CunninLynguists – “The Heartstring Theory” review

Lexington, Kentucky underground veterans the CunninLynguists returning 7 years after their 6th studio album Rose Azura Njano to drop a brand new EP of material through Old Soul Music. Consisting of Deacon the Villain as well as Natti & Kno, the trio have had several classics under their belt for over 2 decades including their full-length debut Will Rap for Food or more specifically their 3rd LP A Piece of Strange & the follow-up Dirty Acres. And with L’Orange’s newly formed indie label gradually growing in the past year or so, The Heartstring Theory was certain to be a welcoming debut for the trio.

“Forever” is synth-driven boom bap opener to the EP with the trio Finding Forever similarly to how Common did 17 years back whereas “When Your World Falls Apart” hooks up some jazz rap influences talking about doing what you can do it seems like everything’s starting to crash down on you acknowledging that it isn’t an easy thing got some. “Fading (Clock Struck 5)” starts the 2nd leg of the EP with a groovy instrumental finding them addressing their romantic interests & “Wasted (Cloud 92)” featuring Kelly Moonstone ends on the soulful boom bap tip talking about being really fucked up with their boos.

These guys have maintained a tightly stellar discography in the span of 24 years & even when they take 6-7 years off like they did when you look at the time gap between their last couple projects, they still keep giving great results. Kno’s production other than throwing some synthesizers in the equation to get the gears turning brings together elements of boom bap, jazz rap & soul music tackling themes of romance adding a hint of conscious in too.

Score: 4/5

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Sadistik – “Bring Me Back When the World’s Cured” review

Sadistik is a 35 year old MC from Seattle, Washington who broke out in the spring of 2008 off his full-length debut The Balancing Act. However, it wasn’t until Flowers for My Father & more specifically Ultraviolet where I started listening to him regularly. Altars was ok & Haunted Gardens was slightly better but once I saw that the criminally underrated Kno of the CunninLynguists was producing Sadistik’s 6th album from front to back, I had very high expectations going into it.

“Burning Suns” is a summery boom bap opener talking about bringing him back when the world’s cured whereas “You Don’t Know” goes into atmospheric territory talking about where darkness forms. “The Earth Was Empty” takes a meditative route talking about being as empty as the planet is just before “Ghostly Key” works in a gorgeous sample talking about only seeing the negative.

Meanwhile on “Apple Valley”, we have Sadistik on top of a hypnotic flip looking back on his childhood leading into the soulful “Carnelian” making references to the man who died for our sins. Natti tags along for “Mothlight” to talk about life being too pretty to be depressed with a stellar sample for the hook “Neptune Skin” is a complete 180° somberly tackling spontaneous combustion, but then “27 Club” admits that all his heroes died at 27 over a spacey boom bap beat.

“Disappear” throws in a slowed down vocal sample to talk about being in outer space while “Where You Want Me” marks a return of the boom bap if you will talking about his woman having him where she wants him. “Rainclouds, Pt. I” with Lucy Camp finds the 2 on top of a electronic instrumental saying that rain outside isn’t unusual with “Pt. II” comes through with a glossy switch-up talking about being nocturnal.

Following that, “Blue Tree Meadow” has a chilling vocal sample addressing suicide while “Mulholland Drive” has a peppier tone talking about driving down the titular Los Angeles street. The song “Quietus” confessing his deathly instincts while the penultimate track “Godmode” delivers a spacey ballad about being a God himself. “Serpens (Trial of Lucifer)” ends the album with a cinematic declaration that he’s the bringer of the light.

If you’re a fan of both these guys, then you’re doing yourself a disservice not bumping Bring Me Back When the World’s Cured because I happen to look at it as Sadistik’s best work since Ultraviolet. Kno’s production is a lot more consistent than it’s been on the last 2 albums & Sadistik continues to show his scars through his pen.

Score: 4.5/5

CunninLynguists – “Rose Azura Njano” review

With the release of 2 prelude EPs earlier this year, the horribly underrated Kentucky based hip hop trio CunninLynguists are coming together with their 6th full-length album. The opener “Red, White & Blues” sees MCs Deacon the Villain & Natti saying that they still think the US is alive despite all that’s going on right now over an instrumental from Kno that contains a killer guitar & some boom bap drums. The next track “Riot!” speaks on just that & while the hook is just average, the beat kinda has this churchy vibe that fits well with the descriptive lyrics. The song “Red Bird” talks about spirituality over a smooth instrumental & the sample hook is just as beautiful. The track “Violet (The Upper Room)” has a religious tone lyrically but this time, they’re talking about it over some jazzy keys & the way it’s structure it like a funeral was very creative.

The song “Gone” speaks on the evicted over a soulful boom bap beat à la 9th Wonder & the Trizz hook enhances the somber tone of it perfectly. The track “Any Way the Wind Blows” vividly tells the story of this woman who eventually commits suicide over a lush yet dreary instrumental & I absolutely love the sample that was used during the hook. The next 2 songs “Mr. Morganfield & Ms. Waters (Side A)” and “Jimi & Andre (B-Side)” really could’ve been been a single 8 minute song to me, mainly because the structuring of both individual tracks from the songwriting to the way the beat changes after each verse are very well incorporated. The track “Hustlers” intelligently talks about this woman who gets everyone floored over a smooth guitar loop & the hook fits in with the verses like a glove. The song “Oh Honey” is a creatively written love tune & while the drums are explosive as Hell, the overall vibe it gives off is just right. Lyrically, the penultimate track “No Universe Without Harmony” gets back to the topic of consciousness & the instrumental is pretty wavy yet gloomy. The album closes out with “Earth to Venus (Tiny Orange Star)”, where Deacon & Natti talking to their lovers with some spirituality references & the instrumental is just absolutely beautiful.

While I do recall Kno tweeting last November telling us to expect the CunninLynguists to bring back the Dirty Acres era, I don’t really think they disappointed. Matter of fact, I think the trio surpassed Joey Bada$$’ latest album All AmeriKKKan-BadA$$ (which I also reviewed very positively) for the most conscious hip hop release of the year. Primarily because I find the lyricism is a lot more intelligent & Kno’s production continues to get a lot more beautiful over time

Score: 4.5/5