Certainly the man of the moment in the hip-hop world for his recent venom towards Drake, and we’re not to forget that ‘beef’ comes on the back of the release of his very enjoyable The Dreamer, The Believer album, with this visual being the 5th video from the album.
I thoroughly enjoyed the audio on its release almost exactly a month ago, and the relatively simple video works with the track nicely. Two main settings are found here, as a dimly-lit card game between Common and his cronies provides the canvas for his retelling of the lyrics, with that story taking place in the other scenes set in a lively club environment. It’s nothing complicated, but is a good, easy-to-watch visual that’s accompanied by an excellent head-nodder of a track.
And Common responds! Not sure how or why this beef actually started (I don’t really care much either), but it’s starting to entertain me. After recent back and forth subliminals from both Common and Drake, Common decides enough is enough and straight out disses Drake, mocking him for many a thing that hip hop fans have been mocking Drake for in recent times. He also addresses the recent ‘trend’ in subliminal diss tracks and has called an end for it. About time, I say. Some funny lines in this one, at the end of this track he’s basically taunting Drake to say his name with a particular Destiny’s Child sample! Definitely worth a download below.
Common has been ceaselessly releasing material in the run up to his album release, and on the eve of The Dreamer, The Believer reaching fans (legally), we’re treated to the fourth video from the album.
The video begins in an extremely feelgood fashion, focusing on two different celebrations which ultimately end in the same sort of positivity, and that upbeat vibe is continued as the fantastic audio enters the fray. The light, jaunty melodies of the track are matched nicely with the energetic, uplifting visuals throughout, and crucially the video avoids over-complication by simply collecting together various celebratory scenes to enhance the audio. The finer details are still present, with Common dressed as sharp as ever, and a couple of all-star cameos mixed in the action-packed scenes, and whilst it’s not a video that you’ll clamour to watch again and again, it’s a good representation of the audio.
Be sure to grab the album on its release tomorrow!
This man can do no wrong. Another track emerges from next week’s release The Dreamer, The Believer, and once again Common comes absolutely on point with his raps whilst No I.D. further cements his position as one of hip-hop’s finest producers.
Head-nodding percussion, hypnotising guitar plucks and miscellaneous other instrumentation combines for an organic sounding production, and No I.D. embellishes that soundscape with a mellow vocal sample on the hook. Common blends the aggressiveness of Sweet‘s lyricism with the laidback flow he’s primarily utilised in recent years, providing a set of raps that will undoubtedly engage almost any hip-hop fan. The combination? Raw hip-hop. Just how you like it.
Common-Raw (How You Like It)
Com’s been releasing daily video commentaries on each track from his album, and truthfully this is the one that most of us have been waiting for.
He’s unapologetic and succinct with his breakdown, explaining how the lyrical onslaught began with an ego trip, and evolved into ‘stepping into the ring’ with the ‘softness’ that currently engulfs the hip-hop game. It’s clear even from the brief moments he touches the latter subject in this video that he’s suppressing a little bit of fire and anger towards ‘the soft cats’ (let’s be honest, it’s pretty clear who he must be primarily referring to!).
The semi-title track from Common’s upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer, and this album is really shaping up to be something special.
The track feels like a modern take on the soulful style of Be, with John’s soulful vocals on the hook accompanied by speedy percussion, an uplifting vocal sample and sharp, crisp raps from Common that come packed in a couple of very slick flows. It’s a great combination of elegance and energy, and once again highlights Common’s incomparable diversity. The Dreamer, The Believer coming December 20th.
He’s been absolutely relentless (and as a result, generous!) with new releases in the last month or so, and there’s even nore new material from Common’s upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer with this track stream.
A soulful yet lively effort, the production boasts slick, light key work that blends excellently with the crashing percussion, and equally well with the male vocals on the hook and female vocals on the bridge. Common switches to a calmer rapping style than on the blistering Sweet, and comes through with a more uplifting message via some solid storytelling and consistent flows. The overall package is a very smooth listen that clearly draws influence from the Be/Finding Forever sound, and combines that with a hint of urgency and passion.
It’s shaping up to be an extremely diverse album from the tracks we’ve heard thus far (props to No I.D. for serving up such a range of productions), and the one consistent factor throughout has been Common’s tangible hunger for rapping. Can’t wait for that album on 20th December.
Common’s been relatively prolific with the content releases in recent months, and today comes through with the third set of visuals from the upcoming album The Dreamer, The Believer.
A track that really took me by surprise upon its release, Common is aggressive, powerful and downright scathing on this one, bringing an intensity that has been somewhat dormant for many years, and certainly harks back to his days as Common Sense. The video has a grittiness that works well alongside the audio, with the location of Haiti creating a sense of realism whilst Common’s wild-eyed, physical performance further amplifies the passion and fierceness of the audio.
One of the most intense, burning tracks in recent months and further demonstration of Common’s skilled versatility as a rapper. Credit to Com for really throwing everyone off with this one, and I’m looking forward to that album release.
