In the past 10 months, nobody in music has been involved in more quality projects than California soulsmith, Anderson .Paak. Riding the wave of success garnered from his January album, “Malibu,” .Paak has since left his mark on several of the year’s best albums, collaborating with A Tribe Called Quest, Mac Miller, KAYTRANADA, and others. With already one of the best resumes in music, .Paak seemed superfluous when he announced another project release for October.

That project would be “Yes Lawd!,” the debut LP of NxWorries (pronounced “No Worries”), a duo comprised of .Paak and renowned underground producer, Knxwledge (pronounced “Knowledge”). The duo’s solid six-song offering, “Link Up & Suede,” from December 2015, along with .Paak’s already illustrious track record, made the anticipation for “Yes Lawd!” astronomical.

And rightfully so, as “Link Up & Suede,” the EP titled for its only two full-length original tracks, served as the perfect album teaser, revealing just enough for anticipation, but not enough for satisfaction. .Paak’s crass rhymes and soulful harmonies pair well with the sample-chop beats of Knxwledge on both “Link Up” and the cocky hit, “Suede,” a fan favorite of .Paak’s live shows. The simple, yet vibrant tracks entertain but yearn for expansion from both .Paak’s lyrical mind and the visionary production of Knxwledge.

This expectation for groundbreaking material is partially what makes NxWorries’ debut somewhat of a disappointment. While entertaining, and even genius at times, “Yes Lawd!” for the most part does not fulfill the potential set up by the duo’s combined clout. Much of the album aims to replicate the sound of “Link Up & Suede” which dazzled on a six-track EP, but becomes barely tolerable on a 19-song album.

Songs like “Best One” and “Get Bigger” highlight the album, as Knxwledge proves he is in a league of his own in chopping samples, laying string and brass centered soul cuts into a hazy, offbeat mix, creating a sound as nostalgic as it is innovative. However, these groovy tunes rarely stray far from one central sample, and looped progressions lack development, often cutting songs painfully short.

Which is tragic, particularly in songs like “Livvin” in which triumphant brass soars alongside a gospel-minded .Paak, and “Wngs” where .Paak’s rarely shown quiet crooner side is cut off in less than 1:40. Moreover, much of the album’s 49 minutes is consumed by instrumental interludes that do not serve much purpose other than to solidify the group as a duo by shining the spotlight on Knwxledge’s skill in beat making.

The folly here is that Knwxledge should not feel the need for over-validation. Though the Jersey-born producer’s career is already prolific, including a massive 75-project catalog of solo material on Bandcamp, as well as notable collabs with Kendrick Lamar and Joey Bada$$, “Yes Lawd!” contains some of his best work. Songs like the 80s synth tribute, “Scared Money” and the Heaven Sent-sampled waltz, “Another Time” highlight his versatility, but tracks like these seem like golden easter eggs hidden in a sea of jumbled samples and monotonous loops.

That said, “Yes Lawd!” shines its brightest when songs take the same formula as “Link Up” and “Suede,” when Knwxledge’s subtle but creative beats create a fitting backdrop for .Paak’s signature blend of brash humor and troubadourish storytelling. Song’s like “Get Bigger,”  “What More Can I Say,” and even the skit centered, “H.A.N.” work this song structure to perfection, while “Lyk Dis” and “Kutless” lack the creativity or the humor to entertain.

At 19 songs, “Yes Lawd!” is a mixed bag of scattered brilliance and aimless experimentation. While it is not the visionary album as anticipated from two highly accredited artists who routinely blur genre lines, the pieces of “Yes Lawd!” that shine past the jumble are worth the listen for Knwxledge’s definitively unique sound and the fun-loving .Paak.

    However redundant “Yes Lawd!” may be, the 19-song record somehow seems too short. At the album’s conclusion, we are left wondering about some lost potential as the two have taken a narrow, one-dimensional approach to exploring their combined genius. However, the album’s unorthodoxy and its soulful fun are enough to dispel any argument that NxWorries has flopped, as it is hard to frown at the duo when .Paak wails out his charismatic ad-lib, “Yes Lawd!”