With the Knowledge There's a Little Thug Blood In Me

A little while back I stumbled on this old 90s song, "Verbal Murder 2" featuring NORE, Big Pun (RIP), and Common. Off Pete Rock's Soul Survivor album. The Common verse, which I've clipped and posted here, has always been one of my favorites.

I like to talk about the intellectual DNA still embedded in hip hop lyrics that we need to recover, and this verse is a good example. The Common line I quote above gets right to the heart of some recent Bill Maher "real Black President" backlash. What Maher wants to say, and has said before, is that he wants his President to do the knowledge, but don't lose that thug sensibility, because Thugism is not all bad. Common nails the sentiment with room to spare should he choose to tweet it out.

"this stud bumped into me, beef there was 'fin to be, my appetite for destruction is finicky..."

Swap "BP CEO's" for "stud", and Obama doesn't even need to hold a press conference to share his state of mind.

Another awesome line is "he spiked his punchlines with current events". This is a nod to old school rhyme ciphers, where you got no points if you said something like, "i tear your ass down like the berlin wall" right after it happened for the name recognition of it (if you made it witty, all good). Or less dated, "I make the ladies go gaga". nah, son. don't go spiking your punchlines with current events.

Of course, if you think about the state of the news-aggregating blogosphere, most of them are just spiking their punchlines with current events. Headlines being the punchlines in a link-don't-tell culture. So, you see, Hip Hop had a sense of integrity about page views and SEO before the internet even existed (in a popular, functional sense). That's why I like to tout blogging as the new rapping whenever I can. Cause just like all the real bloggers out there, and real rappers, and Common in this verse,

"I can't take this fake shit ..."

MORE THUG BLOOD KNOWLEDGE VIA TAN3000

Can Someone Tell Diddy About Black Cab Sessions?

For real, hip hop heads need a knockoff on this quick; its not straight biting, it's "inspiration." And Black Cab Sessions is a fairly inspirational idea: One song. One take. One cab. Tell me you're not a Lykke Li fan after this:



Now I know what the hipsters are talking about!

So yeah, fairly brilliant. And there's opportunity because it's an indie/rock dominated artist list; not trying to be racist or nothing, but I know if I pimp this site at an assimilated negro party they're not gonna know at least half the artists listed on the home page. And that's being generous and NYCcentric about it. So we could definitely get some black people up on this. Though it would officially kill the "black people can't get cabs" industry.

Mad emcees would rock the Black Cab though, and once Kanye got involved you know his cab's gonna glow or be a spaceship or something.

Hmmm, I wonder if Kanye can beatbox. It'd be hot to have him do the b-box for nas, jay, common maybe. Someone like that with strong presence, skills-cachet. Then they switch-off. You could get The Roots to rock that in a heartbeat, with Black Thought and ?uest and Scratch or Rahzel. Other duos: Dre and Em, RZA and someone from Wu. Doom and Mos Def. Andre and Big Boi. Then you could get the acoustic heads, i don't know who they are but ... oh yeah, wyclef. Lauryn Hill and someone. There's also the Def Poetry Jam type stuff from the urban cab-eligible oeuvre, which somewhat surprisingly is one of their most viewed clips:

Obama Inaugural Song Submission: Common, Changes

I like this pitch/power move from Common, trying to make one of his singles the "hip hop inaugural song".

Honestly, that's what every emcee should be trying to do right now. Make that inaugural song. The inaugural jam is the new club joint, or somesuch. If hip hop gets skipped in the soundtracking of the Obama presidency, they will have lost a great -- possibly necessary -- opportunity.

As for Common's submission, it's not bad: happy groove, peaceful lyrics, solid performance. I wonder if the lyrics themselves are presidential enough. That said, with Common being from the Chi, and his whole brand being something along the lines of the hip hop version of hope, there's a lot of synergy potential there.

The lil kid at the end is a nice little underrated hip hop effect. If you add a cute-sounding child to the end of your hip hop song, you really can't lose. Also, whistling. Whistling on the track is another no-brainer. I'm surprised the market for good non-profit hip hop isn't a little larger. That's probably telling about something or other. Here's a youtube of Common's song:



You know, even better than the solo song would be to get one of these "We Are The World" records popping. They do them before, why not do it for the actual inaugural song. Everyone would want to be down. Prob get Kanye to engineer the whole thing. Him, JD (yes, respect JD please.), Dre, Andre, Em, Hov, Nas, GZA, Slick Rick, Chuck D, Common, a couple others ... obviously Black Thought and The Roots as the players. Oh, we need some women. Lil Kim doesn't seem right, though you know she'd drop the perfect PG-13 saccharin verse for the occasion. Maybe some Jean Grae. Oh I guess the songstresses can rhyme, so get those male emcees plus some Alicia Keys, Badu, Estelle, Mary J,etc. L Boogie if she's available. Beyonce and Sean can have a section to go back-and-forth on...

