NxWorries emerges from a Grand Theft Auto V fever dream in the video for its new single, “Daydreaming,” which was directed by group member Knxwledge utilizing editing tools from the game itself. It’s the second track from the duo’s much-awaited, as-yet-untitled sophomore album, which will be out later this year on Stones Throw.
As the languid, California soul-flavored “Daydreaming” unfolds, group member Anderson .Paak appears as his character from the 2021 GTA content update The Contract and attempts to woo a love interest. However, things take a grisly turn once the budding couple hops into .Paak’s car for a beach-adjacent joyride. The song’s guitar solo is provided by Jairus “J.Mo” Mozee, who has worked with .Paak on several prior projects.
“Daydreaming” follows the October 2022 release of “Where I Go” featuring H.E.R. and was a rare taste of new music in the years since NxWorries’ 2016 debut, Yes Lawd! That project was released nine months after .Paak’s breakthrough sophomore solo album, Malibu.
“It’s been great to just see things kind of go full circle. The NxWorries album and Malibu came out the same year, and that was a really big year for me as far as people discovering my music,” .Paak told SPIN last week, adding that the success of the Gil Scott-Heron-sampling Yes Lawd! track “Suede” is one of the reasons he was eventually signed by Dr. Dre to his Aftermath imprint.
NxWorries, which has rarely performed live, will return to the road next week for a handful of late spring and summer dates in Europe. The only North American shows come as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival: June 24 in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park alongside Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway, Bilal, and BJ the Chicago Kid, and July 28 at the event’s jam-packed Napa edition.
“It’s going to be very raw and very intimate,” .Paak said of the group’s stage show, which will offer a noticeable contrast to the eight-piece band setup of his own recent solo concerts. “I think it’s going to be cool to go back to just seeing people perform on a stage — a raw performance without any gadgets or gizmos, and connecting with the audience.”
Here are NxWorries’ tour dates:
5/25 – Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
5/27 – Brussels, Belgium @ Core Festival
5/28 – London, UK @ Cross The Tracks Festival
5/30 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute
6/1 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Barcelona
6/2 – Paris, France @ We Love Green
6/3 – Aarhus, Denmark @ Northside Festival
6/5 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg Ronda
6/8 – Madrid, Spain @ Primavera Sound Madrid
6/9 – Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Sound Portugal
6/11 – Manchester, UK @ Parklife Festival
6/24 – New York City, NY @ Blue Note Jazz Festival
7/21 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia @ Good Vibes Festival
7/23 – Jakarta, Indonesia @ We The Fest
7/28 – Niigata, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival
7/30 – St. Helena, CA @ Blue Note Jazz Festival, Napa
