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Common has long been one of Chicago's most valuable artistic resources. As trends swept through the hip-hop world, carrying every johnny-come-lately in their wake, Common remained true to his muse. While his early work was solid, containing such standouts as "Used To Love H.E.R.," we feel he really hit his stride during the sweet lilt of breakthrough album Like Water For Chocolate, and we became true fans in the face of the sonic experiments that ran through Electric Circus. Follow-up Be dialed down the adventure a few notches, but remained an impressively solid album, even if some tracks did reach a little too hard in their attempts to slip into the mainstream (um, admit it, "Go" charted well, but it ain't Common at his strongest).
So that brings us to Finding Forever, out today. Kanye West's production is all over the disc, and we think West has finally figured out how to dial back his own ego in order to provide Common with tracks that seem intrinsically suited for the MC. A sultry soulful musical thread carries through most of the tracks while Common's lyrics dodge and weave, punching syllables through the fabric of the backing track. This feels so natural one might be hard pressed to hear some of the original material the samples were lifted from without wishing Common was there as well. For instance, it take a pretty amazing vocalist to have the balls to rap over Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," and actually deliver a sultry duo without any hint of sentimentality or pretension.
Even points that might induce worry, like a duet with Lily Allen that name checks OKGo's treadmill antics, sidesteps disaster to instead become a playful sounding bounce countered by darker lyrics pointing out the fallacies people indulge in while looking for love. It's this sort of dexterity Common displays throughout the disc that makes Finding Forever his strongest record to date, in our opinion. He and his producing partners have finally woven an album that plays to his vocal strengths, while still keeping the songs loose and forward-looking beat-wise. The final result strongly bolsters the argument for Common as one of Chicago's most valuable resources, period.
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Yeah, "Go" was commercialized ("Electric Circus" is the proverbial shit), but one of the most electrifying, goosebump-inducing moments I've ever seen live was when Common did those two record release shows for "Go" at the House of Everything But the Blues and the whole hall was shaking when he tore into "Chi-City."
It's pretty cool that Chicago seems to be the epicenter of a hip-hop renaissance. For the most part the Chicago rappers seem to be rejecting most of the hip-hop stereotypes into something more meaningful.
Hip hop sucks.
Common is one of the most refeshing gifted voices in Hip Hop today. He’s a non materialistic, deeply probing, truely gifted lyrical social critic or as he said in the song “Cold Blooded” from the ablum Like Water For Chocolate,
"As an, intense MC, sent to be the reign on the industry I came
With penitentiary talk, Coke and a Hennesey walk
My imagery talks, metaphors and similes stalk"
But as a progressive, I’m deeply saddened and disturbed by his homophobia expressed in too many of his songs, and hope other fans will challenge him on this! Actually one of my good friends is gay and also likes Common, which is problematic and equally sad.
But I wish Hip Had less Shawn Goofy Comb, LiL Stupid Jon, Lil Dumb Kim, and who ever that fool is that calls himself something like “Two Quarters, Half A Dollar, Five Dimes, Fiddy Pennies, Ten Nickles, or what ever he calls himself and more artists like Common.
Any way I’m glade you’re writing about hip hop for a change Tanky, even though the Chicagoist types are clearly more into “obsure indie ironic” bands as Urban Out Fitter fashion statements as oppose to those that a part of and today represent the tradition of Bessie Smith, Marvin Gay, Sun Ra, Gil Scot-Heron, John Coletrain Nina Simone etc, or
Or as common said in his Tribute to Fela( another one)called Time Traveling “Travel to a place sweeter than home, listenin to Nina Simone"
Big Upps Tankie, Peace and Hair Greace!
now, i love common, one day it will all make sense is my one of my fave albums of all time, but he's been living in NYC since like water for chocolate came out, so he's not really "chicago" anymore than those FOB twats from naperville are from "chicago"
Common hasn't lived in Chicago for like 8 years. Kanye's in NYC as well.
I'm only paraphrasing here when I say that you can take the man out of Chicago, but you can't take Chicago out of the man. Songs like "The Corner," written long after Common left the city, still belie a strong tie to the city.
But then I've long suspected that those who weigh in here on the authenticity of someone's "Chicago roots" has few himself.
"one of chicago's most valuable resources"
couldn't we find someone who is actually in chicago to be one of our most valuable resources?
just saying is all, not trying to debate authenticity with Chuck the decider of all things chicago.
What about Molemen or All Natural or Rhymefest or ...
ya know what Chuck-Su? On the real, I kinda liked Electric Circus! I mean I didn;t at first, but it kinda grew on me. I'd suggest you relisten to it again.
Be I didn't like,"Be" and I think Kayne West is as over hyped as is ego and dosent have a thimble of the talent compared to J Dilla, (RIP!), who laid down the tracks for Common before his untimely passing.
I don't care about what is and what isn't Chicago authentic, this city can't even produce a decent house beat any more. I don't hate Common for jumping ship
Downloaded his last Cd interested to see what was all teh fuuss about this guy, and as soon I passed three "songs" (if you still can call that boring preach to sing) all them sound exactly the same. No voice, no melody, no talent at all. Because these untalented guys are under the umbrella of that so called 'hip-hop', it does not mean that they are talente or good. Injecting money to produce a untalented preacher with background music is not exactly art at all, is just marketing crap for those willing to get fooled. As soon I finished my 'tour', his CD was thrown straight to my trash bin and deleted from my PC. Never again. Just 'common' noise...duh!
hey Chuck Sudo - how does someone have "few roots themselves"? Were they in transit as a youth? and how goes "long suspect(ing)" those people? That give you an edge?
common's a hip hop purest of the worst variety.
I liked "I used to love H.E.R" but even then he was talking about how hip hop fell off. He was cool as a chicago phenom but now he's just some sort of holier than thou "poet" or some isht.
I dunno, I guess white people love him now or something.
Matty
Congratulations on your nomination for the Playa Hater of the Year Award, as one of the most
notorious Haters since Haters like Silky Johnson,Buck Nasty, and Pit Bull! See ya at the Ball Hater!