Common - Finding Forever
[Jul24]
Common, Reviews, g.o.o.d.
“Many have come, but few have been chose to be a true MC”
Nearly two years ago, Common dropped his album Be to the masses, with an uproar of acceptance and critical acclaim. XXL Magazine gave it an unprecedented XXL rating, one of only six albums to ever receive that original rating. His investment in Kanye West as his core producer paid off, with four Grammy nods to boot, yet sadly he went home with none. Fast track to the present.
In a déjà vu case scenario, Common is set to unleash his seventh album entitled Finding Forever on July 31st. Just like last time, Finding Forever instills Kanye West at the helm of production, with eight of the eleven tracks under his belt. He and Common’s hopes are being held even higher this time around, as Kanye has already coined Finding Forever as the rap album of the year, which is a strong statement to boast as Ye’ himself will be delivering his third album, Graduation, in mid-September. Not to mention Mr. West is 2/2 in that category at the Grammy’s.
The album begins with an appropriately named track called “Start the Show,” which features a haunt-ish embracing chorus, and shows Common in his raw form. A rapper that has never held his tongue among his peers (does his feud with WSC ring a bell?), he rips with the lines “hot for a minute now you just a remember him,” and later “With 12 monkeys on stage it’s hard to see who’s a gorilla, you was better as a drug dealer.”
The next track in line, and also his first single off the album, Common emancipates himself as a spiritual speaker with “The People.” Drawing on a similar sample from The Game’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” track (for which Ye’ produced as well, and Common turned down), Common describes his importance to his people and community when he raps “Sick and tired of punching in, I look on the bus at them, when I see them struggling I think how I’m touching them” and “I’m keeping my eyes on the people that’s the prize,” a term which is a reference to the Civil Rights movement during the 1960’s.
With the only rap artist featured on the album, Kanye and Common bring back the old days of straight belligerent flows embellished by a beat so hard it’ll remind listeners that Hip-Hop is far from dead on a once-again Kanye produced track “Southside”. And in Ye’-like fashion, he stubbornly points out that “I’m back from the future seen it with my own eyes, and yep, I’m still the future of the Chi.” Not to be upstaged on his own track, Common replies “You in the building but the buildings falling, you wouldn’t be ballin’ if your name was spalding.” If Chicago had its own anthem, this would be it.
When producing this album, Kanye expressed his influence of the late J Dilla in his production technique. Being a close friend with Jay Dee, Common honored him and included the track “So Far Go” which originally was featured on J Dilla’s posthumous album The Shining, circa 2006. Featuring D’ Angelo on the chorus, “So Far To Go” reunites 3 members from the group Soulquarians, a collection of artists who emphasize an authentic and raw sound of music. As mellow and enticing the beat is, this feel-good track feels out of place on an album pushing for exceptional.
Completing the cycle of his reach for eternal music, Common finishes the album with “Forever Begins.” Piano and drum roll included, Common focuses his intentions of today’s words affecting the future with, “Look fear in the eyes say I’m never gonna run / Sooner or later I know the cheddar gonna come, for now I write the world letters to better the young.” His lyrics end in stating, “I knew we live forever through song,” a reference to J Dilla’s impact on music. And to keep the streak alive at 6 albums and counting, Common brings his Dad on the track for some spiritual release.
As of recent, XXL magazine has stamped Finding Forever with a seal of an XL rating. Many, including Kanye and Common, have been confused by this rating because in their review they considered this album to be better than the predecessor Be. XXL magazines reasoning is that Be was a 200% upgrade from the “head-scratchingly progressive” Electric Circus. Though I will not argue with the rating, I will agree that this album does surpass Be in overall quality (I consider Be a potential, eventual classic. It has not crossed over as of yet). And I too hope Finding Forever grabs Common his much deserved Rap Album of the Year at the Grammy’s in the coming year. What about Ye’ you ask? Looks like Album of the Year is in his sights. For now, let us let Common shine like the star he is.
by Edwin Ortiz
