Search - Cunninlynguists :: Will Rap for Food

4 stars

Big D | New york, USA | 05/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For a long time, the south side of hip-hop, a.k.a. The Dirty South, has been bombarding the airwaves with horrible, commercialized, materialistic, and uninspired hip-hop music. This sad trend began in the late 90s in the aftermath of the deaths of 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G., when a handful of new artists propped up from the "dirty south". Before this, the south was being represented to the fullest by respectable groups such as Outkast and Goodie Mob, however, all would soon change. Among the garbage that arose, two huge factions reigned supreme: The Cash Money Millionaires, and the No Limit Soldiers. Though both groups were different, they shared one common bond: THEY WERE WHACK AS F*CK!!! With their idiotic grunts and lack of true skill, they attacked mainstream radio with commercialized lyrics, clubbish beats, and materialistic subject matter, pointing themselves as being some of the most shallow individuals in the history of mankind. Personally, I simply cannot stand them.



Very few artists in the south still represented what we call "real hip-hop". One of which lie deep in the underground and arose in 2001, called the Cunninlynguists. The trio of emcees Deacon the Villain, Mr. SOS (even though he didn't join until the second album), and DJ Kno appeared, and dropped a highly slept-on debut EP known as Will Rap For Food. The Cunninlynguists would go on to drop a seminal 2003 album Southernunderground, which was one of the best albums of that year.







Track List & Rating



1. Will Rap For Food (NOT RATED)

2. Lynguistics (5 Stars)

3. Mic Like A Memory f/ Kory Calico (5 Stars)

4. So Live! (3 Stars)

5. Hey (NOT RATED)

6. Fukinwichu (3 1/2 Stars)

7. Ain't No Way f/ Mr. SOS, Anetra (4 1/2 Stars)

8. Missing Children f/ Braille (4 Stars)

9. Midnight (NOT RATED)

10. Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts f/ Jugga The Bully, Mr. Raw (4 Stars)

11. Kno's Diggin' (NOT RATED)

12. Halfanimal (3 1/2 Stars)

13. Family Ties f/ Cashmere The Professional (5 Stars)

14. Dirty South (NOT RATED)

15. Mindstate (5 Stars)

16. Takin' The Loss f/ Jugga The Bully (3 1/2 Stars)

17. Not Guilty (NOT RATED)

18. 616 Rewind f/ Tone Deff, Sankofa, Kashal Tee, Celph Titled (5 Stars)







The Cunninlynguists kicks off Will Rap for Food the right way, with two very classic joints. The first of the two is "Lynguistics". Immediately, the head-nodding production hits you, with a seemingly beautiful melody, mixing violins, bass, and flutes to provide the song with a creepy, yet powerful atmosphere. This beat is one of those that makes you want to replay the song over and over again because of just how good it is; and trust me, its excellent. From the onset, you can clearly see that both emcees of the Cunninlynguists are chock-full of skills, dropping some killer lines and showcasing their ability to craft metaphors, similes, and humorous wordplay: "I stay away from Canibus like Wyclef". Deacon and Kno trade verses back and forth here in excellent fashion, being backed perfectly by the melodic beat. This one has to be heard buddy, because I simply can't explain it on paper.



The dopeness continues on the next joint, the saddening "Mic Like A Memory". The Cunninlynguists decide to drop a retrospective song which will immediately get the listener's ears wide open with anticipation due to the honesty found on this song. We find all of the Cunninlynguists expressing their painful experiences as youths, describing certain moments which changed their lives and managed to focus them into becoming good people, as well as respectable emcees. This track explains the essense maturity and growth through pain, and how many times pain can be your ally and push you into becoming a better person overall and hard worker. The production only adds thousands of layers to the song's awesomeness. The slow, melodic trumpets, low-clap hi-hat, and minimalistic bass are more than perfect for this tear-jerking track. This same idea is continued later on the album with "Missing Children".