That song would be hot fire; the Black Music All Stars (pardon, hip hop all stars) making the Obama inaugural record. It's really the only way to do it.

Short of that, Common's song is fine; if everyone's going for dolo, Common is as good a choice as any.

Only caveat is if he comes in looking like the pic above right. With the background all fuzzy, and he's staring directly in your eyes and stuff....that means he's feeling the love too much. Abort the mission if that happens and wait for another day, that's not the Common we want.

Related:
Common Freestyles for Jeremiah Wright
Songs To Know: The Bitch In Yoo

Songs You Should Know: The B*tch In Yoo

Many folks now know the artist Common pictured on the right. And if you were one of those enlightened enough to go to a liberal arts college, and have black friends, you may have heard of him before his most recent album Finding Forever afforded him long-deserving Grammy accolades. Some early adopters might have known him even before he started doing commercials for The Gap.

But do you know this Common?

"A b*tch ni**a wit an attitude named Cube, stepped to the Com with a feud..."

The Common we know is pro-black, pro-women, pro-god, pro-life, pro love; a black man calling a "ni**a" a "b*tch" is a vortex of hateful epithets that would surely sear his khaki-melanin skin, right? That can't be the Common that freestyles in church:

Your lease is up, at the crib house ni**az get evicted
In videos them white boys talking you get Wicked

Common is calling out someone for being a "house ni**a"? Aww yeah, hypocrisy is all that and a bag of chips conflict diamonds. Come to think of it, how hot would it be to see George Bush start calling out former presidents for being retarded. Or generally start picking on the intelligence level of others. That would be like the UPS uniform calling the piece-of-doodoo brown, or however that saying goes. And it would be awesome.

Hyprocrite, I'm filling out your Death Certificate
Slanging bean pies and St. Ide's in the same sentence...

Yes, more calling out. But now is probably a good time for some context/backstory:

This is Common, over ten years ago, calling out Ice Cube (perhaps the grand patriarch of "hip hop selling out", but we'll explore that another time). Common's song I Used to Love H.E.R. (that's the Common we all know) was quoted and used by Westside Connection (Cube's post-NWA crew) in a diss record aimed at Mr. Sense. Of course these were the days that ish like that mattered, and so Common came firing back with one of the fiercest battle songs ever: The Bitch In Yoo

So this is a song you should peep because you might not know this Common:

I heard a ho say you her favorite rapper
(So what) so I had to slap her


Holla! Now that's the Common we know: slappin' h*es when they say stupid stuff. I like the Gap ad, but this makes me think a parody would be even better. Have Common rapping his jingle while slappin' white folks in a Gap t-shirt and cargo shorts. You can even tweak some of the lines from the commercial:


(to' when I flow, feel the power that rap has
white people give me love when I slap 'em in Gap ads)

Actually get Kanye in there also, and that might be straight gold.

Of course, the spoof works off the contrast with the Common we identify with. Conscious, positive, not-judging-you Common.

That Common we know didn't first appear in the Gap ad. That Common we know first appeared with the album One Day it Will All Make Sense. The first album after Common became a father. Also the first album after writing the Ice Cube diss track.

Since then, this has been the Common we know:

This ain't no East coast, West coast, none of the above
I'm from Chi, I went to Cali, ni**az gave me love

Common does go from coast to coast and get love from all people. Presumably receiving positive vibes because he puts positive vibes out there. But this is a song to know because even then -- when he was edgier, meaner, realer or whatever -- he got love coast-to-coast. Just out of respect for his skills. This song is lyrically ridiculous: full of wordplay, coded references, puns and everything else that often goes underappreciated in non-mainstream rap songs. As he challenges Cube towards the end, "ain't got no choice but to fight, none of y'all motherf'ers got a chance on the mic". This was never really a battle because they weren't gonna get with Common on that emcee level. So even as Rashid gets his own Ice Cube on via movies and mainstream media, the thing that will give him cred, perhaps eternally so, is a song like Bitch In Yoo.

