In 1999, Deacon the Villain and Kno met at Club Kaya in Atlanta, Georgia at an event for the now defunct Blaze Magazine that included various members of Atlanta's own Dungeon Family.[13] They had talked online previously through an emcee named Jugga the Bully, who appeared at an open mic called Underground Live at Morehouse college campus, which was held by Deacon.[14] At the time, Kno was in the group The Continuum, and Deacon was in the group ILLSTAR.[15] Afterwards, the two disbanded from their former groups and created CunninLynguists. The two also founded a production duo named A Piece Of Strange.
Around 2004, Deacon formed the group Kynfolk with Natti. The two got along so well that Deacon and Kno invited Natti to join CunninLynguists.[16]
Deacon released his first full-length project not in CunninLynguists with JustMe, named Tragedy & Dope.[17] The same year, he released Niggaz With Latitude(N.W.L.) with Sheisty Khrist, another Kentucky emcee.[18]
In 2015, he released his first solo album Peace or Power.[19] The album is self-produced and guest appearances include Tonedeff, Kno and Homeboy Sandman, among others.[20]
Personal life
Willis Polk II's hip hop alias comes from the fact that his father is a ChristianPastor. Growing up, he was raised in a baptist family and has stayed Christian. Members of his family have featured on multiple albums of his, such as his mother singing on A Piece of Strange or various family members providing vocals for his first solo album in 2015, Peace or Power.[21][22]
