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Continuing to redefine what it means to be a rap
group from the South, the critically-acknowledged
duo known as Cunninglynguists has
dropped their third release, A Piece
of Strange, on LA Underground Entertainment.
Prior releases, Will Rap for Food and Southernunderground
(Featuring rapper SOS), were merely introductions
that set the stage for the latest powerhouse album.
Produced entirely by Kno (whom URB magazine has
described as “one of the top loop-miners east
of the Mississippi”), the work is a loosely
approached concept album, according to press materials.
Having already worked with some of independent rap
musics elite—including Masta Ace and Supastition,
the new album includes guest spots from Cee-Lo,
Immortal Technique, and producer/singer/MC
Tonedeff, as well as Kentucky rapper Natti
(who appears on seven of the 15 tracks).
This is no light-weight project.
“America Loves Gangsters,” with
its grimy bass-guitar backbone and airy female
vocals, sounds like a lost Goodie Mob track, while
“Never Know Why (with Immortal Technique)”
offers poignant words over a melancholy track
replete with choral humms, wayward keys and a
Kanye-styled sped up singing hook. The opening
track, “Since When” blasts out of
the speakers with knocking boom bap and urgent
synths to highlight rhymes that are meant to let
you know that the South is more than just the
music its rappers ride on; there’s cats
with flow down below, too! The horns and sparse
drums of “Braincell” offer a glimpse
into the darker side of life in America, with
the sampled snippet “living in a world no
different from a cell” punctuating their
thoughts.
Boasting strong rhymes, melodic and gospel-tinged
beats, and sprinkles of live instrumentation coupled
with on-point samples, the duo of Deacon The Villain
and Kno set out to recapture “the soul in
southern hip hop,” as well as offering music
that reminds you why you got into hip-hop in the
first place. If the movie Brown Sugar was made
today, they would have to include a cameo or mention
of Cunninglynguists somewhere. Now you should
too. No rap collection is complete without at
least one of their albums.
www.cunninglynguists.com
www.QN5.com
www.thelaunderground.com
-D Tha Man, September 9, 2005
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