Fake For Real - Tag - KnoThe English written companion of Fake For Real: since 1997, reviews and articles about rap music2024-03-11T20:40:46+01:00Sylvain Bertoturn:md5:a035ff44a020bb716e18191580d6e9ecDotclearCUNNINLYNGUISTS - Strange Journey Volume Oneurn:md5:1de141c1b413dbe8eefc2597f55c0d462016-06-14T23:03:00+02:002022-12-07T14:43:32+01:00codotusylvMixtapesCunninLynguistsKno <p>The CunninLynguists have been, in many ways, an exception. The duo – later on, a trio - had represented more or less the backpack rap tradition in a place, the Dirty South, where it scarcely existed. Also, in an anachronistic way, they have been loyal to some 90's and Dungeon Family inspired kind of hip-hop, at a time when Atlanta had moved to other subgenres, like crunk, or trap music. And curiously, by the mid-00's, with their third album, <em>A Piece of Strange</em>, they started meeting some success, at least on the critics side, exactly when their kind of rap had seemed rejected to the dustbin of history. As a matter of fact, by the end of the decade, the group was fully part of the hip-hop landscape; it could mix with people coming from other worlds than indie rap, and be a full part of the game by 2009, when mixtapes reached an unequaled status, when they were all the rage.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2009/cunninlynguists-strange-journey-volume-one.jpg" alt="CUNNINLYNGUISTS - Strange Journey Volume One" title="CUNNINLYNGUISTS - Strange Journey Volume One" /></p>
<p><strong>Bad Taste Records :: 2009 :: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008V0OIZY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008V0OIZY&linkCode=as2&tag=fafore05-20&linkId=ZLU7DYLTN2DISK3O" hreflang="en">buy this record</a></strong></p>
<p><em>Strange Journey Volume One</em> was the CunninLynguists' third mixtape, and the first of a new series of three. And it was an old-style one: it was a full mess, mixing new songs with old ones, recorded live in Stockholm like "Lynguistics", or remixed or rewritten, sometimes with additional rappers, like Dungeon Family's Killer Mike and Khujo Goodie on the great "Georgia", and Skinny DeVille and Fish Scales from Nappy Roots on "K.K.K.Y.". On some tracks, the CunninLynguists would rap with such guests, or with others, like indie rap figureheads Slug and Mac Lethal, or Sweden's Looptroop Rockers; and on some others, they were alone; or they would offer the full beat to one of their friends, like Tonedeff, or the ex-member Mr. SOS.</p>
<p>It was a big mess; and though, there was some kind of key topic, uniting most of the songs, and it was about the life on tour. A few comical skits talked about the inconvenience of their life on the roads, and some songs provided more details about this. "Don't Leave (When Winter Comes)" and "The Distance", for example, were laments about separation, remoteness, and the poor family life they created. "Nothing but Strangeness", on the opposite, was sharing funny anecdotes, in a much lighter way. "Never Come Down" and "Hypnotized" were about related topics, the consumption of weed and groupies, respectively. And on "Broken Van (Thinking of You)", the rappers talked about their old van, as if it was a mistress.</p>
<p>This was not enough to change this first edition of <em>Strange Journey</em> into a regular CunninLynguists album. By chance, though, it offered again fluid raps from Deacon and Natti, and top quality beats from Kno. It was still the same lyrics, sometimes humorous, sometimes introspective, and the same music, equally melancholic and lighthearted. And therefore it was much more than just a playful side project.</p>
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https://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/post/2016/CUNNINLYNGUISTS-Strange-Journey-Volume-One#comment-formhttps://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/feed/atom/comments/2421KNO - Death Is Silenturn:md5:67dba206b7439ba76fecc51143cafc282015-01-26T23:13:00+01:002015-01-26T23:13:00+01:00codotusylvAlbumsKno<p>The CunninLynguists have been some of these few guys, more or less affiliated to the indie rap movement of the early 2000's, who managed to make it and find a place in the bigger rap community. Those rappers from Kentucky, however, were not too different from their peers; they had followed more or less the same path – an ascending or descending one, depending on the view. Originally a revivalist group, fond of 90's sounding loops and samples, and with an old school rap mindset, they became more contemplative. Over time, their lyrics turned more introspective, their music more cinematic, flirting with folk and rock guitar sounds.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2010/kno-death-is-silent.jpg" alt="KNO - Death Is Silent" title="KNO - Death Is Silent" /></p> <p><strong>A Piece of Strange Music / <a href="http://qn5.com" hreflang="en">QN5 Music</a> :: 2010 :: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043A0TZ4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0043A0TZ4&linkCode=as2&tag=fafore05-20" hreflang="en">buy this record</a></strong></p>
<p>Kno, the band's beatmaker, one of its funding members, and also its only pale-faced guy, showed it in 2010, with a solo album, <em>Death Is Silent</em>, which focused on serious subject matters like life and death. On a side note, its release date had been postponed, the same UPC code as Soulja Boy's <em>Swag Flu</em> being attributed accidentally to the record. How ironic, considering how much the CunninLynguist's formula is opposite to what the author of "Crank That" was used to deliver.</p>
