dead prez may have been slightly ahead of their time during their golden years, but that is definitely meant as a compliment. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy/Roc-A-Fella era of nihilistic excess in the late ‘90s, they also signed to a major label (Loud / Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo’s music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990s (M-1 originally hailed from Brooklyn). By later that decade, the duo had started making significant waves, having their music heard on the soundtracks to “Soul In The Hole” and “Slam,” as well as appearing on albums by Big Pun and The Beatnuts.
By 1998, they released their first official single, the serious, stark “Police State,” on Loud, appropriately brought to the label by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian. After building a solid rep over the next two years with fiery live performances, in 2000 they unleashed their debut album, Let’s Get Free. The album was a welcome return to provocative and often radically political rhetoric that hearkened back to hip-hop forebears including The Coup, Public Enemy and KRS-One (as well as poetic descendants like the Last Poets and Watts Prophets).
Let’s Get Free was critically acclaimed and benefited from multiple singles, including the infectious, thick analog drive of “Hip-Hop” (which became the de facto theme song for “Chappelle’s Show”); “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” with a remix co-produced by a young Kanye West; “Mind Sex” (with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets); and the poignant “I’m An African.”
But the singles weren’t the only worthy songs, as just about every cut here has deeper meaning than most full albums by their early 2000s peers. Highlights: the thought-provoking, anti-drug album opener “Wolves”; “We Want Freedom” (co-produced by frequent collaborator Hedrush); “They Schools” and “Propaganda” (co-produced by Lord Jamar, one of five songs he assisted on).
All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time. If you don’t agree with the previous sentence, give Let’s Get Free another listen… you might be surprised at how well it has held up over the years.

如果你觉得HIP-HOP 只是“那些不良”少年在那里一个劲的 “恩”“哈”，那我想Cunninlynguists的歌会改变你们的看法。因为对于音乐来说，他最早的一个形式，不是旋律，而是节奏。Cunninlynguists—将为你重新定义南岸的风格是什么。
Cunninlynguists 是个来自南方的组合，包括了白人制作人Kno(来自Atlanta)，黑人Deacon the Villain(来自Kentucky)以及之后加入的墨西哥裔freestyle高手Mr. SOS(来自Florida)。在06年1月24 CunninLynguists发行了他们的第三张大碟—<A Piece Of Strange>，这张专辑请到了C-Lo、Cee-Lo Green 、Immortal Technique以及Tonedeff献声, 整张都由Kno制作。

林納·史金納，美國搖滾樂團。樂團1964年成立於佛羅里達州傑克遜維爾，1973年起從美國南部發跡，後走紅全球。

UK pressing of 2004 album includes the bonus track 'Don't Stop'. Universal.

“南岸饶舌乐之王”空降全美流行专辑、节奏蓝调/嘻哈、饶舌专辑与数位下载专辑榜四项冠军新碟
以超过52万张惊人销售量，成为2006年全美首周最高销量的专辑
超级制作才子Pharrell Williams、金奖影帝/嘻哈新天王Jamie Foxx、葛莱美「最佳饶舌艺人」提名的Common等人跨刀献声

ZZ Top, <em>Fandango! </em>One of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll bands ever to strut the 50 States, these sharp-dressed Texas titans-Billy F. Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill-are a righteously hell rain' power trio boasting a 30-plus year hit-making legacy, both in the studio and at concert arenas. With their revved up blues 'n' boogie, they always make the most of their Texas birthright with with a distinctive sound that shakes up rock, blues, soul, garage-funk, Americana, and more. Nowhere is their force of nature musicianship better displayed than on these two album classics, revved up wtih red-hot bonus rarities. "You know what I'm talkin' about...an how how how how."

Newnan, Georgia - 1996

Killer Mike has announced MICHAEL, his first solo album since R.A.P. Music way back in the pre-Run The Jewels days of 2012. “RTJ is the X-Men, this is my Logan,” Mike says of the LP, which is described as “his most autobiographical and independent” to date. It’s out Jun. 16.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns.