Pretty much the gist of it. I know I haven't made a blog post in awhile....or, at least an informative one....actually, scratch that, I've NEVER made an informative blog post. Ok, we'll just stick with "blog post" in general. Anyways, I know I haven't made a blog post in awhile, but I must say, this semester has really started to kick into high gear. I'm taking two classes now that consist of creating video projects and editing, so that's mostly taking up my time, plus a few other classes in between. I've also got other things on my mind, but this blog isn't about my personal issues. Nah, this blog is about random reviews that aren't even credible or informative enough to be legitimate reviews. Just some 20-something trying to sound smart about movies/games/CDs that mostly everyone that he gets to read this have never heard of or bother to check out. If I tried reviewing something like Dark Knight Rises, I would just sound like an idiot talking out of my ass.
My goodness I always go off on a self-deprived tangent on all of these blogs. I don't know if I do it as an attempt at ironic humor or if I just think people will pardon my stupidity by actually thinking I sound intelligent because I'm so self-aware. It's like, "OH!! LOOK AT ME, TALKING ALL HUMBLE AND SELF AWARE!!! IF I WAS NAIVE ABOUT IT, I'D LOOK DUMB, BUT I'M SMART ENOUGH TO POINT IT OUT, SO I MUST HAVE BRAINS DURP DURP DURP!!!" I don't know. At this point, I'm sure you've already clicked away because I sound like a whiner, but if you didn't, I have an album review for you. And it is possibly one of my favorite albums of all time, and that isn't much considering my limited musical experience compared to many other people who dabble in multiple genres. But, here is:
WHAT THE HELL IS COLONEL PORK LISTENING TO??!!!
Death Is Silent is a 2010 release from producer/rapper Kno. You may KNO him from the criminally underrated Southern hip-hop group CunninLynguists. Sometimes he has gotten on the mic to drop some knowledge with emcees Deacon the Villain and Natti (who replaced Mr. SOS after Southernunderground dropped), but most of the time he's creating incredible soundscape backdrops for the trio to kick knowledge over. However, on this album, he takes full production duties AND is the frontman emcee on all the tracks. Now, this was the first CunninLynguists-related project that I had ever bought and listened to, so this was the album that got me into them in the first place. And I am so glad I had the opportunity to hear this album when I did because it is one hell of an engaging listening experience. First of all, the album art. MY GOODNESS is that gorgeous. I, unfortunately, could not name who was responsible for the artwork, but it definitely reflects the album's tone and atmosphere of revolving around themes of death, sadness, heartbreak, and just getting through the rough patches of life altogether. Now, upon seeing the title of the album and reading what the basic concepts of the songs are, one might be quick to classify this album as an "emo" rap album. And even Kno says himself that he is the "emo Premo" on the song "Graveyard," but I see this album as a more poetic and artistic representation of that label. Just the way Kno writes some of the verses on this thing are just so mindblowing and creative that it's hard to really classify it as "rap." One of the best examples is "La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me)." From the moment you hear the guitar strumming and the haunting vocal samples comprising the somber production, you'll come to realize how passionate this song sounds. The way Kno incorporates the theme of death and intermingles that with references to mythology to talk about an orgasm is just unlike anything I had ever heard before. One of my favorites on the album is "Rhythm of the Rain," a collaboration between North Carolina up-and-comer Thee Tom Hardy and Tunji, who is one half of duo Inverse. Again, the sound remains consistent as the three rhyme about rocky relationships over a folk sample with a chill-inducing vocal sample taking hook duties. While all three emcees verses are very effective, Kno absolutely kills it in the end with his use of weather metaphors to describe a relationship with a girl. It's insane how much creativity Kno puts in his verses on this album. Other standout tracks include "Spread Your Wings," which deals with hesitation of taking a relationship farther than it should and abortion, "When I Was Young," a more optimistic track which deals with each emcee reflecting on their past childhood struggles and overcoming those obstacles, and "Not At the End," another track featuring Tunji that just serves as a reminder that life maybe difficult, but at least you're not dead yet. I even enjoyed what everyone deems as the "weak" track, referring to "Graveyard," featuring Sheisty Khrist (another talented emcee who deserves more credit; case-in-point, check out his collaborative album with Deacon the Villain called Niggaz With Latitude). Yes, Kno deviates from the deep subject matter that every other song on the album illustrates in favor of some braggadocious raps, and Sheisty barely spits a verse, but I liked it. First of all, the production absolutely bangs. Second, Kno sounds so playful and confident on the track that I don't even care if he's making hash tag raps throughout the song. And even so, he still does it better than almost every emcee out there that raps in that same style. Finally, it's just a lighthearted track that serves as a break from the more powerful songs on the album while still maintaining the album's coherent theme. The song may not be for everybody, but it's not a terrible song by any means. Obviously, Kno backs up the rhymes with fantastic production. I loved how dreamy the production sounded with what sounded to me like folk samples from the 60's and 70's, although I wouldn't know because Kno likes to keep his samples under wraps. It just all flows together beautifully and with more sophistication than you would hear from mostly any other rap album. In fact, this album I wouldn't classify as a "rap" album. It is just pure art, poetry even. I've never heard an album such as this before, and other than CunninLynguist's latest album, Oneirology, never heard one quite like it since. Definitely check this one out if you thought you have heard everything hip-hop has to offered, or if you are just a music fan in general. It does feel like the subject matter can take a dip into depressing territory from time to time, but I think the open-ended messages in the verses definitely make it worth listening to. I would give it:
3 FULL PIG SNOUTS OUT OF 3!
(Too lazy to insert pig snout images and try to figure out how to resize them....)
And check out the music video for "La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me)." You won't regret it:
That's all I have to review or talk about tonight, so hopefully I'll have something more next time. Stay tuned in the future for new videos from yours truly, and possibly a review of the new CunninLynguists project, Strange Journey Vol. 3, dropping sometime this year supposedly. They allowed fans to vote on guest appearances, producers, and song topics, which is something I have never heard a music artist do before. Check out their Facebook page to witness the experiment yourself. Things like this are why CunninLynguists are my favorite rap group out there. I love how much they respect their fans and how consistently amazing their music always has been.
Anyways, enough of my gabbing about rap music. Time to end this sucker. So, Colonel Pork, signing off.......with awesome solar flare logo of awesomeness that may cause permanent blindness!! OH NOESSS!!!!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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