A Piece of Strange

A Piece of Strange is the third studio album by the Southern hip hop trio CunninLynguists, consisting of Kno, Deacon the Villain and Natti. It was released January 24, 2006, by The LA Underground, a record label based in New Mexico.[1]

A Piece of Strange
Studio album by
CunninLynguists
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2006
Studio
Genre
Length54:09
Label
ProducerKno
CunninLynguists chronology
Sloppy Seconds Vol. 2
(2005)		 A Piece of Strange
(2006)		 Dirty Acres
(2007)

Background

The “high-concept record”[2] tells the "tale of the pathway to and from sin".[3] The album was produced entirely by Kno, and vocals are by Kno, Deacon the Villain and Natti, who joined the group prior to the recording of the album.[4] Featured guest vocalists include Cee-Lo Green, Immortal Technique, and Tonedeff. Deacon and Kno have both cited the album's importance to their careers in interviews, with Kno calling it a "turning point" for the group.[4] CunninLynguists toured domestically and overseas in support of the album, appearing with acts such as Depeche Mode, Kanye West, Bun B, and Pharrell Williams.[5][6][7]

Artwork

The album's cover art is by Becky Cloonan. Cloonan's collaboration with CunninLynguists occurred following her listing their song "Love Ain't" as something she was listening to in an issue of her comic Demo.[8]

Reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Hype[9]
IGN(9/10)[10]
HipHopDX[11]
RapReviews(8.5/10)[12]
Okayplayer[13]
Scratch(8/10)[14]
SputnikMusic[15]
URB[16]

A Piece of Strange received widespread acclaim from critics, with XXL calling it "soulful", "raw", and "sophisticated",[17] URB calling it "a piece of beauty",[16] Scratch calling it "top-shelf",[14] CMJ calling it a "beautiful...dense opera",[18] and The A.V. Club calling it "vast and ambitious".[19] Since its release in 2006, the album has been mentioned as one of the most important underground hip hop albums and praised for portraying a narrative not visited in any previous hip hop album.[20]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Where Will You Be?"1:03
2."Since When"4:02
3."Nothing to Give"3:30
4."Caved In" (featuring Cee Lo Green)3:17
5."Hourglass"3:21
6."Beautiful Girl"3:24
7."Inhale (Interlude)"2:02
8."Brain Cell"4:23
9."America Loves Gangsters" (featuring Tim Means)4:28
10."Never Know Why" (featuring Immortal Technique)3:51
11."The Gates" (featuring Tonedeff)4:05
12."Damnation (Interlude)"1:38
13."Hellfire"2:29
14."Remember Me (Abstract/Reality)"4:26
15."What'll You Do?"2:43
16."The Light" (featuring Club Dub)5:30
Total length:54:09

Notes

  • "Since When" features additional vocals by Anetra and SunnyStylez
  • "Brain Cell" features additional vocals by Anetra
  • "The Light" features additional vocals by Ladonna Young and Anetra

Personnel

Credits for A Piece of Strange adapted from AllMusic.[21]

  • Willie Eames – lead guitar, bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–15)
  • Tony Rojas – graphic design
  • Chris Webster – engineering
  • Becky Cloonan – cover illustrations
  • Jesse Howerton – additional keyboards
  • Greg Forsburg – mastering
  • Kno – production, executive production, mixing, photography
  • DJ Sicari – scratches (tracks 1–3, 5–16)
  • G. Bush – writing (tracks 2–4, 6, 8–9, 13–16)
  • R. Wisler – writing (tracks 1–16)
  • W. Eames – writing (tracks 2–4, 10, 15–16)
  • W. Polk – writing (tracks 1–6, 8–13, 15–16)

References
  1. "The LA Underground". thelaunderground.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  2. A Piece of Strange review, Archived at: Archived February 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange Album Review". prefixmag.com. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  4. Artist Interview, Archived at: Archived January 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "artist interview". sixshot.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  6. "Artist Info". Bad Taste Records. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. "Cunninlynguists at Hultsfredsfestivalen". rockfoto.net. June 17, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  8. "DeviantArt". DeviantArt. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  9. A Piece of Strange review, Archived at: Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "A Piece of Strange review". ign.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  11. "Cunninlynguists - A Piece of Strange". hiphopdx.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  12. "CunninLynguists: A Piece of Strange: LA Underground Entertainment/QN5". rapreviews.com. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  13. "A Piece of Strange review". Archived from the original on December 15, 2005. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  14. A Piece of Strange review, Archived at: Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "CunninLynguists - A Piece Of Strange (Album review)". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  16. A Piece of Strange review, Archived at: Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  17. A Piece of Strange Review, Archived at: Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  18. A Piece of Strange Review, Archived at: Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Cunninlynguists & Supastition". avclub.com. October 26, 2005. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  20. "10 Years Later, Cunninlynguists' "A Piece Of Strange" Remains As Relevant As Ever, Unfortunately". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  21. "A Piece of Strange - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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