Death Is Silent is the debut solo album by American producer/rapper Kno, a founding member of the hip hop trio CunninLynguists. It was released on October 12, 2010.[7] The whole album was produced by Kno and features guest appearances by Thee Tom Hardy, Tunji, Nemo Achida, Substantial, Sheisty Khrist, CunninLynguists members Natti and Deacon the Villain and QN5 Music founder Tonedeff.[8]
| Death Is Silent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | October 12, 2010 |
| Recorded | 2009–2010 |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Length | 44:23 |
| Label | APOS Music, QN5 Music |
| Producer | Kno (also exec.) |
| Singles from Death Is Silent | |
| |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| HipHopDX |   [1] |
| RapReviews | 9/10[2] |
| SputnikMusic |  [3] |
| URB | [4] |
| Prefix Magazine | Favorable[5] |
| Potholes in My Blog | [6] |
Release and promotion
editThe album was slated for release on October 12, 2010, but due to a UPC conflict with Souljah Boy's Swag Flu mixtape, the release was delayed, and the album was released on October 26, 2010.[9] It was made available for streaming and digital download at Bandcamp, iTunes, and Amazon.com on the original date of October 12. Three singles were released through QN5 Music's web site as free downloads.
Two music videos have been released for the album on YouTube; one for "Graveyard" on November 25, 2010,[10] and one for "La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me)" on November 29, 2010.[11] "Graveyard" was directed by Landon Antonetti, and "La Petite Mort" was directed by Matt Hobbs of Vital Films. The video for "La Petite Mort" is also notable for starring pornographic actress Mia Rose.[12]
The CD for "Death Is Silent" also includes the instrumentals of each track minus two.
Reception
editDeath Is Silent was received generally well from most music critics. Michael Sheehan from HipHopDX gave the album 4/5 praising the production on the album and saying that compositions on the album feel straight-up cinematic. A. Minor of the beat brake praised Kno's producing skills by saying that the album's production is flawless. He praised the vocal samples Kno used and gave the album 4/5. A URB reviewer went on to say that Death Is Silent is easily one of the top five hip-hop albums of the year and possibly one of the year's ten best, all genres considered.[13]
Influences
edit"Loneliness" and "The New Day (Death Has No Meaning)" contain excerpts from philosopher and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti's 1980 discussions with David Bohm.[14]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Death Is Silent" | 2:48 |
| 2. | "If You Cry" (featuring Natti) | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Loneliness" (featuring Nemo Achida & Deacon the Villain) | 3:19 |
| 4. | "La Petite Mort (Come Die with Me)" (additional guitar by Willie Eames) | 3:31 |
| 5. | "Rhythm of the Rain" (featuring Thee Tom Hardy & Tunji) | 4:33 |
| 6. | "Spread Your Wings" (featuring Deacon the Villain) | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Smile (They Brought Your Coffin In)" | 1:52 |
| 8. | "Graveyard" (featuring Sheisty Khrist) | 2:52 |
| 9. | "I Wish I Was Dead" (featuring Tonedeff) | 4:54 |
| 10. | "They Told Me" (featuring Deacon the Villain) | 4:00 |
| 11. | "When I Was Young" (featuring Natti & Substantial) | 3:32 |
| 12. | "Not at the End" (featuring Tunji) | 3:16 |
| 13. | "The New Day (Death Has No Meaning)" | 3:07 |
References
edit- ^ "Kno - Death Is Silent". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Kno :: Death Is Silent :: APOS Music". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Kno - Death Is Silent (album review 2) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Kno - Death Is Silent URB Review". Archived from the original on 2010-10-13.
- ^ "Album Review: Kno - Death Is Silent". Prefixmag. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Album Review: Kno – Death Is Silent". potholesinmyblog.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Hip Hop Album Release Dates 2012, New Rap Music". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ^ "Kno - Death Is Silent - CD - album stream, producer, release date". UGHH. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ aboveGround Magazine (October 11, 2010). Souljah Boy's Swag Flu Causes Delay for Kno's Solo Album. Retrieved on 2010-12-06.
- ^ YouTube. Kno - Graveyard f. Sheisty Khrist MUSIC VIDEO on YouTube. Retrieved on 2010-12-06.
- ^ YouTube Kno - La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me) MUSIC VIDEO on YouTube. Retrieved on 2010-12-06.
- ^ "[VIDEO] Kno - "La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me)" | QN5 Blog". qn5.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- ^ "Kno - Death Is Silent URB Review". Archived from the original on 2010-10-13.
- ^ "Audio: Dialogue Seven | The Ending of Time - J. Krishnamurti Online". JKOnline. 1980. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-11.