Tag Archives: Common

Like Water For Chocolate

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After a couple drunken nights this past weekend of talking shit, watching music video and listening to tunes, me and my ace, Todd, decided that this week we would only listen to classic albums.  I guess we have had enough of the bullshit and needed to erase memories of MTV Jams with some refreshers of beautiful music.  I decided to start last night and today off on the best foot with one of my favorite albums of all time, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate.  This is one of the albums that stands out in my mind as shaping my taste and my own feelings towards music.  This is the album that really introduced me to Slum Village and Jay Dee(Dilla).  Like Water For Chocolate made me look deeper and find Fantastic Volume 2, which is another one of my favorite albums of all time.  I feel like Common really hit his stride with this album and production wise, The Soulquarians,  Dilla, ?uestlove and others created a perfect record.  It is impossible to choose favorites on an album like this so, I wanted to just post the videos that Common shot for this album.  I encourage everyone to turn off the radio and only listen to classics this whole week, on repeat.

Dooinit

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Classic shit Friday’s is still in full effect.  Today, I took a trip back to 1999/2000 to listen to Common’s classic Like Water For Chocolate.  This was an album that was very heavily played in my circle of friends when it came out.  This album marks many important moments for me.  Not only was this when I fell in love with Common’s music but this album was one of the albums that shaped my hip hop palate and it really introduced me to J Dilla as the producer and emcee and his group Slum Village.  Thelonious is still one of my favorite songs to this day.  Like Water for Chocalate is flawless from beginning to end.  Everything is on point from the features to the beats.  Needless to say it is hard to really  pick a favorite song but for today I’m jamming Dooinit a few times mainly because Common is talking hella shit.  This is also one of my favorite beats on the album as well.  Happy Friday to all and enjoy some more classic hip hop.  I hope Common can recapture some of the essence of this album for his new project. 

Get Ta Steppin

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Hi-Teknology

Everyone can breathe now, it’s finally Friday.  I got an urge last night after being in the studio with Rob Bates, Maja 7th, Dave Coresh, Chuck LI and Classick to listen to some old Rawkus shit again.  I’m not sure why I have been on Rawkus so tough lately.  Maybe I miss high school and feel like I need to go back.  BTW Classic shit coming from The League of OGs, Maja 7th, Dave Coresh and Chuck LI.  You can check Dave and Chuck on the Formal Introduction Tour in Memphis, Milwaukee and St Louis.  They put on a really dope show.  Anyway, last night I had my mind made up that I was going to listen to DJ Hi Tek’s first album, Hi Teknology.  This album came out back in 01.  Hi Tek released The Sun God with Common and Round and Round featuring Jonell for the singles.  Both tracks are really dope, in fact the whole album is really dope.  My favorite joint today is Get Ta Steppin featuring Mos Def and Vinia Mojica.  This is actually one of my favorite Mos Def songs of all time.  It has an incredible vibe that just puts you in a great mood.  You cant’ possibly be in a bad mood when listening to this joint.  I might put it on repeat all day and try to figure out the steps they are singing in the song.  I wonder what Vinia Mojica is doing these days.  She used to bless so many dope tracks.  Once again, Happy Friday to all.  Make sure you check out Dave Coresh and Chuck LI in Milwaukee, Memphis or St Louis and grab the tour mixtape from Dave. 

Still Gettin’ Mines……

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Soundbombing 2

“Now is the glass half full or half empty/ Common why they tempt me?”

I got the case of the Monday’s pretty bad this morning especially beacause I had to be at work by 7:40(cry me a river right?).  Today is my first day back on the job since July 30th but it feels like it has been a couple of months.  Vacation was perfect, almost too perfect.  However, it still feels good to be back home, back in a routine and back to reality.  I was talking to my dad last night about vacations and we both thought they should be banned.  It doesn’t matter how long a vacation is, it is never long enough and it makes coming back to work almost impossible.  I wonder how far I am from retirement?  I need to talk to my stock broker about the retirement calculator.  This morning wasn’t all bad though.  I downloaded several classic compilation albums while I was on vacation from Rawkus like the Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing tapes.  This morning I put in Soundbombing Volume 2.  I could put this whole album as the soundtrack to my week.  Today, one song is particular is very fitting even though it is a decade old, 1999 by Common and Sadat X.  Kweli even makes a little guest appearance on the intro.  Produced by Hi Tek, 1999 is a perfect example of the Rawkus sound.  It is actually that whole sound and that group of artists that really formed my love affair with hip hop.  Artists like Mos, Kweli, Hi Tek, Common, Pharoahe, Slum and The Roots have been the foundation for hip hop in my heart.  I’m sure I’m not the only one.  These cats are the continuation of artists like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest meanwhile incorporating influences from Rakim, KRS One, Public Enemy and others.  I’m not sure what happened to Rawkus as a whole but most of these artists are still doing their thing and putting out great music(minus Common’s UMC).  I promise after watching the video and listening to 1999, Monday might start to feel like Tuesday or even Wednesday.  I suggest you put this joint on repeat until noon. 