Common could be Liz Phair, and this song/era is his Exile In Guyville.

Anytime you come out yo, I'm a talk about you
Until you let that bitch in you, walk up out you
Any last words before I hit the switch?
From the immortal words of one: a bitch is a bitch

No one that matters really cares about "Uncle Toms" or "sellouts" etc anymore because we're all trying to make $ and now that everyone has the tools we can all "tap dance for the man" in our own way. It seems with that pretense out of the way, especially in hip hop, we can better appreciate an artist's evolution. From "F*ck The Police" to "Barbershop 2"; "I Used To Love HER" to "Driving Me Crazy" the aesthetics may change to fit your mood, or the times, or an agenda but the heart and soul stays the same. I think. Maybe.

AnyCom, "The B*tch in Yoo" makes me think of some this stuff and pass it on as a song to know. Here's the popular version in a youtube video:

"we're gonna give it to the world, peace, love, and Gap"



(that's the popular version, the original "demo" that only the cool kids know about is posted below. )


MP3 File

Jeremiah Wright Has Black People On Lockdown

This video of Common freestyling in church came out early this year, and I kept forgetting to post, but in light of the Obama/J. Wright newscycle it has gained renewed relevance. Also, I hear the big G-eezy upstairs loves the hot buttery freestyles.

In any event, J Wrizzy can't be all bad if he's got Obama and Common in his cipher vouching for him. That's about as non-threatening negro as you can get.

BrainMapping: Finding Forever

UPDATE: I originally decided to post this as a review. But now I've decided I prefer "brainmapping." I think we'll find in this era of information abundance, that the sensibility for reviews is too restricting. Both the artist and reader are more likely to benefit if, as opposed to a critical review, we map our brains for related thoughts and ideas that are stimulated by the book, cd, movie etc.

UPDATE: Whatever. It's about Finding Forever. just read...

The track-by-track review of Common's new album: Finding Forever.

Intro: It's hard to mess up the intro. It is what it is. An intro could be horrible if slotted as the second or eighth track on an album, but when leading the set off, it’s all good. Even if he farts on the record you’re sort of like, “hmmm, where’s Common taking this?" (is farting on the track still regarded as the worst thing an artist can do? If not, it had a nice run.) This intro isn’t great, but I do like instrumentals. It may be counterintuitive for a wordy word-merchant like myself, but I think there's too much verbiage in hip hop. More music please. Oh, and speaking of celery sticks the intro music reminds me of the album cover. But unlike the intro, the cover sucks. I don't think its vomit, but I do wonder how it got through the pipeline. I mean there had to be a few people in the process saying, “no, not that one.” It’s way too forced and awkward. I think everything has a karmic spirit. Humans, dogs, fire hydrants. Record covers too. So when something has a measure of success in life – friend gets a new job, dog nets a new bone, hydrant gets a fresh coat of paint -- I always look for the reason. What’s the story behind how this hydrant earned this new glossy coat of paint? So I’m thinking this cover has done a lot of good deeds; maybe it was helping old ladies cross the street, or serving the homeless last thanksgiving. Or maybe it has AIDS and was dying in Africa, and through sheer force of will swam all the way to America. I don't know the particular details, but I know this cover had to overcome some obstacles. It is not smart, beautiful, with wonderfully grounded a-list celebrity parents. It was not "born to do it." It did not come from a long line of great covers. There is no Nevermind in its blood (yeah, I went for it. Nevermind is a great cover.) So anycom, yeah, the intro is fine as far as intros go ...

Start The Show: F'ing Kanye. Of course he's the first voice we're gonna hear on Common’s album. Here's my memo to Kanye: Waddup 'Ye. All respect due and all of that, but yo, you gotta fall back a little. Just do it as a challenge to yourself. Like, you can do anything you put your mind to, and we know this now. But you're teaching us to resent genius. Or at least you're making us realize it's not just about being talented, it's about being talented and human. You make it hard for us to embrace you. So since you can do anything, how about we see if you can be humble. After this Common album, and Graduation -- which is going to be a wonderful artistic achievement I'm sure -- you should just chill for a year where we don't hear nothing except, on occasion, "this track produced by 'ye." That would be the real hot-like-fire move for you right now. And then use the time wisely. Add even more depth to your ish. We know you have it. If you give us the silent treatment for a year or so, then come back with some next level ish, you're gonna be right where you want to be. The game will be over. You know it’s true. Backlash is part of the human condition, it’s an infinite resource. Don't fight me on this. -TAN ... so yeah, I'm a little annoyed Kanye is the first voice I hear on the album, but the song is solid.

