Is it just me or does Common’s music just seem….. bland now?

[Ironman]

The Auditorium is fire

 

[Lonj]

I remember hearing about Common for the 1st time around 95-96 off the strength of his beef with Cube. I had also just really started actually reading the "Source Magazine" cover to cover. The way they would always describe him like he was some "virtuoso" I decided to take a listen.......
Needless to say I have never been impressed by him as a rapper whatsoever. I did like "the corner " but pretty much strictly off of "that era" of Kanye production. Other than that he's always been pretty bland to me. But I do like how he's parlayed his career into other big time things. When he shows up they make it seem like he was bigger rapper than he ever was. Did he even ever go platinum?

Purely on some rap shyt I would say he is. One of the few MCs who can legit flow off the top.



Dude just popped up and started freestyling with dude.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

He's been the same rapper since forever. Matter of fact, the attitude and flair some are claiming he had is the rarity.

Can I Borrow a Dollar really is his only rap with aggression album. Resurrection, Be & The Auditorium are his peaks. Everything else is one note, or trash. His subject matter doesn't change, so then is comes down to sonically and sequencing. But he's just not for everyone and the older people get, tastes change, but there's a reason Com's name isn't mentioned like that...and I'm a fan and have 95% of his albums since he began.

Nah, there was still an attitude present up until the mid-00s. Post-Gap Common ain't saying "In a circle of fakkits, your name is mentioned" and telling dudes they rhyme like a nikka with his nipples pierced or doing skits where he's pretending to be a female ally while smacking bytches up - all of those were from were from Like Water For Chocolate. And Ressurrection still had a lot of knucklehead lyrics, it was just over jazz samples

 

[FunkDoc1112]

That would've been dope!

He was actually on the Loud tour back in the day, with Mobb, Pun, dead prez, Raekwon and Beatnuts. That was definitely his kinda vibe and they all used to work together back then. He would've fit right in at the label.

Black Thought, too. It's always funny that being part of The Roots put Thought in a box when dude is actually a Philly goon that just so happened to be friends with ?uestlove since they were kids. He has more in common with State Prop than Soulquarians.

 

[Professor K.]

Real rappers is hard to find








like a remote

 

[I love Latina women]

its been bland since electric circus

The kanye stimulus gave him a lifeline

i get why people said that and still say that now about Electric Circus and my thoughts are it's because of the sound more so than how he rapped at times

aside from his rhymes on "Come Close". lol.

but to me, Electric Circus still had some fire, even though it didn't have the sound most people wanted Common to rap over

but at least it did sound like he was being true to himself and it sounded authentic to who he was at that time.

i know im in the minority but Electric Circus has some of my favorite Common songs on it


the Common of today, don't even rap like this:

 

[I love Latina women]

Yup! I've been saying the same for a minute.

I think the new album is dope. But something happened to Common after Be, where it seems like when he started acting and getting more into the films, he stopped having that edge and attitude in his lyrics. Just seems like he wants to be safer now, or like he has a publicist telling him how he should speak in songs.

There's sh*t that he said on the "Resurrection" remix that Large Professor did, or on De La's "The Bizness" or The Roots' "Universe At War", that he would never say today. Just clever lines that had that "wow factor" and made him one of the best. Today, he comes off as more like the actor Common doing an album. But you're right, the new vibe can definitely get boring and kinda bland. I appreciate that he's still doing his thing, and love that Pete is still killing the beats, but Common has lost a step when it comes to having that presence on the mic.

Yeah, I been going back and listening to One Day It’ll Make Sense and LWFC a lot the last few months and the more I revisit those albums and compare them to his latest album, it’s like night and day

That’s a good observation, it is more like he’s acting when he’s rapping now and he definitely wouldn’t spit rhymes like those today. Another one of my favorite Common features is his verse on Pharoahe Monch’s “The Truth”.

It’s nice to see that he’s still making music, especially with Pete Rock seemingly finding his second wind; I just wish Common still was spitting sharp rhymes over those beats

 

[I love Latina women]

I said that album was good but boring at points, and that LL's was better and I got looked at crazy.

