As the period of time we now affectionately call the ‘blog era’ of hip hop was coming to a close, music nerds faced a problem. With early social media sites on the rise, the days of forums and blogs were dwindling away. With nowhere left to turn, a devoted community of hip hop fans worldwide were searching for a place to share their opinions and collectively discuss the art they love. Akin to the sneaker heads of Niketalk, music nerds found safe haven in the form of Twitter and a community began to grow. Students of the rap game could use Twitter for collecting news and updates from their favorite artists, and independent rappers could foster a fan base and create personal connections with their listeners. While we all seem familiar with the concept of Hip Hop Twitter today, things weren’t always this built up. When you talk about those early days where independent rappers worked to build up this new community, one person you can absolutely not forget to mention is Knowitall.

Growing up in Queens New York surrounded by a group of hip hop head friends who had a passion for lyricism, rap music practically embedded itself into Knowitall’s DNA. At the age of 19, a failed drug test cost him an opportunity to work a summer program at a local hospital. Feeling discouraged and out of options on the way home that day, Knowitall had a “fuck it” moment and bought a notebook. He committed himself to writing a rhyme a day and filling up that book, showing his friends his bars and getting their feedback and praise. While it was clear that his skills were tight, he wasn’t really taking things seriously at all and was just writing to write. Over the next four or five years, Knowitall really sharpened his craft and boasting that he was the nicest rapper in his friend group. Once met with the confrontation of, “you may be the nicest, but what are you doing with that?” things began to click and he realized he should take music seriously. After previously receiving a kidney transplant at age 17, Knowitall began to get sick again 7 years later. Undergoing dialysis and treatment at age 24, he began to take a look at his life and what he had accomplished. These moments of awakening became the driving force for Knowitall bettering his life, his health, and his skills as a rapper.

“I had a kidney transplant when I was 17; my mom gave me a kidney. From 17 to 24 I had that kidney, but at 24 I got sick again because I wasn’t taking care of me or the kidney. I got sick, I had to go on dialysis… At that point, I realized I didn’t accomplish anything in my life. I had a lot of time to reflect, and just realized like, ‘I’m 24, I haven’t really done anything with my life.” I had to do something, and take something serious. I spent a lot of time in the house. I just started writing more and recording music. It became my thing, music became the thing that kept me going while I was sick. It became my motivation to live. As a 24 year old kid, I’m thinking ‘why me?’ but instead of that, I just started writing things down. It’s beautiful and I’m so thankful for it, but as my bars started getting better I got to a point where I felt like I needed to go up a level. This whole music universe I created comes out of me being sick, and not accepting that shit.”

Let’s jump to the present. It’s 2024, Knowitall has now received a second kidney transplant, and made good on that promise to himself to take things to the next level. If you have even a modicum of interest underground hiphop, you’ve likely heard of Knowitall. He’s established himself as a leading figure in the world we all love and know as ‘hip hop twitter’ along with other important and recognizable names like Mourning Run, Patty Honcho, Wade Wilson, and BlaQ Chidori just to name a few. While it seems incredibly common to see Knowitall or other artist in this circle on twitter daily, interacting with each other and fans, speaking in the always dope UrnyMac spaces, or promoting new shows and releases, this community on twitter didn’t previously exist. Knowitall is a Mount Rushmore figure of ‘hip hop twitter’ and can serve as a great example of how to turn nothing into something. His welcoming attitude and friendly interactions with other artists and fans help laid the groundwork for the world we see today, where an independent artist can truly flourish, build a fan base, and profit off of their craft.

“Let me be clear. A lot of people do not know that hip hop Twitter was NOT a thing. What it is now where there’s a bunch of artists who can sell their stuff and put on shows…. Me and a select few other people created hip hop Twitter. It was not there. There was NOTHING there like 6 years ago. There was a few, very few people, who were there. Prior to that, yeah there were people outside of the circle who were doing things on other parts of Twitter. But this circle of like artists on Twitter stimulating themself through building a community, and having fans purchase their work and support because of Twitter, that was not here. I'm not looking for credit, but a lot of people come along and don’t know that. This wasn’t here, so people should be thankful that there’s now a platform where you can come out of nowhere, rap for a few months and start selling cd’s and charging for features. Me, and my friends made this. It's a beautiful thing, and I’m so happy to see it grow.”

Twitter isn’t enough though. Knowitall did what a lot of people said couldn’t be done, and successfully translated the energy provided by hip hop twitter into a real life. With his ‘Scaring the Hoes’ concert series hosted with Happy Art Production, Knowitall is able to connect his friends from the community and provide a space for them to shine. The Scaring the Hoes platform serves as a showcase for the artists who represent hip hop twitter and underground independent hip hop as a whole to perform for their fanbase and spread their reach. The first STH Showcase show took place in February 2023 with performances from rappers and producers alike who have helped take the tight knit internet hip hop community to the level we see it at today. With the seventh Scaring the Hoes showcase happening later this month (March 30th in the Bronx!) we can see how Knowitall’s vision has grown into something so organic and beautiful where anyone with a love for rap music can come and be accepted.

The story of Knowitall is a story of overcoming obstacles, not taking no for an answer, motivating yourself, and believing in your vision. To make a career for yourself as a rapper is hard enough, but to do it while simultaneously building the platform for others that you never had… that sounds damn near impossible. But truthfully, that is exactly what Knowitall has done. His music stands strong and would be a great representation of who he is, but I believe Knowitall’s true legacy will lie outside of the music itself and within the community instead. There are very few people I know who have done as much for the underground music scene as him, and even fewer who have done it so passionately and consistently. Keep your eyes peeled, and put your focus on Knowitall this year, as he takes Scaring the Hoes internationally, builds up his forthcoming collective The Pentagon, and preps to release his newest work of art “Caution: Laser in Use”

After a dope interview with the OG, I was definitely looking forward to hear his picks for my favorite question. His answers did not disappoint. Here are ten movie recommendations from Knowitall:

• 1: Do The Right Thing (1989)
• 2: Road to Perdition (2002)
• 3: Friday After Next (2002)
• 4: Malcolm X (1992)
• 5: What The Health (2017)
• 6: Getting Gotti (1994)
• 7: King of New York (1990)
• 8: Ray (2004)
• 9: Max Keeble’s Big Move (2001)
• 10: American Pie (1999)