The People: This is where the album kicks into gear. Hot beat, singing that is smooth enough to grow on you, and Common doing what he does best: rapping about how he raps for the people. Common starts every verse with the same riff, which is novel enough to give the vocal a little flavor. Within his conscious veneer, Common is one of the best at putting white people in their place giving us a different perspective on racial dynamics, "while white folk focus on dogs and yoga, my people on the low end trying to ball and get over." Demonstrating this awareness is unique to the "black artist" experience, and critical for success; you have to figure out how to jab at white mainstream america but still be likable. If you could pin Jay-Z's blowing up to one verse, it might be the second verse in IZZO(H.O.V.A.), when he started writing (or memorizing, whatever) "I do this for my culture ..." we were introduced to another level of awareness and intelligence which propelled him to another level of success. All artists deal with underground/artsy vs. popular/accessible, but for us it's a very racialized issue. Taking this to an extreme, a hip hop artist looking to breakthrough might be well advised to sacrifice a caucasian at one of their shows. Murder is a delicate issue to be sure, but if you did it in a smart/funny/creative/artistic fashion, and made sure the victim was some annoying useless hipster type who thinks its fun to pour gasoline on puppies and burn them, I think you could get through your set without a problem. Sacrifice ... it's for the people.

Black Maybe: At this point it's almost ten minutes into the album, and none of the songs have been particularly pointed about black consciousness, so you know Common is like, “‘Ye, my people is dying in the street every five minutes. I can't go any longer without doing some real soulful, black message ish to uplift them in the struggle.” And so: Black Maybe. These are the songs that distinguish Common's legacy from the other conscious b-boys; he has a wonderful poetic aesthetic when talking about black identity issues. Like Nas, he's more willing to go "out there" with the language. If others claim that "truthfully they want to rhyme like Common Sense," then Common truthfully wants to write like Amiri Baraka. This is also the song the blourgeoise will be bumping on Sunday while they Swiffer their cribs before walking the dog and head off to yoga. Bilal blesses the track, ... it's a shame he never blew up like he should. It might be because he's black ... maybe.

Southside: Love this. banger. all day. I've seen reviews killing Kanye for the repetitive synths, but I love it. Of course I'm someone who can literally listen to one song on repeat all day. I also think the pretty keys that play the bookends and run through the hooks do enough to balance it out. Common's third verse is the jewel here, and absolutely mauls the track. "Know when to use a bible, and when to use a rifle. You rap like you should be on the back of a motorcycle." That punch at the end is another quintessentially Common line. Kind of funny, kind of offensive ... I don't know, that formula just works in hip hop. Critics want to call it hypocrisy, but hypocrisy is the agent of genius. Hypocrisy promotes dome expansion. Or at the least, it allows us to be comfortable with our imperfection ... maybe.

Drivin' Me Wild: The album is officially in a good groove now as we hit Finding Forever's pop submission. Common has yet to make one of those anthemic fill-the-stadium pop songs, but until he does, songs like Go and this one will suffice. Lilly Allen fits the vibe. Everyone wants to lick her third nipple right now, but she’s not forced here at all. It works. Just a good song ... maybe.

Good Clothes: This is a Little Brother song, how did this get in here? Actually I stuck this in my Finding Forever playlist cause I love it so. Thinking about it, even though they come from the same non-gangster, rap-about-real-life school, this is a song I couldn't see coming from Common. I wonder how he feels about it.

So Far To Go: I swapped this out for the instrumental off The Shining. The beat is incredible. It's great music, but the song sucks. I think everyone gets uncomfortable when Common starts romancing the nubian queens on wax. Does he realize he's rapping like he should be on the back of a motorcycle? A lot of people liked The Light, but I don't know. When he gets in this zone, Common makes me feel like I'm watching the Ottoman Orgy video. He's the lyrical incarnation of black people writhing to bad r&b music. It feels a little indecent if I listen too long. Common also makes me feel like I won't truly be satisfied until I find a woman whose cooch burns smells like egyptian sandalwood incense.

Break My Heart: Please return to your seats and make sure they're in the locked and upright position, we are now preparing for our descent. This song is under review for continued inclusion in the playlist. It's definitely the weakest link. Also, have you heard that Common is acting now?

