There's a longstanding
myth that as you grow older, you slowly become more conservative in your
outlook. Life bends and softens you in many ways and your political opinion is
just one of many things to "suffer" under time's oppressive rule.
Where you once were out in the streets rallying, you're now content to
prescribe your own remedy from the comfort of your living room.
If there
was no available data to debunk the notion, rapper Common in 2014 would serve
as a terrific case study. 20 years after he made waves with the iconic "I
Used to Love H.E.R." he kickstarted this year with the Spartan march
of "War". And if that full-fledged political condemnation weren't
enough, follow up track "Made in
Black America" with Black Hippy rapper Ab-Soul
helped keep boots firmly on the ground. New track "Kingdom", again
produced by longtime collaborator No I.D., proves Common's manifesto for
upcoming LP Nobody Smiling hasn't been crafted on accident. Right away fervent
gospel vocals signal that the urban terror Common so often documents hasn't
disappeared. "Second row of the church with my hood on, my homie used to
rap he used to get put on, at his funeral listening to this church song,"
he exasperatedly proclaims as I.D.'s drums boldly pump. As he documents all the
"keys for my life to end," the South Side Chicago native is readily
aware of what that particular article of clothing can do. At its most
negligible it may get you stray looks and send people to the other side of the
street; at its worst it can
get you killed.
But Common's 42,
far from the brash adolescent people like Mark
Cuban seemed to be worried about. Guest Vince
Staples isn't. The Odd Future-interloper is the one who can't breathe, looking
over his own shoulder while people cast sideways glances at him. His concerns
are far more perilous. In his adroit verse, he wakes up "afraid of seeing
my name on the news," worried another family member could end up either dead
or in jail at any moment. As he "plays with a revolver" it's
clear he's not embracing fake thug posturing, but fighting for survival in a Malcolm
X sense. Living in such a fraught environment Staples can't imagine making
it to Common's age, let alone 30. He's too worried about making it to tomorrow.
It's this notion of Chicago as a warzone that the Windy City's own Common dwells on in new cut "War". A booming cut of Spartan horns and muted drum kicks (produced by longtime collaborator No I.D.), "War" imagines the children of "Chiraq" as no different than child rebel soldiers in the modern Congo or child crusaders in the 1200s. In every case, they've been robbed of their innocence, learning to use a weapon before their facial hair even comes in. "Collisions of cliques named after rap groups, except wearing Jordans instead of black boots," Common exasperatedly breathes at one point, wondering aloud what role if any rap plays in this "do or die" mentality. However, he saves his greatest ire for those "benefiting" from such a perilous situation. "I'm living in this s*** while the world exploits," he bluntly puts it amidst the clattering boom-bap. To Common, reporters and politicians feign sympathy for career advancement, only to hightail it the moment things turn ugly. The cameras can't be found when 13 year olds are toe-tagged and lowered into coffins. And if all this sounds too nightmarish to be true, Common reminds us all in the spoken outro "it's happening."
"War" is the first offering from the forthcoming Nobody's Smiling, which doesn't have a release date yet, but has been discussed by Common at-length.
So to get the ball rolling on my list of the Top 30 Albums of 2011, I'm dropping the first three reviews for this list. Periodically until the year ends, I'll be unveiling the rest of my list so keep checking in for updates. Now let's get started.
#30 4- Beyoncé
Almost immediately on “1+1,” the opener to Beyoncé’s fourth album, the R&B diva swoons “I don’t know much about algebra, but I know one plus one equals two. And it’s me and it’s you.” With that one line, Beyonce recalls the ebullient soul of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.” But where that song was ultimately uncertain “if this one could be with you, what a wonderful world this could be,” Beyoncé is all-knowing. Where she was once “Dangerously in Love” she is now comfortable if still “crazy”, crooning her conviction over a simple guitar figure.
Comfortability is the tale of 4, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for laziness. With that comfortability comes a new confidence in Beyoncé, seeing her pursue bold new ideas down their respective rabbit holes. “I still need you, why is that,” she wonders on the sparse “I Miss You.” It’s one of the tenderest tracks of her career and possesses little more than metronomic drumming and slow rolling waves of synth, simplicity giving way to sentimentality of the highest order. Elsewhere, she plays shape-shifter in the infectious “Countdown,” driving throw a litany of beat drops and switches. It’s a track endemic of the album as a whole, no longer having to look for love, Beyoncé is free to follow her muse, letting stability give way to startling creativity.