More new music from Common’s upcoming album The Dreamer, The Believer, and he’s come through with another definite winner right on the back of his impressive Blue Sky video.
A hard-hitting, head-nodding effort, and whilst that will surprise many in the manner the ‘grittier’ style of Ghetto Dreams did, this has a considerably darker, harder vibe. Com adopts a more aggressive style that makes for a marked departure from his lighter material over the last few years, boasting a booming production and in-your-face raps (I don’t remember the last time I heard him swear this much!) that combine for a true throwback to the hip-hop style of the early/mid 90s. Far from sweet as the title suggests, it’s a scathing, punchy track that the real hip-hop heads will undoubtedly be giving a few rotations.
Great new video from Common’s upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer album, and one that amplifies the energy and introspection of the track.
The quick cuts from scene-to-scene in the video have a fast-moving, perpetual motion feel to them, and hence add an franticness to the video that works well with the blends that comprise the production. The cold palette of colours used throughout adds a nice balance to that intensity, downplaying it somewhat and giving it a gritter, more grounded counter-weight. There’s expectedly a good message throughout, with various folk expressing their diverse talents within mere yards from one another, though each shows moments of weakness that humanises the group. Particularly, the pregnant lady appears to be in to almost balance out the positivity, as she appears in despair and confusion, creating a much stronger sense of reality in the video.
Of course, Common’s picked out some nice fashion once again, and I’m sure many will be taking notes from his simple yet excellent selections. Worth a watch, and you can grab the audio here.
From the vaults of the underground comes a never before heard tale from Chicago’s Greatest Street Poet, Common. Common’s graphic story comes to life with the assist from visual artist and producer dsteele.
Street poet. Now there’s a title befitting Common’s style and status in hip-hop. This enjoyable effort sees Common’s wonderful storytelling abilities come to life thanks to a series of pencilled, comic-esque drawings from artist and producer dsteele, and it’s a very effective combination.
The result is an audio-visual that really evokes those late 80s-early 90s vibes of raw, soulful hip-hop with a purpose, and you’ll be hard pressed to not find yourself feeling a little nostalgic watching and listening to the old-school vibes that coarse through this track. Not from Common’s upcoming album, but still a great buzz generator for that nearly-here LP, and you can grab the track here.
Common’s latest single from The Dreamer, The Believer, and he’s picked a sample that almost everyone is going to be familiar with in ELO’s Mr. Blue Sky.
That distinctive vocal snippet is joined by thudding bass hits, combining the sample’s positivity with a powerful drive, adding a little thickness to the track and making this a very energetic, intense production that feels markedly different to Common’s previous fare-no small feat when you’ve played with as many variants of hip-hop as Com has! The raps are on point as usual with Common, with raps that stick tightly to the ambitious, ‘look up to the sky’ subject matter in the consistent and relevant manner synonymous with Common. The track is broken up nicely with some (uncredited) female vocal on the hook, and descends gradually into a Kanye West-style for the final third, with distorted vocals and sharper percussion, making for another show of diversity. Solid effort, and whilst it’s not quite as immediately engaging as Ghetto Dreams, it’s likely to be a grower. Common-Blue Sky
From Common’s upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer album, I’m still giving this track some regular rotation, and I’m glad they’ve capitalised on this delicious slice of hip-hop with some solid visuals.
Kicking off with a heavily-bearded Common (yes, more than usual!) and Nas quite literally slipping away into a dream, the video then descends into a busy, monochromatic video with lots of focus on the two legends. Nothing overly complicated, and no unnecessary addtions: we’re treated a visualisation of the lyrics in the form of a leading lady and lots of rapping, and hence the video is rightfully efficient, keeping the focus on the raps and that ear-shattering percussion.
A cool, easygoing video from two of the most talented rappers to ever grace the game. For some very bizarre reason, the audio isn’t on UK iTunes or Amazon, but we’ll keep you posted on that.
Imagine my sheer joy at waking up this morning afternoon and finding not only the first single from Common’s upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer album had surfaced, but also the much-anticipated collaboration between two of the all-time greats (both are nestled comfortably in my top 5).
A rugged, throwback production is served up by the incomparable No I.D., boasting a hypnotic boom-bap percussion along with a lively yet smooth sample on the melody, combining for a real head-nodder of a beat that makes no secret of its 90s roots. The structure of the song is clearly anchored around the superb verses from both MCs, with Common bringing some well-delivered raps about his ‘Cinderella’, whilst Nas moves from a general ‘dimes’ subject to his own ‘African Queen’ in an energetic verse. Both certainly bring the goods, as does No I.D., and this is frankly unmissable for the hip-hop fans. UPDATE (6th July): Available to buy on iTunes right now for US fans!
Here’s the new mixtape by Fashawn, as promised yesterday. Given the strength of yesterday’s track that I posted and the stuff I’ve heard Fashawn come out with in recent times, I fully expect this mixtape to be incredibly good.