The Game: Saw the video before I heard the song. I liked the vid, but somehow it's a little disappointing to me in the context of the album. It's a solid freestyle joint, but something is off. Maybe Common doesn't have enough raw emotion to drive numerous freestyle joints anymore. For my money, these lyrics don't hit as hard as Southside.

Misunderstood: I really love the track and invoking of Nina Simone, they're both a little eerie and work together to set a mood. I don't know if the song/lyrical execution lives up though. Common doesn't go poetic like he does in Black Maybe, and I think the literal lyrics work against him here. But I could listen to Nina Simone all day, so it was hard to mess this one up.

Forever Begins: Common usually ends strong. Other emcees should be pissed because Common's father stays talking over some of the hottest tracks. Pops has a distinctive voice that evokes some sort of urban-Yoda sagacity, and I love that every album ends with him saying some wise ish. Others might think it's a little much, but they should grow up. Pops is hot (nullus), and the tradition is hotter.

Play Your Cards Right: The bonus track. And sounds like it too. Actually, this song is not bad at all, but I have little to say about it. Think I'm just winded cause it feels like I've been reviewing this album Forever.

Finding Forever Leakage

Common's new album "Finding Forever" drops at the end of this month. But it hit the internet streets sometime around, uh, yesterday.

Peep the leakage. But make sure to support when the time comes, yo!

Ridiculous cover notwithstanding, I think I like this album more than Be. And I'm really feeling the Lilly Allen joint.

The Quest For Claire Huxtable

Does the title not say it all? Are there any black guys who don't immediately know what I'm talking about? Are there any people who are unfamiliar with this aspect of the post-80s human condition?

If you're of the Huxtable generation -- which I'd say is anyone who tuned in when The Cosby Show reigned over the earth -- then you know the power of Claire. A few years ago, she was voted best tv mom (not a great picture there, but we know that second chin is made of love.)

There are middle-aged white mothers having nightmares about her gold standard.

And every night millions of TANs go to bed dreaming they will someday run into their own.

Here's how I came upon the Claire Huxtable epiphany:

After dating a string of caucasian ladies through this very site, I started seeing a black girl. And quite frankly, it opened up a whole can of whoop-ass on my dome. After years of reprogramming in prep school and college, I didn't realize how out of touch I was with the delicious taboo of black-on-black crime love like. (Plus the girl was going to Harvard for grad school, so I could imagine her becoming a Doctor or Lawyer, and I could be a, um, Prolific Blogger. And she'd buy me a laptop for Xmas. And I'd buy her Monopoly and teach her a valuable lesson about economics and savings. On my blog. It would be perfect!)

Soon everywhere I looked I was seeing little Rudys and Theos walking around being bratty and dealing with very solvable life issues. I purchased a three-cushion sofa and conducted all my affairs on it, or in the kitchen. And I even made her some of TAN's Special Homemade Chili. But alas, the theme song never played.

I've since acquired some perspective, and reverted back to my ritual of weekly sacrifice to the gods of white women for date prospecting (every Sunday I prick my finger and feed the blood to a Coach bag that lives in my closet). And while I still cling to Claire, being of a different race isn't a dealbreaker for me (little Lisa Bonets running around can work also). I might equate intra-racial dating with a Tivo level of importance. It can play a big role in my life, but it's not what I would call an "apocalyptic-necessity." It's a nice luxury item. It can make things easier. It brings a certain sense of smoothness and efficiency. There's less to think about. But you certainly don't NEED it.

(although many folks swear by their tivo, soooo, I guess that works also...)

This is all to say that the links above, and my own story make a case that Claire Huxtable, the perfect professional black woman, transcends race. And maybe white (or other non-black) guys quest for her as well? I know we don't want to give her up, but I honestly can't think of a more iconic wife/mother-figure for any race.

It may be that Mrs. Huxtable also transcends generations. There aren't any contemporary Claire Huxtables out there. What mother is hot right now? Carmela Soprano? In the "best tv-mom" contest that Claire won, Marge Simpson came in third. And as far as the strong-black-woman type, they either have too much focus on their career, or too much forehead ... or both!

So if she transcends everything, I wonder: Is Claire Huxtable a ghost? Should I give up the dream? Is she dead? Like God? And hip hop? Must all our heroes perish never to be born again?

(maybe she died and was reborn as Rudy?? That would be hot!)

Where are you Claire? I need you to shush me. And to snatch those fattening hoagies out of my mouth. And to raise our children with sound morals and integrity. And to raise your eyebrow in that PG13-sexy kind of way.