I really don't like "So Live!" or "Fukinwichu". It's obvious from listening to these two tracks that the Cunninlynguists are much more adept at crafting personal journals and thought-provoking music than party anthems. The first is more of a party anthem and the second tries to be funny, but it just didn't connect with me. I can't speak for everybody on Earth, but for myself, these two joints didn't connect with me too well. They are solid and not whack, but not some of their better work. On a side note, the second of the two features an Eminem sample, which is something I haven't heard yet until this song.



"Halfanimal" suffers from uninterest. The beat is nice and the lyrics are ok, but it lacked that extra mile neccessary for it to fully connect with me (also has an Eminem sample) However, this is made up for with the excellent "Family Ties".



Immediately, you get the feeling that this song is going to be special. The soft, bass-filled production backed by powerful trumpets give the song an eerie, saddening atmosphere. Right from the start, the Xzibit samples and the scratching is perfect. As I said before, this beat is one of those kind that simply drives the listener crazy and makes you wonder how they could come up with such a creative and listenable composition. The Cunninlynguists rap skillfully over the dark production about their youth and connections with their family. The subject matter itself is similar to "Mic Like A Memory", only set as more of a narrative to tell a story than of some sort of personal triumph. The interesting tribulations that the Cunninlynguists speak about are amazing, as they seemingly speak directly to those who made life so hard, at times in letter format, similar to Nas' classic "One Love". This is a very dope track and one of my favorites on this album.



It seems like the Cunninlynguists won't ever give in. "Mindstate" is yet another classic. The violins, clapping, and drums meld together perfectly like water. Lyrically, its as dope as it gets. We find the Cunninlynguists doing what they do best, which is rapping in a very personal and honest way. On here, we find Deacon and company spitting about overcoming life's obstacles in a more educational and knowledgable form of rapping, sort of like how a Chuck D or a KRS-One would do. The personal storytelling moments inserted into the rapping add new textures and open up a whole new set of ideas. This song right here is the perfect bend of lyrics and a beat and must be listened to multiple times to be fully appreciated.



The album closes with the dope crew joint "616 Rewind". The melodic beat is something to behold (I WOULD KILL TO RAP OVER THIS BEAT), and the lyrics are ill enough to carry themselves. Demigodz member Celph Titled joins up with Deacon, as well as lesser known rappers Tone Deff, Sankofa, and Kashal Tee. The lyrics are venomous, as well as the inserted metaphors, similes, and wordplay. This song is just pure hardcore lyricism at its finest. A perfect way to close the album. What More Can I Say?



Will Rap For Food finds the Cunninlynguists giving us an unbelievably dope album which will remain in my CD player spinning for quite some time now. Even though it is not as good as Southernunderground, both albums belong together getting many listens, specially by me. This album will definitely keep your head nodding over and over again. So do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy of this album and get fed...



4 Stars

"

Groundbreaking album

Ankur Bhatia | Bay Area, California | 08/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The premier album by the Cunninlynguists is a definite classic. This is one to keep through the ages. Kno presents his "live" beats only to be compliments with Deacon's made for rapping voice and ill lyrics. Both portray their lyrical cleverness on tracks such as Lynguistics and Fukinwichu. Kno's abilities to mix a perfect sample with a sound of his own in incomparable. With songs ranging from the type to chill out or be serious to such as Mic Like Memory to the type to wild out to like Thugged out Since Cub Scouts, this album is for anyone and everyone who is into the hip hop genre. It is music for everyone's ears."

Buy this!

Landis | Jersey | 05/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Deacon and Kno combine to make CunninLynguists, but that's not all. They come together to create a album that will have you rewinding over and over. Every time you listen to this album you will notice another thing that you like about it and something you never realized. To this day I enjoy something new about this album everytime I listen to it. You wont be sorry you bought it. And I'll let you in on a little secret... their 3rd album will be out in the near future so it will be a great idea to see what they are all about with the 2 discs already out."