"Countdown"
#29 The Dreamer, The Believer- Common
“What I loved most she had so much soul,” it’s a line any hip-hop head knows all too well. For anyone who’s followed Common it’s undoubtedly what they’ve loved so much about the Chicago MC as well. With the release of 2008’s Universal Mind Control, he traded in that soul for staid electro-beats courtesy of the Neptunes. Their cold-rugged thunk a far-cry from the warm rays of soul Common’s lines were often bathed in.
When it was first announced that the 2011 follow-up The Dreamer, The Believer would be entirely produced by old cohort No I.D. I was ecstatic. The Chi-city producer laced Common with some of the greatest beats the Alt-rap world had seen at the time and Common masterfully fit in. This new release picks right-up where the duo left off, beginning with “The Dreamer,” which sports a driving drum-beat No I.D. has staked his career on and a hypnotic vocal loop. “You can live the dream, just believe in it,” Common proclaims in the bridge. Throughout this record, he balances his hip-hop dreams with what 20 years in the game have taught him.
Clearly all that time has taught him well and Common is in top form throughout. He spares full-force with a furious Nas on “Ghetto Dreams” and soars on the epic ELO-sampling “Blue Sky.” “Do they end up in a coffin because we haven’t taught them,” he wonders on the John Legend feature “The Believer,” turning in his most impressive performance in years. It’s a question Common can’t help but ask. He’s been “teaching” his whole career and the rap-world still has so much to learn. “Let us dare to dream,” Maya Angelou boldly proclaims on “The Dreamer.” Common has spent his time dreaming of a hip-hop world he has yet to see, but he still steadfastly believes. Maybe one day he can still “take it all back,” like he promised all those years ago. All we can do is dream.
"Blue Sky"
#28 Just Once EP- How to Dress Well
At one point on the Just Once EP, a silence emerges I could spend hours talking about, where the lush violin and cold piano give up the ghost leaving us alone with singer Tom Krell. Time seems to stop. “It’s like there’s no air, no air, no air” Krell despondently sings. He goes on to say he “wasn’t in any pain,” but we know better from listening to the whole track.
"Suicide Dream 2 (Orchestral Version)
This is an EP of a frightened and despondent man, hopelessly lost. Where previous HTDW efforts hid that hopelessness under mountains of reverb and tape hiss, this work trots out Krell’s pain for all to see. The orchestra that plays with such warmth throughout only serves to show us how cold Krell’s world truly is. Lyrics are still obscured, this time by the still proudly lo-fi orchestra, but it doesn’t matter, one listen to that voice on a track like “Suicide Dream 1,” tells us all we need to know.
This is music transfixed on the past, every mistake made blown-up and analyzed to an overwhelming degree. When the brief respite of “Decisions,” comes at the EP’s end, it’s too late. It’s a moment of glory, frozen in a troubled time.
Mr. Blue Sky has officially announced the tracklist for his forthcoming The Dreamer, The Believer LP. From the looks of things, Com' is going to including everything he's put out in the run-up to the album, including the Nas feature "Ghetto Dreams." Also of note is the track titled "Pop's Belief," which could be a return to the "Pops Speaks" series which closed out several of Common's earlier albums. Finally, if it proves to be true, Common might just be the first rapper to have Maya Angelou featured on an album in official capacity. I guess we'll find out December 20th when the album drops.
Common's upcoming album The Dreamer, The Believer which features "Blue Sky" is now scheduled for a December 20 release. The songs "Sweet," and "Ghetto Dreams" ft. Nas have been put out in promotion of the album. In addition to confirming the new release date, Common also addressed his presence on the G.O.O.D. Music Compilation and discussed his possible collaborative effort with Nas.
In my own opinion, this forthcoming Common release is his most important since 2005's Be. From everything that the Chicago-native has dropped so far, he seems to be going back to basics; no doubt caused at least partially by his re-partnering with producer No I.D. I.D. was responsible for Common's groundbreaking early work including Resurrection. A lot of Common's lyrics on these new tracks hearken back to that record, which should have any fan of thoughtful rap excited.
Kanye West is the head of G.O.O.D seen in the pic with shades.
Kanye West has announced via his Twitter account that there will a G.O.O.D. Music album in Spring of 2012. At this point details are very sparse, but I am willingly to venture the album will be akin to the Young Money and Maybach Music albums, which featured those label's respective rosters. For those who don't know G.O.O.D. Music features not only Kanye West, but also: Big Sean, Common, Mos Def, Pusha-T, and Kid Cudi amongst others. Until more details surface, enjoy this music video featuring both Big Sean and Kanye.
