{"id":710327,"date":"2026-02-04T09:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T06:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/na-kel-smith-raps-like-hes-lucid-dreaming-on-nak\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T06:45:12","slug":"na-kel-smith-raps-like-hes-lucid-dreaming-on-nak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/na-kel-smith-raps-like-hes-lucid-dreaming-on-nak\/","title":{"rendered":"Na-Kel Smith raps like he\u2019s lucid dreaming on NAK"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3848e4a5138\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3848e4a5138\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/na-kel-smith-raps-like-hes-lucid-dreaming-on-nak\/#The_skater-turned-rappers_hypnotic_new_album_is_fine-tuned_to_reward_close_listening\" >The skater-turned-rapper\u2019s hypnotic new album is fine-tuned to reward close listening.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_skater-turned-rappers_hypnotic_new_album_is_fine-tuned_to_reward_close_listening\"><\/span>The skater-turned-rapper\u2019s hypnotic new album is fine-tuned to reward close listening.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-277222\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NA-KEL SMITH  &quot;NO ACT&quot;  (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6h9vWYpmbSA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-277220\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Na-Kel Smith makes rap songs that sound like waking dreams. On his latest album <i>NAK<\/i>, Smith&#8217;s self-produced loops burble and swell like rivulets over pebbled stream beds. Compared to 2023&#8217;s brash <i>STAND ALONE STUNTMAN<\/i>, <i>NAK<\/i> is hypnotic and subtler, blending inspiration from Bankroll Fresh and longtime friend Earl Sweatshirt alike.\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Despite the album&#8217;s occasionally jarring pivots from one song to the next, <i>NAK<\/i> feels more coherent than eclectic. That&#8217;s mostly due to Smith&#8217;s indulgent use of dampeners and vocal processing: sometimes his vocals sound like they were recorded off a staticky AM radio (&#8220;NEPHILIM&#8221;), or beamed in from outer space (&#8220;NO LOVE&#8221;). And several beats are mixed with deliberately muffled sounds, as if that specific synth or 808 was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sj5aI4DhQ2s?si=-YRhRlQU6mPgt2Hg\">playing in another room<\/a> (&#8220;WATCH MY STEP,&#8221; among others).\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-277221\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            For audiophiles, these tics might be off-putting. But the tools will be familiar to fans of Earl and MIKE, collaborators of Smith&#8217;s who similarly smudge their music with hazy samples and reverb. Smith pushes on these elements until their fuzzed-out texture dominates the soundscape. The most direct comparison would be the beat tapes of Knxwledge and Clams Casino, or the whispery world of <i>MERCZONE<\/i> (Smith and Mercury have <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/ennedyalone\/pound-ft-na-kel-smith\">a few songs together<\/a>). But you could also see Smith&#8217;s mumble rap chants as a lo-fi counterpart to the noise rap currently en vogue with Che and OsamaSon, sacrificing sonic fidelity to build up towering walls of sound.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            Through it all, Smith&#8217;s rippling cadences and penchant for repetition seamlessly meld together, mesmerizing on softer jams like &#8220;CREMATE&#8221; and &#8220;NO ACT,&#8221; and counterbalancing harder knocking tracks like &#8220;LESSONS&#8221; and &#8220;WALK THE PLANK.&#8221; There&#8217;s a deliberate effort to vary his vocal <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach on each song, so even when two loops or cadences are clearly related, they&#8217;re more like cousins than twins. That attention to detail keeps <i>NAK<\/i> from lapsing into monotony and gives the album a touch more range than its 32-minute runtime might suggest.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-277223\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NA-KEL SMITH &quot;FRANCES&quot; (ADNLD Exclusive - Official Music Video)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E4aDWBAnlyk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-277224\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            The tape&#8217;s peak is &#8220;FRANCES,&#8221; where Smith drifts across a tottering orchestral chop that wouldn&#8217;t sound out of place on Nicolas Jaar&#8217;s <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/-ach7Jc5_xw?si=v71lgLTNCsHW5P5_\">Pomegranates<\/a><\/i>. &#8220;How I&#8217;m a skater and hang with the killers and scammers and dealers? This shit in my family,&#8221; he smirks before the smile slips from his face a couple bars later: &#8220;Trade all this shit just to bring back my granny.&#8221; The latent tension in his verse is mirrored in the minor-key strings trembling in and out of focus, as if the slightest breeze would blow them away if Smith&#8217;s raps weren&#8217;t holding them down.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Vivian Medithi<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2026\/01\/30\/na-kel-smith-nak-review\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The skater-turned-rapper\u2019s hypnotic new album is fine-tuned to reward close listening. Na-Kel Smith makes rap songs that sound like waking dreams. On his latest album NAK, Smith&#8217;s self-produced loops burble and swell like rivulets over pebbled stream beds. Compared to 2023&#8217;s brash STAND ALONE STUNTMAN, NAK is hypnotic and subtler, blending inspiration from Bankroll Fresh&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":710328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_426,w_817,x_86,y_0,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/Screenshot_2026-01-30_at_6.45.08_PM_objt9q\/Screenshot_2026-01-30_at_6.45.08_PM_objt9q.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[70532,137048,75669,109728],"class_list":["post-710327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-hip-hop","tag-mercury","tag-mike","tag-na-kel-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}