Knoc-Turn'al

by Jason Birchmeier
After penning several songs for Dr. Dre, Knoc-Turn'al traded the pen for the microphone. As with most of the artists who begin their career with Dre, Knoc began his performing career in grand fashion: following a few guest raps on Chronic 2001 (1999), he made a big slash with "Bad Intentions," a Dre collaboration featured on the Wash soundtrack (2001), and then came "The Knoc," again featuring Dre but this time with Missy Elliott on the hook. These two singles put Knoc on the rap map in a big way. Instant comparisons were drawn to Snoop Dogg, who had also debuted alongside Dre and whom Knoc resembled in many ways. However, unlike Snoop, Knoc is a songwriter as much as a rapper. In addition to songs for Dre, Knoc wrote songs for Dre's artists at Aftermath Records, including Truth Hurts and Shaunta. Despite the strong ties to Dre and Aftermath, Knoc signed to Elektra Records, who offered the rapper his own boutique label, L.A. Confidential, yet struggled to break him commercially. His debut EP, L.A. Confidential Presents: Knoc-Turn'al (2002), unfortunately came and went without much notice. Knoc afterward maintained a relatively low profile as Dre kept himself busy with 50 Cent among others. Elektra scheduled Knoc's full-length debut, Knoc's Landin', for late 2002. The album was never released, though, and it wasn't until spring 2004 that Knoc finally made his full-length debut, The Way I Am.