Yeah, LL’s latest album is better than Common’s latest


LL sounded hungry, Common sounds like he’s on cruise control

 

[I love Latina women]

At least Dead Prez never messed with White meat and sold out black folks…

U got Talib and Mos smashing a bunch of vanilla groupies after shows.


Even Jill Scott was getting her big ass plowed down.

Maxwell and D’Angelo didn’t end up weird or exposed as scumbags

D’Angelo was arrested trying to pick up a hooker who was an officer

D'Angelo Pleads Guilty to Prostitution Charge

Singer was busted by an officer posing as a prostitute last year

www.rollingstone.com

And before that, he was dealing with drug issues

D’Angelo Pleads Guilty To Drug Possession

Michael Eugene Archer, better known as R&B star D'Angelo, has pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of alcohol after a January traffic stop.

www.billboard.com

D’Angelo Arrested In Virginia

Grammy-winning R&B singer D'Angelo (real name: Michael Eugene Archer) had to be subdued with pepper spray yesterday (Nov. 18) after he resisted arrest on misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving and other counts, police said. Chesterfield, Va., police said they went to D'Angelo's suburban...

www.billboard.com

 

[I love Latina women]

Yeah FF was the last time I really checked for him. Half the album was fire but half the album was trash

bruh, i remember downloading that album when it leaked and listening to it like

 

[Mac Ten]

D’Angelo was arrested trying to pick up a hooker who was an officer

D'Angelo Pleads Guilty to Prostitution Charge

Singer was busted by an officer posing as a prostitute last year

www.rollingstone.com

And before that, he was dealing with drug issues

D’Angelo Pleads Guilty To Drug Possession

Michael Eugene Archer, better known as R&B star D'Angelo, has pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of alcohol after a January traffic stop.

www.billboard.com

D’Angelo Arrested In Virginia

Grammy-winning R&B singer D'Angelo (real name: Michael Eugene Archer) had to be subdued with pepper spray yesterday (Nov. 18) after he resisted arrest on misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving and other counts, police said. Chesterfield, Va., police said they went to D'Angelo's suburban...

www.billboard.com

I watched a video on Comedy Hype about D’Angelo….


Dude was really depressed.

He didn’t wanna be seen as just a sex symbol.

When I heard that the women kept trying to grab his Turkey leg on stage, I was like.






With that said, Angie Stone did something to that guy.


Her thirsty ass wanted a taste of D’Angelo despite how young he was.

 

[Mac Ten]

‘The People’ sounds like it was made for Obama’s campaign

That beat sounded like vintage Kanye….


The People sounded like it was recorded during the Be sessions.


Obama and Common were both Chicago representatives too

 

[Tetris v2.0]

He's cool but he isn't concerned with concepts and pushing the boundaries anymore

He's coasting and Common coasting is still better than most rappers

 

[I love Latina women]

I watched a video on Comedy Hype about D’Angelo….


Dude was really depressed.

He didn’t wanna be seen as just a sex symbol.

When I heard that the women kept trying to grab his Turkey leg on stage, I was like.






With that said, Angie Stone did something to that guy.


Her thirsty ass wanted a taste of D’Angelo despite how young he was.

yeah, D'angelo went through it after the "How Does It Feel" music video. that shyt literally broke him down, like mentally.

in fact, i remember years ago Questlove said something to the effect of "D' just wants to get fat, grow out his hair, live in the woods and drink moonshine"

D was over the music industry after that "How Does It Feel" video.

then he was dealing with being an alcoholic and a coke habit too

Bruh just wants the respect as an artist; he's a musician's musician. Real introverted brother

 

[I love Latina women]

Nah, some of his most aggressive rapping was on One Day It'll All Make Sense.

That's one of his best albums that people seem to constantly overlook. Sh*t started getting weird after that one, until Be.

One Day It'll All Make Sense is the album where i feel like he found his voice and a balance between witty/sharp rhymes and crafting great songs.

That (ODIAMS) was his peak as an emcee to me. So many classic lines on there..... "Relaxed like Dru Down's hair!" LOL! Common was that nikka back then.


I love Like Water For Chocolate more so for the production, Dilla put his heart and soul into those beats