A Piece of Strange

A Piece of Strange
Studio album by CunninLynguists
Released January 24, 2006
Genre Conscious hip hop
Length 54:09
Label QN5/L.A. Underground
Producer Kno
CunninLynguists chronology

Sloppy Seconds Vol. 2
(2005)		 A Piece Of Strange
(2006)		 Dirty Acres
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Hype [1]
IGN (9/10) [2]
HipHopDX [3]
RapReviews (8.5/10)[4]
Okayplayer [5]
Scratch (8/10)[6]
Sputnikmusic [7]
URB [8]

A Piece of Strange is the third studio album by CunninLynguists. It was released January 24, 2006, by The LA Underground, a record label based in New Mexico.[9]

The “high-concept record”[10] tells the "tale of the pathway to and from sin".[11] 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.[12] 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.[12] CunninLynguists toured domestically and overseas in support of the album, appearing with acts such as Depeche Mode, Kanye West, Bun B, and Pharrell Williams.[13][14][15]

The album received acclaim from critics and magazines, with XXL calling it "soulful", "raw", and "sophisticated",[16] URB calling it "a piece of beauty",[8] Scratch calling it "top-shelf",[6] CMJ calling it a "beautiful...dense opera",[17] and The A.V. Club calling it "vast and ambitious".[18]

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.[19]

Track listing

No. Title Length
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

References

  1. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, Hype.
  2. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, IGN.
  3. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, HipHopDX.
  4. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, rapreviews.
  5. ↑ A Piece of Strange review at the Wayback Machine (archived December 15, 2005), Okayplayer.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 A Piece of Strange review, Scratch
  7. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, SputnikMusic.com.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Piece of Strange review, URB.
  9. ↑ LA Underground Website
  10. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, CokeMachineGlow.com.
  11. ↑ A Piece of Strange review, prefixmag.com
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Artist Interview, abcdrduson.com.
  13. ↑ Artist Interview, sixshot.com
  14. ↑ Artist Info, Bad Taste Records
  15. ↑ Artist Photos, rockfoto.net
  16. ↑ A Piece of Strange Review, XXL
  17. ↑ A Piece of Strange Review, CMJ
  18. ↑ A Piece of Strange Review, The A.V. Club
  19. ↑ Artist Comments, deviantart.com.