.com/artist/nxworries/) • [12](https://cdn.uncf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-LA-MB-Program-Book-Program-DIGITAL-FINAL8-2.pdf) Stones Throw supported the release with multiple vinyl editions, including an audiophile 2LP pressing and an alternate-cover edition designed by Rhymezlikedimez, plus CD and a limited cassette available only through June 13.[1](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/)
## References
1. [NxWorries – Why Lawd? (tracklist and editions), Stones Throw Records](https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/nxworries-why-lawd/)
2. [Why Lawd? – Apple Music album page](https://music.apple.com/us/album/why-lawd/1739842642)
3. [NxWorries artist page, Stones Throw Records](https://www.stonesthrow.com/artist/nxworries/)
4. [Why Lawd? review by Andy Kellman, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/MW0004268694)
5. [NxWorries: Why Lawd? review, The Guardian (Stevie Chick, 7 June 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/nxworries-why-lawd-album-review)
6. [Lawd Almighty: Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge Are Clicking as NxWorries, Vice](https://www.vice.com/en/article/lawd-almighty-anderson-paak-and-knxwledge-are-clicking-as-nxworries/)
7. [Why Lawd? – Amazon Music album page](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FJKR4VZQ)
8. [NxWorries – Why Lawd? (CD), Amoeba Music](https://www.amoeba.com/why-lawd-cd-nxworries/albums/4381564/)
9. [NxWorries, "Why Lawd?" by Dash Lewis, Bandcamp Daily](https://daily.bandcamp.com/album-of-the-day/nxworries-why-lawd-review)
10. [NxWorries: Why Lawd? Album Review by Dylan Green, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nxworries-why-lawd/)
11. [NxWorries – Why Lawd?: Review, The Weekly Coos](https://theweeklycoos.blog/2024/06/24/nxworries-why-lawd-review/)
12. [2026 Los Angeles Milestone Builders Program Book (Anderson .Paak honoree profile), UNCF](https://cdn.uncf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-LA-MB-Program-Book-Program-DIGITAL-FINAL8-2.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › R&B and soul albums › 2020s R&B albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license