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CunninLynguists: Strange Journey Volume Three (Album Review)

It’s been five years since the CunninLynguists took to the sky in their Imperial at the end of the second edition of their Strange Journey “glorified-mixtape-basically-an-album” series. On the Lynguists’ third installment of the series, they decided to get a little more strange, as they allowed their fanbase to assist in choosing their song topics, guest appearances, album art, and other aspects of the “first ever crowd-sourced” project.

Back in 2009, when the first two volumes of the series were released, the purpose of Strange Journey was to show off the trio’s more fun and quirky side, especially after releasing a string of pretty serious and dark material. The first two projects also had a decidedly mixtape vibe, despite being all original material outside of a few remixes of previously released songs. Strange Journey Volume Three feels a lot more like an album than its predecessors, and it also has more balance between the lighthearted tracks and the darker, more introspective songs. “Drunk Dial” is as funny of a song as they have ever put together (on the same level as “Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts” and “The Brownie Song”), while “South California” has the classic laid back vibe of tracks like “Dirty Acres” and “The Park.” “Dying Breed” and “Makes You Wanna Cry” continue the Lynguists’ trend of making dark and thoughtful tracks.

Another great thing about the Strange Journey series is that it pairs of Deacon, Natti and Kno with some of my favorite rappers and producers. The first two installments served as my introduction to artists such as Grieves, Mac Lethal, Macklemore and others. Volume Three has the most impressive guest list yet. Blu shines on “The Morning,” as he ditches his sleepy flow and raps with the hunger of the 2007 version of himself. J-Live pairs nicely with CL on the standout “Beyond the Sun,” and Grieves and Murs co-star in the Friday night drunken anthem, “Drunk Dial.” The most exciting guest spots belong to Masta Ace, RJD2 and former member Mr. SOS on “The Format.” This track revisits the line-up of the classic SouthernUnderground track “Seasons,” but this time instead of talking about periods of hip-hop, they trade verses rapping about various mediums of listening to music.

Deacon, Natti and Kno can basically do no wrong at this point; they’ve maintained an unprecedented level of consistent greatness. You know what you’re getting with every CunninLynguists project you  get – insanely dope, top notch production and evolving, boundary-pushing hip-hop music. It’s a damn shame that they fly so far under the radar, but one can hope in a world where former indie rap champion Macklemore is one of the biggest names in pop music, that maybe, just maybe, the CunninLynguists will get their due eventually. Until then, they’ll be our favorite little secret.

8.5/10

Buy Strange Journey Volume Three via Amazon

Tracklisting:

1) Ignition
2) Strange Universe (feat. Del tha Funkee Homosapien)
3) In The City (feat. Zumbi of Zion I)
4) South California (feat. Tunji)
5) Drunk Dial (feat. Murs & Grieves)
6) The Morning (feat. Blu & Psalm One)
7) Innerspace (feat. Toby)
8) Miley 3000
9) Guid You Through Shadows (feat. Substantial & RA Scion)
10) Castles (feat. Aesop Rock & Sadistik)
11) Kings (feat. Sheisty Khrist)
12) Hot (feat. Celph Titled & Apathy)
13) The Format (feat. Masta Ace & Mr. SOS)
14) Dying Breed
15) Makes You Wanna Cry (feat. Sheisty Khrist)
16) Beyond the Sun (feat. J-Live)
17) Mission Assessment
18) Urutora Kaiju (feat. Tonedeff)

Strange Journey Volume Three by CunninLynguists

Tags : CunninLynguists
Goose

The author Goose

Goose is a talented writer who loves hip hop and writes for RapReviews and Okayplayer. Goose brings a fresh, new dimension to The Hip Hop Speakeasy and loves any opportunity he has to share the love of hip-hop that he knows so many people have.