Call it a coincidence, but Kentucky’s two major breakthrough Hip Hop acts, Nappy Roots [click to read] and CunninLynguists [click to read], have both spent the better part of this decade keeping alive the Dungeon Family [click to read] tradition native to Atlanta, Georgia. And while it makes for great debate whether or not either of the aforementioned acts are comparable in catalogue to the classic discs unleashed by DF collectives OutKast and Goodie Mob during the ’90s, it seems uncontestable fact that neither Nappy nor Cunnin have produced an undeniable star the likes of Andre 3000 or Cee-Lo. And unfortunately save for Nappy‘s brief bout with commercial success in the early 2000s, neither Bluegrass State outfit has managed to match the stream of gold and platinum plaques netted by their Dungeon Fam forefathers.
But thankfully the lack of plaques (it should be noted Nappy do have one plat plaque to their credit) and apparent solo stars hasn’t stopped either group from filling the void left by the unofficial dissolution of the Dungeon Family, keeping their indie followings fed with heaping helpings of southern fried songs. And coming back to the table for ’09 with a new platter for their famished fans are CunninLynguists. After a short year-and-a-half layoff, the trio of Deacon The Villain, Natti, and horrendously underrated producer Kno have returned with Strange Journey Volume One, the first disc of an ambitious two-disc set (Volume Two is tentatively due in September).
Unfortunately upon immediate inspection of the tracklisting for SJV1, one can’t help but be disappointed to learn that this release is more mixtape than actual album. With skits, solo cuts from Cunnin‘s QN5 labelmates, the puzzling inclusion of a one-minute snippet of a live version of “Lynguistics” from CL‘s ’01 debut (as a then duo of Deacon and Kno) Will Rap For Food, and remixes of tracks from the group’s most recent full-length of all-new material (and sophomore effort as the trio of Deacon, Kno and Natti), 2007’s Dirty Acres, deducted from the 16-cut tracklist, Strange Journey Volume One is essentially an EP’s worth of new CL tracks.
And while the hilarious “White Guy Mind Tricks” is proof that the long lost art of creative skit-making in Hip Hop is still alive and well in Kno‘s capably comedic hands, not every non-Cunnin-song insertion into SJV1 is as welcome. The dry, harp guided solo offering from former official CL member Mr. SOS, “Die For You,” and haunting, but equally ho-hum, contribution from QN5 founder Tonedeff [click to read], “The Distance,” feel like filler.
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Additional interruptions to the CunninLynguists group flow on SJV1 are more worthy, but still missing Deacon‘s gritty wittiness and Natti’s strong supporting rhymes. “Spark My Soul” from Inverse and Substantial thrives thanks to Kno‘s soothing jazz-soul track. And while the appearances from CL sonic brethren Killer Mike [click to read] (who also narrates the tip-of-the-hat “Departure” album intro) and Khujo Goodie on the “Georgia (Remix),” as well as Skinny DeVille and Fishscales of Nappy Roots on the “K.K.K.Y. (Remix),” are welcomed, keeping the songs original sonics while strangely stripping out the verses from Deacon, Natti and Kno make for questionable selections for what is supposed to be a CunninLynguists album.
The remix of “Dance For Me” thankfully does sport Natti‘s intricate wordplay and Deacon‘s fluid flow and clever we’re-all-strippers analogy from the song’s original version, along with a new beat, but proves to be a slightly less impressive, yet somewhat more buoyant production than its somber o.g. incarnation.
Having already released Strange Journey Volume One digitally in late March (with the physical CD release date set for June 30th), most readers of this review already know that the true gems of CL‘s latest disc are the half-dozen all-original group songs. The apex of that EP’s worth of new joints being the album’s lead single “Never Come Down (The Brownie Song).” Not your ordinary get high song, Kno‘s diggin’ in the crates nets a stellar organ and twangy guitar-driven sample flip (with a clever Katt Williams [click to read] vocal thrown in for good measure) that provides the perfect platform for Deacon‘s weed-inspired, gut-busting claims of seeing “midgets in the sky” and threats to “carjack a Care Bear.”
A few additional standouts from the original offerings on SJV1 (maybe most notable being the thumping shits-hot-in-the-hood dissertation “Move”) not-surprisingly include the two tracks that most convey the album’s intended Strange Journey theme. Slug [click to read] of Atmosphere assists the lament on losing time with fam while on the road, “Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes).” And the trials and tribulations of touring meet Deacon‘s metaphorical genius on “Broken Van (Thinking Of You)” when the CL spitter observes of a broken down love: “Her ambition faulty as my transmission/… This bitch won’t put it in park and just listen/I keep reminiscing ’bout how she first started/Before it all turned to scrap, I’m brokenhearted/ … But I still look for girls with pipes just like her/Junk in the trunk, and headlights just like her…“
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But ultimately, a handful of highlights can’t completely salvage the mixed bag found on Strange Journey Volume One. Sadly, the almost compilation-style/mixtape feel of the album is too disjointed for anyone anticipating a true follow-up to Dirty Acres to completely appreciate. Newcomers to CunninLynguists may be better served listening to the group’s previous proper full-lengths to get a true feel for why these Kentuckians deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Georgian rap royalty that conceived the recipe for Cunnin‘s delicious southern soul food.
