“If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be, lyrically Talib Kweli. Truthfully, I want to rhyme like Common Sense, but I did 5 mil, I ain’t been rhyming like Common since…” Jay-Z, Moment of Clarity (2003)
“If lyrics sold then truth be told, I’d probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z. Truthfully, I want to rhyme like Common Sense, next best thing I do a record with Common Sense…” Talib Kweli, Ghetto Show (2004)
Now let’s jump off right here and talk about the cat that these two legendary MCs are referring to. That’s right; it’s the C.O. double M.O. to the N. For the Hip Hop heads lucky enough to be a fan of this dynamic genre in the early 90s, Common will always be known as Common Sense. The world knew him by this name from the time he broke onto the scene from the South Side of Chicago in 1992, with his debut album, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?”, until just after 1994 when he released his sophomore album, “Resurrection”, a Hip Hop classic. He had to drop the “Sense” when a reggae band out of California with the same name sued him; this is when he became “Common”, but only by name, as the musical path he marched down was the exact opposite…
If you listen to Common’s joints {see below}, his style and sound for each album, you can see he’s not afraid to take risks with his art. It’s not every day that you see an emcee switch things up so much on an album following one that received such high praise. Common has been flipping things up from one album to the next since day one. Check the massive switch in his flow from his first to second album. He used a distinct, altering pitch style with his voice on the debut album and then ditched it on “Resurrection”. Even after 17 years in the game, Common still symbolizes a unique freshness in Hip Hop. He’s even more relevant now then he was when he dropped his “Resurrection” gem. I would love to breakdown each track from this album, and every one that followed, but there are simply not enough pages in this magazine to cover the extent of his greatness. You can get a glimpse into the level of respect and admiration Common has not only received from the fans, and more importantly from his peers, from the two quotes at the start of this article. This is definitely not a common practice in Hip Hop. It’s an extremely uncommon occurrence for MCs to say they want to rhyme like someone else – especially MCs of the caliber of Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, two of the illest lyricist in the game. Even when they are just being clever with the wordplay, it’s still impressive.
Although I can’t run through Common’s entire incredible catalog, it’s necessary at least to breakdown one of the greatest Hip Hop tracks of all time. The joint is called “I Used To Love H.E.R.” from his “Resurrection” album. I’m going to break it down in the next issue, but before you read part two of this article, make sure you get the lyrics for this track.
So you can follow along, please check the following link:
www.lyricsty.com/lyrics/c/common/i_used_to_love_h_e_r.html
and also feel free to watch the video {see below}
It’s imperative for current Hip Hop fans to get an understanding of the roots from which the Hip Hop of today has grown. To me, this track symbolizes an important period of Hip Hop, spanning from the early 1980’s to the mid 1990’s, a “Golden Age in Hip Hop”. If you take my highly recommended trip through the tracks that originally blessed the eardrums of that time, you will see why this era has been stamped with such an impressive title.
It would be hype to hear from you, and to get your thoughts not only on Common and his I Used to Love H.E.R. joint, but also on some of the other Golden Age albums, tracks, flows, even on Hip Hop of today…whatever you feel. You decide what deepness level you want to engage in, and hopefully we can link up in a solid chit chat. To get at me, all you need to do is send me your comment(s). So instead of the usual name for Warehouse’s sick interactive segment for the readers called “Read out LOUD!” (definitely check it), this time around I’m going to flip it to “Listen out LOUD!” So, make sure to select the appropriate amount of heat (nuff blazin’ tracks to choose from) roll that volume knob to the right, sit back, feel the vibe and enjoy the ride! Then please holla back and accept this invite to write, recite, get HYPE…aight!
Please stay tuned for part two of “Common and his Uncommon Ways” coming at you in the next issue. At that time, we’ll kick it like the start of the video and drop the needle to the wax, to find out exactly why Common Sense used to love H.E.R. {w}
symbols: volume i, issue iv
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