Definitely one of the best from the underground hip hop circuit about and with the likes of J. Cole, Common, John Legend, GLC and Gilbere Forte all on the list of features on this mixtape, it shouldn’t disappoint.
Click here to grab it and click below to see the tracklist.
One of those that unfortunately got lost in the mix a little last week. Vikter’s been around for a fair few years, and though I didn’t have any of his material prior to this track, it’s clear he’s got a smooth, sultry set of vocals that makes for extremely easy listening.
He’s also got a good ear for a beat, as this electronic/soul hybrid makes blends relaxation with a passionate vibe, largely thanks to the bouncy synth hits juxtaposed favourably with a soft percussion. Common comes through with a short but solid contribution here, stuttering his flow well to accomodate the sharp production.
Now this is the Common I’ve been waiting for, as he debuts the track Believe which is supposedly set to feature on Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer, due to be released later this year.
After the disappointing Universal Mind Control, which was produced by The Neptunes, Common is back working with his G.O.O.D Music compatriot Kanye West for the aforementioned album. In my opinion, they work so well together it’s unreal and judging by this snippet, the album is going to be back to the high standards of Be and Finding Forever. I, for one, can’t wait.
After the jump, a couple of Kanye-related tracks, a Cam’ron tribute to a fallen soldier, Sway, Grafh and a posse cut which features 3 heavy hitting New York rappers.
Oh and a collaboration between Jadakiss and Uncle Murda. In retrospect a pretty New York influenced post here, but would you expect any less from me?
The video here is a pretty interesting behind-the-scenes look at this huge collaboration from four of Chicago’s most prominent exports, made for some Gatorade promotion.
The track itself is pretty good, with each of the artists contributing to an uplifting and motivational track. No I.D. serves up a vintage sounding production, with marching claps creating a pounding backdrop that is complimented by the flair of retro-style guitar work.
Talk about surfacing late. The original was out over 2 years ago, though I’m not sure which I prefer. As a hip-hop video, this one is much more effective as it keeps things pretty simple and adds a really personal feel with the zoomed in camera shots.
However, the original worked for me on a more creative, artistic level as it offered a more engaging experience seperately to the audio, as well as when combined with it. It feels like more care was taken with it, and works as a much more original concept than the usual hip-hop fare. Decide for yourselves.
Let’s be honest, the cyphers are the only reason people watch/care about the BET Awards. I mean, does anyone really know who won what last year? Nope, but I bet you could list a few of the cypher rappers.
Great cypher line-ups this year, with the video for the G.O.O.D. Music cypher (Kanye, Common, Big Sean, Pusha T and CyHi Da Prynce) being up here. After the click, there are great cyphers involving Wiz Khalifa, Mickey Factz, Raekwon, Yelawolf, Royce Da 5’9″, Rev Run and family, Ice Cube and family and so on.
As Murray, Indi and myself were having an OTU ‘meeting’ for the last 24 hours, we apologise for the quietness around here.
Kanye’s weekly offerings continue with this mega-collaboration, with many of G.O.O.D. Music’s big hitters coming through. Not entirely sure why Charlie Wilson was picked ahead of John Legend (no offence, just didn’t know he was that affiliated with G.O.O.D.) but he’s got a good voice so we’ll let it go.
Visuals for the mega-collabo from the upcoming John Legend/The Roots album. I do enjoy this soulful track, and expect these visuals to be pretty good considering the line-up.
New leak from John Legend & The Roots’ upcoming album, Wake Up!, which is out mid September. If you’ve heard The Roots and/or John Legend before, then you won’t even be reading what I’m writing here and gone straight to the download link. Which is fair enough, this is a nice soulful track for this relaxing Saturday afternoon!
I know my man Ajay is a big fan of Common, so to make us all feel a little bit better after the football, here’s a rare demo recording from the Chicago-born rapper-come-actor.
“Com has always been artist whose artistic growth was evident from album to album. In retrospect his debut album ‘Can i borrow a dollar’ almost sounds like a demo. Here’s his first 7-track demo that won him Unsigned Hype status at the Source back when it still mattered. As a bonus i threw in some instrumentals that were supposedly meant for Com’s underrated Electric Circus project.”
Very interesting one. There’s a pretty good backstory to this one which you can read in full at 88-Keys’ place here. Small excerpt below:
“I turned over this remix rather fast but never finished it because I couldn’t come up with a hook for it. I played it for Kanye & he liked this a lot. So much, in fact, that he was going to reach out to Brandy to lay a hook down on this. Unfortunately for me, Common didn’t feel this half as much as ‘Ye did. So I got the word back from Common & Derek (his management) while they were in Japan that they were going to pass on it. It’s cool though. They are all still my brothers. No love lost. I only hated him for like 5 minutes. *ha*”.
I’m loving these leaks from the Finding Forever sessions. The latest one is the original version of the awesome track, The People. Instead of Dwele on the hook, Common actually lays the vocals down for it. This was probably a reference hook for Dwele, but still interesting to hear for sure.
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