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When it comes to most southern rap, I can understand why a lot of people hate hip-hop. Lil’ Jon looks like a court jester, barking nonsense over cheesy synths that sounded played out when Taylor Dane was scoring hits. Judging by the media’s coverage, you would assume the whole southern hip-hop scene was filled with codeine-sipping, gold-toothed clowns.
But this isn’t all that southern hip-hop has to offer. Tucked away in the hills of Georgia comes a group with some actual intellect and, get this, fresh ideas! A Piece of Strange, the new disc by Cunninlynguists, builds on their previous efforts, Will Rap for Food and Southernunderground, adding more depth and substance. While the underlying elements- soulful beats combined with thoughtful rhymes-remain intact, the group comes across as more assured to break out of the small cult following they have so far been able to amass.
The first track, “Where Will You Be” starts with the familiar Cunninlynguist sound. A pretty Spanish guitar lightly plays over the soft drums and falsetto singing in the short intro. From here Strange gets a lot harder, evident immediately on “Since When.” Towering female backing vocals underline the hard, jazzy snare, harking back to Aquemini era Outkast, especially in the Chonkeyfire-like chorus of distorted guitar.
Creeping up over the past year with his version of Jay-Z’s Black Album, producer Kno has been anointed as the subsequent torchbearer to 9th Wonder. He outdoes his previous efforts here, layering every track with a heap of urgent piano and distortion-heavy funk guitar.
At this point, I would definitely bump an instrumental copy of Strange if it weren’t for the well constructed rhymes and soulful singing of MC’s Deacon and Natti. Much of their material comes from the dysfunction surrounding their neighborhoods and the racial inequality facing young minorities. Deacon questions the abundance of juvenile arrests on “Caved In” with “they need love, not snug cuffs, federally fucked/ tis all orchestration Hans Zimmer couldn’t conduct.” Cee-Lo accompanies Deacon with his trademark rasp on the chorus.
Kno’s production stays solid throughout, climaxing on “Brain Cell,” with its ghostly vibe and trippy effects. He also backs Immortal Technique- who appears on “Never Know Why”- with a piano line straight out of a 70’s ballad. Technique spits about people’s inherited prejudices by one’s who “pimp children” and talks of the virtues of “living vicariously through my kids.”
A Piece of Strange sets the bar for southern hip-hop, lyrically and aesthetically. By releasing it at a time of extreme degradation in hip-hop, Cunninlynguists did the most punk rock thing they could have done; they put some thought into their songs.
Vocals
9.0/10
Lyrics
9.0/10
Technicality
10.0/10
Originality
9.0/10
Re-Listen Value:
10.0/10
X-Factor
9.5/10
Overall
9.4/10
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