Common Sense, nowadays known as Common, keeps pumping out great music on the regular. Besides the very sub-par "Universal Summer", the Chicago emcee walks the fine line beween hardcore rapper, conscious emcee and commercial artist, and so far this has worked out great for him. His latest album, "The Dreamer / The Believer" sees the long awaited reunion between Com' and his original producer No I.D.; and while it's clear that both of these Chi-Town representants has changed a lot, the LP packs a whole lot of heat. There's more live instrumentation than what we migh be used to from these guys, but the overall vibe manages to take the listener back in time while also showing a glimpse of the futuristic sounds that are about to come. I'm still (!) waiting on my vinyl copy, but hopefuly that should find its way to my mailbax soon enough. Head over to.Cocaine'80s for more info about the duo's new group, where you can also grab lots of projects free of charge if you're still sleeping..
Often when an album is released, I delete all the pre-singles that anyway appeares on the LP, but in this case I held on to them. Yesterday Compelx Magazine droppped a full-length song called "No Sell Out" which sounds something like an MF DOOM producition, and actually works very well. I also found two demo versons of "The Dreamer" and "Ghetto Dreams", respectively, which both are a lot more agressive than the retail versions. All three songs were produced by No I.D, and I also added the "Six" cut by Cocaine '80s as a bonus.
I can tell you right now that Nas' "Life is Good" will blow a lot of people out the water when it drops on July 17. When ALL singles from the project have been this hot, I can't really see this going wrong. For the latest leak, Esco once again taps No I.D. for production while Large Pro pops up on the hook.
Nas' 11th album has been shaping up lovely to the promotion and three singles that has been released so far, all of them has been in constant rotation and proves Nasir is back on his A+ game; mixing politics, battle rhymes and family, especially regarding his, now, 17 year old daughter. So far, Nas has really made an impression, and the beatmakers backing him up on the three songs released so far have all bbeen pretty damn interesting to say, from both a lyrical and production standpoint. Nas verses are fire, No I.D. on the beat really came through, so it's all good. Or?
Fans and emcees weew hopng for some original QB veterans, being that this is said to be somewhat of a "taking it back to Queens" album. But I can't really get over the Rick Ross cameo here; to me he's the worst kind of rappe out there right now; possibly since Vanilly Ice in my own personal opinion. Selling a bullshit image with no basis in reality, is what's in now, sadly. Anything to keep people fram waking up to what's really going on. I give him two more years tops om the hip-hop scene; do you think this is a valid point or do you actually like Rick Ross and his dark, fake ass "club" musik?
Brand new video for Nas' latest single, the No I.D. produced "Daughters". All three singles from the upcoming album are still getting steady spins, I got high hopes for "Life is Good" which is scheduled for a June 17 release.
Following their collaboration on Common's "Street Dreams", Nas and Chicago's finest, No I.D., does it again on Nasir's latest single "Daughters". This is the third single we've heard from the upcoming "Life is Good" and so far, all good. The LP has now been given the release date of July 17th so be prepared!
I would like to say that "Resurrection" or even "Can I Borrow A Dollar?" was the records that put me on to Chicago's finest, Common Sense, but in fact it was the J Dilla/Soulquarian's collaboration masterpiece "Like Water For Chocolate". From there I worked my way back throughout his catalouge and fell in love with "Resurrection" and "One Day It'll All Make Sense" which showcased the strong musical compability Com' and his original producer and friend No I.D. showcased. Since the latter of those was released in 1997, the rapper moved to New York City and hardcore fans has basically been fiending for a new Common album fully produced record.
In 2011 the prayers have been answered with the 50 minutes long "The Dreamer/The Believer", but does it live up the sky high expectations. It's known that both the emcee and the producer has changed immensely over the 15 years since their last collaboration. The answer is yes and no - it's not a perfect record like "Resurrection" and besides their 1992 debut, it's the weakest one of their four LP:s together. That doesn't mean it's wack though, far from it - it is actually a very dope record, especially by 2011 standards and I would say it easily surpass Com's two preceeding ones and No I.D. delivers alot of beats that are straight up vintage sounding compared to much of the pop stuff he's been doing with people like Big Sean and others lately.
Long-time fans of the duo gets the occassional hardcore joints that could've been lifted straight out the '90s. Tracks like the superior first boombaptic "Ghetto Dreams" featuring sharp vocal performances by both Common and the LP:s only guest emcee, the always reliable Nas. Other glimpses of their past sounds can be found on the agressive "So Sweet", "Raw (How You Like It)" and "Gold". While the rhythm patterns are driving and overall grimy but the producer makes sure to always add a sort of counterpoint to the rawness by at the same time drenching them in soul samples. Common is in fine form, continuing his mission to wake people up through his loving message and let people know that anything you want for your life you can achieve. This message is especially well executed on the two separate title tracks, the opening "The Dreamer" and the beautiful John Legend blessed "The Believer". On both songs No I.D. create backing tracks that perfectly suits the motivational message, proving that after all these years the chemistry between two long-time friends who started making music together is still as evident this far down the line.