<p>Kno's posture, indeed, was on the most meditative side of hip-hop, as well as his music. The latter was atmospheric, thanks to synthesizer sounds ("If You Cry", the splendid "They Told Me"), cries ("Death Is Silent"), and the ethereal songs of some women on "Loneliness", "Not at the End" and the very nice "La Petite Mort", one of the few tracks with a video version (including porn actress Mia Rose).</p>
<p><em>Death Is Silent</em> was full of bitter-sweet 70's psych-folk samples, like with the singing and flute on "Graveyard" – the other single with a video -, and like with "Rhythm of The Rain", "Spread You Wings", "Smile" and "When I Was Young", all blended with either acoustic or electric guitars. The production was so elaborate and polished, it was so much in the very heart of Kno's work on this record, that the rapper and beatmaker had included to it instrumental versions of his songs.</p>
<p>Of course, some may criticize Kno's raps. Undoubtedly a great producer, he has never been recognized as an outstanding rapper. As a matter of fact, he was easily outshined when his CunninLynguists friends were back, like Deacon on "Loneliness" and "Spread You Wings", and Natti on "If You Cry". The problem was not so much his lyrical skills: his lyrics were great, and he could play efficiently with sounds, as demonstrated with "Graveyard". Our guy is also an educated one, who doesn't mind including sentences from the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti in his songs. But his White man voice is weak; it lacks presence. Actually, this may be the reason why Kno, at this stage, had stopped rapping with the CunninLynguists. Here, however, his low charisma fitted perfectly well with the colors – black and white exclusively – of this exquisitely melancholic album.</p>
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https://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/post/2015/KNO-Death-Is-Silent#comment-formhttps://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/feed/atom/comments/2195CUNNINLYNGUISTS - Will Rap For Foodurn:md5:985fd36c41f58fb927c5a5aa096d0d1a2013-12-08T16:04:00+01:002023-07-06T07:21:58+02:00codotusylvAlbums2001CunninLynguistsFreshchestKentuckyKnoUrban Aces <p>By the year 2000, the indie backpacker hip-hop style has spread over pretty much all places in the United States, except maybe in the South. The most popular form of rap music, there, is its total opposite: it is gangsta, raunchy, and primarily designed for clubs. It has a limited linkage to New-York and the boom bap heritage. In the Dirty South, actually, only a few guys from Florida can more or less be related to indie rap. Plus, of course, the CunninLynguists.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2001/cunninlynguists-will-rap-for-food.jpg" alt="CUNNINLYNGUISTS - Will Rap For Food" title="CUNNINLYNGUISTS - Will Rap For Food" /></p>
<p>Originally, this group from Lexington, Kentucky, is just a duo. It has only two members, rappers Deacon the Villain, and Kno (originally from Georgia), who is also taking care of the beats. Together, they bring some East Coast hip-hop flavors away from their cradle, perfecting the arts of scratching and sampling, opting for astute punchlines, and for lyrically agile and meaningful raps, as their name indicates.</p>
<p>Per the indie hip-hop ideology, the CunninLynguists despise mainstream rap. The ironic title of their first album, <em> Will Rap For Food</em> - which they found in a video from Dr. Dre, where he was mocking his rival Eazy-E - shows it, as well as tracks like "Funkinwichu", where the duo makes fun of the Cash Money and No Limit labels, and "Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts", where they ridicule gangsta rappers.</p>
<p><em>Will Rap For Food</em> is full of sarcasm. However, it delivers much more than that. The CunninLynguists also like lighter and playful raps, like on "Lynguistics", "Halfanimal", "Takin' The Loss", with Jugga the Bully, and the posse cut "616 Rewind", with Tone Deff, Sankofa, Kashal Tee and Celph Titled. And some other songs, on the opposite, strike a sensitive chord: "Mic Like A Memory", about the role of hip-hop in these their lives ; "Missing Children", with Braille, about the death of beloved ones ; and "Family Ties", about unworthy parents dismissing their responsibilities.</p>
<p>A key strength here are Kno's beats. He might be less strong a rapper than Deacon, but his production work is first-class and creative, like with the furious cords on "Lynguistics", the Common sample on "Mic Like A Memory" or the Eminem one on "Halfanimal", the accordion of "Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts", the quasi trip-hop on "Not Guilty", the sepulchral sound on "Missing Children", and the drum'n'bass conclusion of this track and "Takin' The Loss".</p>
<p>Compared to these, Celph Titled's beats on the "So Live!" single sound a bit tedious. Unsurprisingly, considering his talent with beats, that Kno will focus on production duties when Mr. SOS, and then Natti, will join the band, helping the CunninLynguists to become one of the rare enduringly notorious indie rap bands, in the greater hip-hop landscape.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3JKePnc" hreflang="en">Buy this album</a></strong></p>
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