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KevinNottingham.com said:It would be difficult to argue that any other hip hop group has released the amount of quality music that the CunninLynguists have this past decade. Since their last LP together, 2007’s Dirty Acres, the group has branched out a bit, working with a variety of artists on the critically acclaimed Strange Journey Volume 1 and 2 mixtapes. But, 2010 marked the first chance for the founders of the group, Kno & Deacon The Villain, to display their abilities on their own. Kno released the amazing solo LP Death Is Silent earlier this year and now Deacon has delivered his collaboration with Sheisty Khrist, Niggaz With Latitude. In addition to being a showcase for Deacon, NWL serves as the first extensive recordings we’ve heard from Sheisty Khrist. This balance works well and makes for yet another quality release from the QN5 camp.
While their album teasers & promo campaign involved a lot of humor, this is not the tone of Niggaz With Latitude at all. Deacon & Sheisty tackle serious subject matters on this album, although Kno’s singing at the end of “Brave New World” is quite funny. “Satellites” is an obvious standout as the duo touches on the issues of persona privacy in this day & age. Sheisty attacks the beat with his rhymes, “The man watch me like Van Peebles in posse / like drones in Afghanistan scan people with poppy / my Internet connections choppy/ maybe they’ve detected my downloaded copies of Shrek and Rocky, or Beck and Trotsky/ the Annunaki blacker than the puck in hockey/ I’m leaning back in a truck sloppy sucking Saki / Ponder the womb of Amun and the Illuminati, and how the lumens in the eye make the moon wobbly / I give a fuck about you dudes probably/ I study the Code of Hammarabi for a hobby I got two copies.”
The album is truly a “coming out party” for Sheisty Khrist as his performances on songs like “Million Miles High” and “Nobody Speaks” show that his notable appearance on CunninLyguists’ “Gun” was no fluke. Deacon is not outshined by any means, as evident on “Ascension” where he raps, “we fall for the traps, we rats chasing cheese / with straps, tats, crack and rap, we making G’s / all this confusion got us losing by a landslide / and got the biggest mothafuckas feeling ant-sized / the disillusioned, the disenfranchised / who wanna through the peace sign, but got they hands tied / why ask why, that’s what they wanna teach us / they’d rather have us sit in the bleachers and wait for Jesus / but I believe he’d rather we doubt what leads us / instead of praising what pleases, ascension.” Just like Kno’s solo album, the CunninLynguists presence is here as well with Natti appearing on two tracks while Kno contributes on “Black Dog” and produces “Million Miles High.”
If there’s one thing to take from this LP, it’s that Kno is not the only skilled producer in APOS. This is by no means the first time we’ve heard Deacon on the boards, but it’s one of the few times we get to hear him craft the entire sound of an album. Deacon creates a sound that exemplifies southern soul throughout the project and harkens back to the Dungeon Family & Organized Noise vibe. From the guitar riffs of “Brave New World” to piano driven “Chevrolet Doors”, Deacon provides a backdrop that finds a way to be familiar yet distinct. The only misstep on NWL is Soul Akoben assited “Rip The Guts”, which skews the flow of the project. The lyrics & majority of the instrumental are fine but the thrash metal chorus makes for an awkward moment on the LP.
Simply put, Niggaz With Latitude is an album that needs to be heard. It’s one of the best of 2010 and hopefully won’t get overlooked since it dropped at the end of the year. NWL, along with his work on JustMe’s Tragedy & Dope, make it clear that Deacon’s production skill is quickly catching up to his lyrical prowess. It also makes fans realize that Sheisty Khrist is a name to remember. They may be “quite possibly the most swaggerless individuals in the history of rap” but they created one helluva an album. One can only imagine what the CunninLynguists will bring to the table on Oneirology if NWL and Kno’s Death Is Silent are just side projects.
8.8/10
elijahcraig;1790094 said:at times this is my AOTY. between Kanye, Kno, Roots, Big Boi, Nas & Damien, Celph Titled. This has been an awesome year in hip-hop.
elijahcraig;1790159 said:Yeah, Nas & Damien had to grow on me. I loved Big Boi's album just off the simple fact that how many rappers nowadays are truly about feeling good and spreading positive vibrations like Big Boi? He put together a solid effort with solid production. Definety reaches beyond hip hop into a pop realm, but he killed it. I haven't checked out Eligh yet? What's it called? Where can I cop it?
elijahcraig;1794542 said:Thanks, just copped it. Haven't listened yet. Saving it for the Christmas drive the morning.
sshami88;1816049 said:hot album, this with The Left and The roots seem to be making my top 3 for 2010
RuffDraft;1816565 said:A lot of talk about The Left, I'll check it out... along with the other 15 that I need to check out lol
sshami88;1817730 said:Yea definetly check out The Left Apollo Brown does his thing on the beats and the lyrics match the beats pretty well real ..............am also listening to Evidence new Ep I Dont Need Love, pretty good so far the beats are on point..........Ohh before i forget another apollo brown production ft boog brown called "Brown Study" , the lyrics do justice to the beats as well ...Apollo Brown Producer of the year, hands down!! jaja