Where are you? Are you out on the town right now, dancing to Umbrella? I can't imagine it, but maybe ... be ... be?

Well if you're out there, Claire, please come quick. This chili is getting cold, and they don't take Monopoly money at the corner bodega.

Claire Huxtable T-Shirts? [I Want A Claire Huxtable]
Or Here? [Shad myspace]

Common: Heat

On the okay boards, found this old video Common did on his own for "Heat" off the Like Water For Chocolate album (which I'd submit as his best album). This wasn't a label-funded video, apparently Com and his peeps did it themselves for about $5K and put it on the pre-youtube internet. Hot Sh*t.

Common: The Game

Common's first video for his new album Finding Forever recently came out. It's the second single off the album. There's some other tracks from the album available for download on kanye talk.

Okay, Okay, Okay ... I Will Write The Word 'Negro' In As Many Contexts As Possible For The Roots & Co. As Well

More details and info to come on this, but going forward I'll also be contributing over at the home of The Roots, Common, Mos Def, Talib, Badu, Pharoahe Monch, Jill Scott and many other creative, intelligent black folk. Also known as Okayplayer.

There was a soft launch of a soft redesign today. And I'm sure there'll be some bugs and kinks to be ironed out. And hopefully there'll be things like, uh, permalinks someday, so I can, like, share ... but yeah. Once a day, everyday ... at least for a little taste. It should be fun.

There's a lot of what the blog kids call "insider baseball" on the "Obligatory Too-Long Hip Hop Introduction," but here's an excerpt:

Fast forward a few hours. I'm talking to ?uesto about what we're trying to do here on okayplayer, and he starts talking about how myspace and youtube made big $ and in my head I'm like, "yo son, you think this is The Prestige or some shit? Do you have video of Badu, Jill Scott, and Beyonce masturbating on ?uest's drum kit or something, cause you gonna need that PLUS Forest Whitaker at the top of his game to amp this shit up. Have you read my ironic T-shirt yet? It says, 'message boards are sexy.' Emphasis on IRONIC. Shit man, I thought y'all just wanted me to rewrite ?uest's liner notes or some shit.

Waddup /uest! (my bad, shift key is dodgy, need more budget)

Anyroots, insufferably long story made just a teensy bit shorter, as luck would have it I invented "blogging for black people” (actually its black people that like white people and white people that like black people, but whatever) and now we're going to see if that's a fit over here (Miscgenation Theory anyone?). I totally think we can get this site so hot that Jill, Erykah and Beyonce are gonna have to masturbate on ?uest's drumkit just to cool down. You know, on some black people who love white people and white people who love black people solidarity shit.

waddup Common! (can I get a fist in the air?)

This Blog is The New N-Word [okayplayer]

Electric Circus Review- Hip Hop Infinity

Anyone who remembers Hip Hop Infinity will probably chuckle to learn that I was down with HHI briefly. Like two reviews brief. They were shaky on the pay, but you could also review and get your ish reviewed, so I did it more for the ancillary artist benefits. Which took two reviews to find out it wasn't worth it. Here's a couple links to message board hearsay and story-swapping on the legend of HHI.


Anyways for the archives, here's an old review of Common's Electric Circus I did for HHI (2002).


EC Review - HHI

As much as Resurrection signaled Common's (then known as Common Sense) birth as an artist, his latest project Electric Circus distinguishes his artistic evolution from others who are satisfied with operating within the current parameters of hip hop status quo. Artists like Common allow the genre to expand its horizon and become something more than what we thought it could be. A negative, but necessary, consequence of trying to pioneer new territory is the backlash of those who don't agree with the artist's vision. It is an element of artistic responsibility to shoulder the burden of making that vision clear. This is the essence of the artist paradox-- trying to make progressive and personal work that appeals universally.

Where Common typically excels at the former, his success at the latter is qualified. Invoking the memory of The Beatles and their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with the album cover, Electric Circus appears to be a project from an artist who is consciously trying to boost that universal appeal, but remains too personal and principled to ultimately achieve that goal.

As with his previous release Like Water for Chocolate, Common relies heavily on the Soulquarians for production on Electric Circus. In fact, it might be said that this association is what distinguishes Common from other "conscious rappers." It is the music that provides the truly progressive foundation for Common to build on. Questlove, Jay-Dilla and James Poyser are the head architects who provide the aesthetic appeal to Electric Circus. The Neptunes also make two quality contributions with the two singles, "Come Close" and "I Got a Right Ta." To their credit, these cuts fit in with the distinctive sound and vibe of the album as opposed to sounding like two singles forced in just to have Neptunes production. "Come Close," for instance, is much different than the typical Neptunes sound.