Desire

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Desire

“rapped like a mummy, not for the money, I could have sampled Diana Ross a long time ago”

Ahhhhhhhh……The days when Common actually meant what he said.  JK.  This Monday is looking a little brighter than the usual ones.  The temperature/fever has seemed to break and I got a 4 day work week that ends with BBQ’s and a Caribbean Fest.  Gregory Isaacs on the 4th.  I began my day feeling rather sheepish that I slept on this album for so long.  I must have been too busy D’ridin’ Lil Wayne to pay Pharoahe Monch’s Desire enough attention.  I remember my buddy, Tawwwwwwwwd telling me how ill it was but I never gave the album a fair shot.  However, this morning that shit kind of changed my life.  I have been wanting to hear some new Pharoahe Monch since his verse on The Matrix from Black Milk’s Tronic but it never dawned on me to relisten to Desire.  Thank God I finally did because I’m obsessed now.  Desire is incredible for real.  Pharoahes flow and lyrical prowess are unbelievable.  I actually paused the album for 5 minutes to try to do my freestyle imitation of Monch.  I see a new style in my future.  I used to bump his first solo project, Internal Affairs HEAVY back in high school and Desire does not disappoint.  It is a little more political and serious than Internal Affairs but Pharoahe still rips every song.  He is similiar to a Black Thought or an Elzhi in the fact that he never dumbs down his flow or lyrics for any song, regardless of topic.  Pharoahe even goes hard on female tracks.  It’s crazy.  It is hard for me to pick a favorite song on Desire yet so in spirit of a great weekend, a 4 day work week and Michael Jackson’s life and death, here is the whole album.  Listen intently with open ears.  I think that was my mistake the first time.  Actually my favorite joint on the album is the skit at the end of Let’s Go.  Dude raps about giving himself a stranger(if you don’t know you better axxx somebody). 

Download Pharoahe Monch-Desire
1.  Intro

2.  Free

3.  Desire

4.  Push

5.  Welcome to the Terrordome

6.  What It Is

7.  When Guns Are Drawn

8.  Let’s Go

9.  Body Baby

10.  Bar Tap

11.  Hold On

12.  So Good

13.  Trilogy

14. Agent Orange(UK Bonus)

15.  Book of Judges(Best Buy Bonus)

16.  Fuck You(Soundtrack Version)

I’m Your Worst Nightmare Squared

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Common

When I hear joints like Making A Name For Ourselves from Common’s One Day It Will All Make Sense featuring Canibus, it makes me realize how incredible hip hop can be.  The beat, which was produced by NO I.D. is just a grimey, simple head nodder and the both MCs just spit flames the whole way through.  Canibus absolutely MURDERS the track.  This has got to be one of my favorite Canibus verses of all time.  If anyone is NOT familiar with how Canibus gets down, do some research and download all his projects simply for his lyrics. Canibus is one of those MCs you could listen to a cappella and still be in awe.  This was also back in Common’s hay day where anything he touched was gold.  For all those who just hopped on the Common bandwagon, dude USED to go hard(see Common’s The Bitch in Yoo).  Nowadays, you rarely hear “MCs” going this hard.  If you are an aspiring MC or just a fan of dope beats and dope lyrics, check this joint out.  Listen to Canibus’ last verse.  Dude blacks out.  

“Yo the Canibus is an animal with a mechanical mandible/ coming to damage you, spittin understandable slang at you”

And those are just the first two bars.  JESUS!!!!!  Enjoy some real hip hop shit from two dope MCs.

Common featuring Canibus-Making A Name For Ourselves

He USED to Love H.E.R.

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Common

Remember when Common started dressing real suspect?  Erykah must have that BOMB.

I am never one of those people who says something is or isn’t hip hop because the music and the culture has become a melting pot of so many different aspects.  HOWEVER(and thats a BIG however), Common seems to have lost his mind.  Although I have been feeling this way since that bullshit ass single and album, Universal Mind Control, I saved my feelings about Common because he has stayed true and put out quality material from the jump.  He is one of the most consistent MCs(minus Electric Circus) and has put out album after album of dope music.  I feel like he can be mentioned in the same breath as The Roots who rarely disappoint fans and critics.  But NOW, I am officially calling Common a sellout.  He has a song with the Jonas Brothers.  That’s right THE JONAS BROTHERS(like capital letters make the words louder). This has to be some of the corniest shit since Nick Cannon in Love Don’t Cost A Thing(one of my favorite movies of all time).  That is like doing a song with Miley Cyrus for the Disney Channel.  I have officially given up on Common.  I understand he is getting movie checks(good for him) and the check for the Jonas Brothers song was probably rather large but at what point do you say FUCK the money?  I mean it is the Jonas Brother’s for fucksake.  I can honestly say that I  NEVER thought I would have to even mention their name on my site but this shit has got to stop.  J Dilla would probably spit in Common’s face right now and take back every song on Like Water For Chocolate.  The news continues to get worse and worse.  It seems like rappers will do ANYTHING to stay relevant regardless of how ridiculous it looks.  Common is the same cat who doesn’t agree with interracial marriage and once called Ice Cube a bitch and now this fool is on a record with the Jonas Brothers.  I am in utter disbelief.  I am ashamed of you Common.  I hope Serena Williams slaps the SHIT out of you for this one.  Check out the song if you can even stomach this collab.

The Jonas Brothers featuring Common Don’t Charge Me for the Crime