CUNNINLYNGUISTS (USA)
The decline of mainstream hip hop into a plastic arms race of bling bling aesthetics has made many former fans expect the entire music style soon going into that good night. But, happily, every now and then the fringes produce artists that are capable of restoring one's belief into the vitality of the genre. At the time of their release, CunninLynguists' first two albums – Will Rap for Food (2001) and Southernunderground (2003) – remained well-kept secrets among a few enlightened ones. Last year, though, the band's persistent attitude, along with their relentless gigging, started to bear fruit when the concept album A Piece of Strange was unanimously praised by critics and the buying public alike. Not surprisingly, A Piece of Strange was included in almost every list of the best hip hop albums of 2006.
CunninLynguists' music is refreshingly stripped of all the usual highfalutin boasting and bragging. Both hailing from the Deep South, the two founding members Kno and Deacon the Villain know that credibility doesn't have to be built with weapons and a stack of C-notes if only the rhymes are dope and the beats are ace. Along with the duo's three albums released together, they both have under their belts an arm-long list of producer credits from other artists' recordings. The weather forecast for CunninLynguists' Ilosaarirock set promises hot and heated beats along with showers of great vibes all over the festival ground.
ilosaarirock.fi