Common and the 'quarians have enlisted a lot of help to create this eclectic set, collaborating with artists such as the aforementioned Neptunes, Prince, Laetitia Sadler, Sonny from P.O.D and Erykah Badu among many others. All of this helps the Soulquarians create a vibe distinctive from their standard urban-soul-music associated with Like Water for Chocolate, The Roots and Jill Scott. The heavy use of electric guitars creates a sound more in line with Jimi-Hendrix-on-hip-hop, and not only because one of the cuts, "Jimi Was a Rock Star", is a Jimi tribute. Overall, the producers and musicians have a lot to be proud of on Electric Circus, it is the strongest suit of the album.

If there is a criticism of Electric Circus, it is directed at Common for not completely maximizing the potential that the accompanying music provides. Viewed as a whole, Electric represents a tremendous artistic step forward, whereas on an individual song level those familiar with Common will quickly recognize the same themes he has trumpeted since his third release One Day It Will All Make Sense. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, of course, but just as thug rappers get criticized for regurgitation of the same "drugs, money and hoes" rubbish, so must more intellectually oriented artists be held to the same high standard for variety. There are plenty of conscious emcees who preach love of self and attack the music business from their lofty educated pedestal, so lines like "You ain't supposed to rhyme/ better off with a clothing line/ in this business of pimps, many hoes get signed" may no longer carry the same resonance as they did five years ago.

That said, Common remains in the lyrically elite and is now passionate about defending his right to change with lines like "I'm the only cat in hip hop/ that can go into a thrift shop/ bring that get-up to the ghetto and get props." Obviously, his evolution and maturity may render him inaccessible for those who don't share his passion for religion and black pride, "Trying to test the reaction of the people/ see through, trying to out act Don Cheadle/ I speak to original Hebrews, you know how we do." Artistic license can be given to an emcee like Common, however, because his upside and creativity will always outweigh his occasional didactic rant. For example, a song like "I Am Music" is a highlight that follows in the creative footsteps of "I Used to Love H.E.R" and "1, 2 Many," as Common posits himself as music itself, "On every station it's hot, you can't stop my heat/ I taught Jay and Dre how to rock the beat/ on what's going on today I got to speak." Also to his credit, like many of our best artists are doing in response to the issue of how to keep the lyrical presentation fresh when most everything that can be said has been said, Common makes a conscious effort to change his style, cadence and delivery on various songs (with varied results), ranging from a hard rock approach in "Electric Wire Hustler Flower" to slow and deliberate in "Come Close" to more haphazard flows very reminiscent of Sadat X in "I Got A Right Ta" and the conventional lyricism in "Soul Power." All in all, Common brings more to the table than most, but his resume creates high expectations and perhaps conceptuality is the area where he could find room for further growth.

Through his new image and presentation of himself and his music, Common is clearly conscious of trying to break through to a higher level of commercial success. There should be no mistaking that images of Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles are conjured up for a reason. However, he abides by what he preaches in his lyrics and does not compromise the music itself for the purpose of commercial gain. Electric Circus is a musical masterpiece, it is visceral and inimitable and it challenges our current hip hop production standards. Lyrically, however, Common does not entirely match the multi-faceted nature of the music that supports him. One suspects his principles and "consciousness" will end up being the traits that stymie the breakthrough potential of this album. If he used the music as a stage instead of as a pulpit, he would probably garner the commercial validation he desires and deserves. As such, Common remains a bit inaccessible. But despite some faults, Electric Circus is above all a beautiful album and one never knows in the music biz-- it will be interesting to see if Common's image consciousness can coincide with a beautiful work of art and make for successful business.

The Roots & Friends: @ Radio City Music Hall

So last night was the first of a two night engagement for The Roots and Company at Radio City Music Hall. The first night had Nas, Common, Talib Kweli on the bill. The second has Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Angelique Kidjo, and R&B duo J. Davey. Which means the first night might be worth the $75-80 beans. But Day2 ... ehh. (UPDATE: this would be true except Day 2 apparently had a ten minute set by Dave Chappelle and a finale with Jay-Z, D'OH!!!)

This concert was promoting the release of their upcoming album, Game Theory, their first with new label Def Jam. In addition some of the proceeds are going to the family of revered hip hop producer Jay Dee, who recently had his life cut way too short via Lupus. He was remembered throughout the evening. J Dilla was one of the best to ever do it, I will have to dedicate more time to his legacy on a future occasion.

