Knucks Covers Rollacoaster Magazine's Autumn/Winter 2025 Issue

Storytelling’s Not Dead… Knucks is finally telling his own. 

For over a decade, our AW25 cover star, Afamefuna Ashley Nwachukwu, has been UK rap’s quiet constant – MOBO-winning, chart-scaling, culture-shifting – yet always writing from the shadows. From grime 16s in the playground to the cinematic grit of Alpha Place, Knucks has built a career on chronicling the life he lived.

Now, with A Fine African Man, he turns the lens inward—reconnecting with Nigeria, reclaiming Afam, and stitching together the story of who he was, who he is and who he’s becoming. In a scene stuck on repeat, he’s pushing the needle again, one razor-sharp bar and soul-soaked beat at a time.

The scene needed a spark. He came back with a story. 

Photography by Simon Wheatley 

Styling by Luci Ellis at A-Frame Agency

Words by Ben Tibbits 

Grooming by Zateesha Barbour at LMC Worldwide

Photography Assistants Ilona Pataki, Mathias Obrzut

Fashion Assistant Faddy Velmi

Editor-in-Chief Ella West 

Art Director Bethany Griffiths 

Production Director Clemmie Hyde