Chicagoist: Un-Common-ly Strong, As Usual

Spook

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:01:37 -0600

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!

matty

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 06:42:19 -0600

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.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:31:11 -0600

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?

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:27:51 -0600

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!

Spook

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:12:51 -0600

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

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:05:11 -0600

"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 ...

Chuck Sudo

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:33:55 -0600

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.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:21:15 -0600

Common hasn't lived in Chicago for like 8 years. Kanye's in NYC as well.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:01:49 -0600

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"

Spook

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:36:15 -0600

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!

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:35:06 -0600

Hip hop sucks.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:22:59 -0600

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.

Chuck Sudo

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:09:37 -0600

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."