Now, the first notable thing that happened was TAN was recognized while on line getting into Radio City. I was there with my boy who hooked me up with a ticket at the last minute, and while walking in, someone points at me and says, "The Assimilated Negro?" I nodded and kept it moving in line, but my boy was like, "damn son, it's like that now yo. I didn't know you was blowing up like that." All I could say was, "now you know ni**a, recognize the light before your eyes."

So that was nice. And if that girl reads this, then here's your message -- hello there. sorry I couldn't holler at you mami, you was lookin' good and all that. But you know, i was tryin' to get in the concert, so you know, I couldn't really see what was poppin' with you and your crew. But next time mami, next time ...

Next notable thing was the start of the concert. Now the concert was supposed to start at 8. But these are negroes playing for negroes (and others), so I was wondering if maybe I should show up around, I don't know, maybe 10ish. But lo and behold, at 8:05, with Radio City Music Hall maybe half full, Black Thought came out and started holding court with no introduction. The party started promptly, without even waiting for the crowd to fully get in the theater. A bit of a shock, but with 2 1/2 hours of playing to go, it's quite understandable. UPDATE: Turns out if you go over your allotted time at Radio City you get 10K in fines, for every TEN MINUTES over. Obviously $$$ trumps CPTime every time.

The first guest artist to perform was Nas. Which was a bit of a surprise. You expect Nas to be a finale when playing in NYC. But he officially set sh*t off. The Roots ended up playing a couple of their new songs as the crowd filled, and by the time Nas took the stage to Made You Look, we had a full house rise to their feet and start giving some energy.

It was around this time that you could start smelling the weed smoke. Ain't no hip hop concert if no one is sparking, and sparking up in Radio City Music Hall is classic material.

Nas is an interesting artist. He's one of the best, if not the best, emcees and lyricists of all time. he has tons of classic hip hop material. But I've never seen him really deliver in a live performance. He's almost some sort of rhyme-idiot savant, because besides the live performance, in interviews, and basically anything outside of the vocal booth, he doesn't come off nearly as, umm poetic, as he does in his songs. I remember his performance for the MTV video awards (i believe) and he dropped half the lines in his song. In last night's performance, he lived up to the rep, as he couldn't remember the start to his song "the world is yours." Ahhh, sweet irony. When I haven't performed in a long time, and I'm wondering how I'm going to hold up, Nas always emboldens me because yo ucan say, "well i can't execute worse than Nas." That said he is Nas, and he still gets the party jumping regardless. The crowd can do his lyrics for him, so it doesn't really matter.

The other guests who took the stage with The Roots were: Big Daddy Kane, Madd Skillz & (somebody else), Common (good performance, great energy), Talib (ok), Rahzel (wowed the crowd with his vocal percussions, but went a little long), and Kirk Douglas (ten minute guitar solo was great). The last two were part of the band that hosted the whole set, but they got solo time later in the show worthy of being singled out.

All in all, the show was a good one. I was disappointed by the vocal sound quality. There was a broken mic on stage that no one realized wasn't working for way too long. And while you don't expect to understand the words too much at a hip hop concert, at Radio City I thought you might get a little more clarity. Last night it was like, nah son, this is hip hop, chill with the clarity ish.

I was also expecting more surprise guests, especially for such a hefty ticket price. Where's Jigga, where's Mos, where's Dead Prez, where's Kanye? No one really showed up that was a "surprise." Maybe they all come on Day 2 to help out on the R&B night. Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu showed up on stage at the end of the night, however, to rousing applause, but they didn't do anything. Oh wait, actually Dave and Erykah had sex on stage, and y'all missed it.

Speaking of Chappelle, he was supposed to call me about the afterparty jumpoff, but he flaked on me (he flaked on 50 million, obviously he's not going to have a problem flaking on me). So that's the end of the report.

All in all, I haven't been to a real hip hop concert in a while, so it was nice to get back to my roots, so to speak. And it was nice to see hip hop in Radio City Music Hall. And there was no violence that I know of, so while you may have thought that smoke in the air smelled like weed, to me it smelled like progress.

I'll add other good reports/summaries as they come across:

The Checks Must Have Cleared [Straight Bangin']
I'm Sure There'll Be An Update On Okayplayer [okayplayer]
?uestlove Concedes Defeat [?uest's Myspace Blog]