Aural Pleasure, The Second Day of Xmas

On the second day of Xmas my AP gave to me ... two rappers rapping ... well okay, mostly two rappers, their DJ drops in for quite a few tracks. And you can't have a rap album without guest appearances and cameos, you seriously can't. Anyone know why that is? Anyway, the point is there's more than two rappers rapping, but this is typically a duet, since today's best album is:

 Oneirology - CunninLynguists

If you know what I'm about at all then you know that I fucking love CunninLynguists, and you also know that I was looking forward to this album last year. Hell, Kno's solo album Death Is Silent landed on my best of list last year. CunninLynguists are known for making mellow poignant rap, and putting together concept albums that delve into deep issues. Things like salvation, damnation and human nature in A Piece of Strange, Kno's look at the inevitability of death in Death is Silent, or their look at racism in Dirty Acres. These guys are for real, hard hitting and mellow all at the same time. They've made numerous masterpieces, so it's no surprise I was excited about this album.

Really, when I heard that CunninLynguists were working on an album titled Oneirology, which is the study of dreams, I thought I knew what to expect. Of course, a concept album about dreams and nightmares, and when they teased that album art I figured my guess was right. Boy was I surprised when I actually listened to it, genuinely surprised. Oh sure there's a couple of songs about actually dreaming, you know, actually being asleep, but mostly it's very clever word play (which is what they're all about). See this is more a concept album about people's hopes and dreams, the failure of the American dream, and the downslide of those who have lost sight of their own goals. The study of dreams, Oneirology, God it's fucking clever, and that's CunninLynguists in a nutshell. You think you know what to expect from them, then they take your preconceptions and turn them sideways.

They touch on far more in this album and delve far deeper than you might guess, or than I've gone into, and I'd like to leave the discovery for you. CunninLynguists produce music that often takes many listens to get to the bottom of, hell nothing compares to when it hit me what "The Gates" from A Piece of Strange was all about, and that experience isn't unique to that album either. Have a listen to a few of my favorites and see for yourself, like "Get Ignorant," "Shattered Dreams," and "Stars Shine Brightest (In The Darkest of Night)." As a final note, Kno's return on some verses along with the humor found in the song "Get Ignorant" really bring back some memories from their first album Will Rap For Food, and that makes me happy. Anyway, I know I gush about CunninLynguists a lot, but you really should do yourself a favor and pick this album up already. And I know I say this all the time, but fucking get A Piece of Strange already, you owe it to yourself.