Common - Finding Forever Review [2]
Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 08.04.2007
In their search for forever, does the dynamic duo of Com/’Ye give us another winner or a disappointment?
It began just like it did with BE…with a sneak attack.
We all remember that episode of the Dave Chapelle Show where Common and Kanye debuted the hit, “FOOD”, which got everyone fiending for BE. While people can argue about whether or not they should stamp the word CLASSIC on it, there’s no argument that it was one of the best albums of 2005.
This time around, Com tried the same 1-2 punch, this time with a song called “A Dream”, which was the theme to the movie FREEDOM WRITERS. The movie was basically DANGEROUS MINDS Part 2, with Hilary Swank playing Michelle Pfieffer’s role. However, instead of Foolio’s wack ass ruining a Stevie Wonder song, you had Common giving an uplifting song inspired by Martin Luther King, with Will.I.Am providing his dopest beat in years. Several months later, the speaker-rattling “The Game”, with the ill combo of Kanye on the boards and Premier on the cut, was unleashed on the unsuspecting public, as was “The People”. These three songs had people in line waiting for the album to drop, much like “Food” and “The Corner” did for BE. However, does all this lead to the same result--a dope album? Read on…
Common’s whole image has thrown a lot of today’s fan’s off. So many people, Hip-Hop fans and detractors alike, are so used to rappers acting like they are still in high school, even if they are in their 20’s or 30’s. So when someone comes along and actually acts their age and makes grown-man-music, people start thinking that there must be something wrong with him and that they were much better before they got educated (50 Cent, I‘m looking directly at you!). In fact, they must be GAY or something, ‘cuz hood niggaz don’t act like that (Hi, Beanie!) Of course, as evidenced by every single album since ONE DAY IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE, Common could care less and isn’t hearing any of that noise. Common has went through the same ghetto drama and went through the same losses as many other rappers have, and while he hasn’t turned his back on the same struggle that got him to where he is, he decides to use the experience to make himself a better man. This (as well as the kufi’s and crochet knitted sweaters) makes him stand out among the army of more-ghetto-than-thou clones that have cluttered the landscape.
Com continues his partnership with Kanye here (as you can tell). While this is hyped as “Kanye inspired by J-Dilla”, to be honest, I don’t really see it, as these tracks sound like your average Kanye tracks as opposed to Kanye-inspired-by-Dilla. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, as ‘Ye can still bring it on occasion and Com/’Ye can still a good team when they are both on their A-game.
You have the aptly-named “Start The Show”, which begins the album with ‘Ye bringing the sharp drums, and Com cutting loose with another assault on wack MC’s. The single “The People” has Com mentioning how he got snubbed at the Grammy’s: “The people said that I was sharp on TV/At the Grammy's, though they tried to India.Arie me/Got back stage, and I bumped into Stevie/He said no matter what, the people gonna see me…” If only Stevie Wonder gave that same pep-talk to Kanye. His obsession with trophies is going to get him killed someday. And “The Game”? What more can be said about that song that hasn’t been said? People have been waiting for Com and Premier to do another song together after “6th Sense”, and although Primo only provides the trademark scratches, those scratches enhance an already dope Kanye track. Then there’s the love-it-or-hate-it track of the album, “Driving Me Wild”, which many herald as the worst track of the album. Sorry, people--this is far from the worst (I’ll get to THAT in a minute), as ’Ye brings in some Minnie & the Rotary Connection to bring out that bright sunny day feel, with Lily Allen doing the chorus chick duties. Just like LL Cool J’s “I Need Love” taught us, there is always room for at least some ’cute’. Everything can’t be ruff ’n’ rugged all the time. Then there are two of the somber tracks: “U Black, Maybe”, a tale about how black people can be their own worst enemy, whether through self-loathing or through black-on-black crime; and “Misunderstood”, which deals with the subject of how some people can only look up when they are flat on their backs. It’s songs like these that really make Common, as he can bring it out in a way that can stick to you. And while these are far from Kanye’s best tracks, they do leave things sparse enough for Common get his message across.
However, there are some missteps that really screw this album. After Will.I.Am got our hopes up with his work on “A Dream”, he turns around and gives us the dreadful “I Want You”, which doesn’t do much for Common at all. On the funky-ass “Southside”, Com/’Ye both try to give Lots Of Lovin’ to the Southside of Chicago, yet it all turns into a homemade abortion once ’Ye hits the vocal booth with his weak performance (just like he did on “They Say“ from BE). The song would’ve been much better if Com would’ve gotten another Chi-Town rapper to partner with, like Lupe Fiasco. However, the real crime is in “Break My Heart” where Com gives us…THIS:
“It was a dream day/met her on Spring Break/look like the type that be like no habla ingles/she said you look like you rap, where’s your bling-ay/and your clothes are tight but you don’t seem gay/I said nah that’s dude from N-Sync-ay/she wasn’t married, kept a ring on her pink-ay/she said you know I don’t be dating rappers/I said I got my Sag card, baby I’m an actor!”
OUCH.
I’d understand if that shitty verse came from Kanye, or Cam’ron, but THIS IS COMMON, GODDAMNIT! There is no excuse for an MC of his caliber to get in the booth with shit like that!
Another problem is the inclusion of “So Far To Go” from J-Dilla’s 2006 compilation, THE SHINING, after Com promised everyone some more material with J-Dilla. I guess we should’ve known, since he didn’t specify whether or not it would be NEW or UNRELEASED material with J-Dilla. If they wanted to bring old, already released material into this project, he should’ve included “A Dream” as well.
The album ends on an incredibly sappy note with “Forever Begins”. There’s a thin line between inspirational and banal, and this song (which features both his Moms and his Pops) almost reaches Michael Jackson-HEAL-THE-WORLD territory. You can’t front on the intentions, but he really overshot his target here.
GOOD (FOUND): “Start the Show”, “The People”, “The Game”, “U Black, Maybe”, “Misunderstood”, “Driving Me Wild”
BAD (Can I borrow some SENSE?): “I Want You”, “Break My Heart”, “Forever Begins”, Kanye’s verses in “Southside”
The 411: It’s obvious that Com/’Ye were trying for an ILLMATIC format with a short and sweet album (usually 10-12 songs). However, this format only works when almost ALL the songs are gems. With only one half being gems and the other half ranging from iffy to really bad (plus one old song), you can’t help but expect better considering the caliber of the artists involved. This is far from Common’s worst effort (the CIRCUS already holds that title), but Com/’Ye is going to have to put in a lot more work if they are ever going to match the chemistry that Com had with No I.D.
