Now I don’t discriminate against any form of music, in fact I pride myself on the fact that I’m an equal opportunity listener, but if you’ve been reading any of my previous posts you know that my number one love is hip hop. I was lucky enough to grow up during the ‘second Golden Age‘ of hip hop when it seemed like instant classic albums were being released every other week – The Chronic, Illmatic, Doggystyle, Enter the Wu, to name a few.  With jams like that filling the airwaves, it was all but impossible for a young Train not fall in love, and damn did I give my Walkman some serious workouts back in those days (easy Judge Reinhold you know you rocked the Walkman too.)

I know at this point you’re probably thinking, ‘what the hell are you rambling on about there Train?’ Well, that early love of all things raptastic followed me through high school into college where my mind was blown yet again when I forayed into the world of underground hip hop.  Three of my first purchases were Atmosphere’s Lucy Ford, Aesop Rock’s Labor Days and CunningLynguists’ Will Rap For Food (bye bye Walkman, hello Discman!), all now very near and dear to my heart and all still listened to on a weekly basis here at the Train Station.

Which leads me to why I’m here today (that was the longest intro ever) – when I heard that CunninLynguists were releasing a new compilation this Tuesday AND Slug from Atmosphere was featured on a track I got N64 kid excited, for reals.  Strange Journey Vol. I is inspired by life on the road and is fittingly being released on the eve of their European tour. Featuring appearances from Killer Mike, Khujo, Pack FM, Mac Lethal and my boy Sluggo, this release is set to bring back some of the soul that’s been missing from hip hop as of late. Included below are a random assortment of jams from CunninLynguists’ library beginning with ‘Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes)’ from the upcoming album, and ending with the song that first introduced me to the group many moons ago.  So take a listen, get that head nodding and let’s see where this strange journey takes you.

CunninLynguists – Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes) ft. Slug

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CunninLynguists – Beautiful Girl

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CunninLynguists – Seasons ft. Masta Ace

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CunninLynguists – Halfanimal, Halfman

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Strange Journey Vol. I is available for pre-order now, and will be available on 3/24/09 wherever good music is sold.