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Common's discography


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Common's discography  

5 members have voted

  1. 1. Favorite album

    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/36010333.jpg[/img] Can I Borrow A Dollar?
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/9886393.jpg[/img] Resurrection
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/74900636.jpg[/img] One Day It'll All Make Sense
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/66998818.jpg[/img] Like Water For Chocolate
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/44033545.jpg[/img] Electric Circus
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/68041774.png[/img] Be
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/76937604.jpg[/img] Finding Forever
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/44063627.jpg[/img] Universal Mind Control
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/71995002.png[/img] The Dreamer/The Believer
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    • [img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/126s/99708477.png[/img] Nobody's Smiling
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All credit goes to jarrylf for creating these series. I thought I'd start one myself happy.gif, plus I'm in a writing mood at the moment (I stink at these but I'll try lol).


Common has become one of my top 10 all-time favorite rappers. What distinguishes him from most others is that his style is very cerebral and poetic; he speaks to the mind and soul. He was probably the closest male counterpart to Erykah Badu. And speaking of whom, I first discovered him through her song "Love of My Life (An Ode To Hip-Hop)" back when it came out, and so decided to check out his music from there.

I'm the type to always start at the beginning chronologically, because I always like to see how an artist's music developed over time. This brought me to his debut Can I Borrow A Dollar? He himself said this was his least favorite, and I can understand why. While it showed promise, he still hadn't quite found his niche at this point. It's still a good debut though, sporadic squeaks and all. tongue.gif

I'd go as far as to say that Resurrection was the first of five consecutive classics in a row (Yep, including Electric Circus which I'll get to soon). This is where he really came into his own. It features "I Used To Love H.E.R.," his signature song and easily one of the top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever made. The way it tricks the listener into thinking it's about a troubled girl, then turns out to actually be a metaphor for hip-hop ... genius! :clapping: My 2nd favorite is "Thisisme." The album also started the tradition of having his father, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, close the albums (UMC being an exception).

(Now I've never been a big fan of diss records personally, but 1996's diss track to Ice Cube "The B:censored: in Yoo" proved that he can switch from teddy bear to grizzly when he wants to lol.)

Before J. Cole's "Lost Ones," there was "Retrospect To Life," the lead single to 1997's One Day It'll All Make Sense. This album has elements of classic hip-hop ("Gettin' Down At The Ampitheather" with De La Soul) up to the more modern like "Reminding Me (Of Sef)." The De La Soul track is very catchy ("Just dance, you know you gots the feelin" :dance:), but the one song that really grew to become my favorite here though was "G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition)."

(Between albums, the single "1-9-9-9" with Sadat-X was released in its "yearsake." An underrated gem.)

Like Water For Chocolate is probably his most ambitious and intellectual work. After "H.E.R.," "The Light" would be the runnerup signature track. The remix with Badu is just as good too. As a lover of African music myself, I especially loved the Feta Kuti tribute "Time Travelin'." And "A Filmed Called PIMP" was pretty funny to me laugh.gif; I loved the interaction between him and MC Lyte.

What put off many people to Electric Circus is exactly what turned me to the album; it completely breaks the status quo. For the longest, I only heard "Come Close," which does not even begin to scratch the surface. It's very diverse including electronica ("New Wave"), jazz ("I Am Music"), gospel ("Heaven Somewhere"), and even psychedelic rock ("Jimi Was A Rock Star"). After many listens, it's gone on to become my personal favorite! :excited: With this album you have to be openminded, or just plain weird like me. :fart:

In a way, Be is like the What's Going On of hip-hop. Those who were Kanye fans most likely came to know him through this album, and it's definitely accessible. It's also shorter than his previous albums. "Testify" is my favorite here and, just like "H.E.R.," has a plot twist at the end. One of his best music videos too. :good:

Finding Forever, not his best but still a pretty good album (and "pretty good" automatically means "great!" for 2007 lol). It's his most commercial-sounding, and his only album to hit #1 (although Be did come close at #2). It starts out strong in the first half, but then it kind of loses me aside from "Misunderstood." Might give it a relisten.

And the universally-panned Universal Mind Control wasn't that bad to me, just below his standards. Even though I felt it was far better executed with Electric Circus, I can still appreciate that he was trying something different. I'm here for "Make My Day" though; all his songs with Cee-Lo are really good. cool.gif

The latest, The Dreamer/The Believer, was a return to form. This was actually the first studio album I heard in full; I only heard his two greatest hits before this. When I initially heard the lead single "Ghetto Dreams," I thought it was fire ... especially with another legend Nas on board! I wouldn't go as far to say it's a classic, it's just ... good. smile.gif Both demi-title tracks stood out to me as well; there's such a triumphant atmosphere in them. No I.D.'s production here actually reminds me of Kanye's Dark Twisted Fantasy (which makes sense since he also co-produced it).

My Personal Ranking (with favorite song)

1. Electric Circus ("Jimi Was A Rock Star")

2. Resurrection ("I Used To Love H.E.R.")

3. Like Water For Chocolate ("Time Travelin'")

4. Be ("Testify")

5. One Day It'll All Make Sense ("G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition)")

6. The Dreamer/The Believer ("Ghetto Dreams")

7. Finding Forever ("Misunderstood")

8. Can I Borrow A Dollar? ("Take It EZ")

9. Universal Mind Control ("Make My Day")

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You sir, did VERY good :thumbup: And a very good analysis. Common would've been 1 down the road for me, because I'm not that familiar with his "Common Sense 90's" stuff, I found him through Erykah, and then the Electric era and on, I SOOOO love his vibe and his ability to just adapt to sounds, he's SO eclectic, and I'm so glad I cant call him underrated, because it seems everyone does know him through his music and style.

With Electric Circus, I LOVE Come Close so damn much, such a great song and video and Mary feature. And as an Aquarius Im obligated to love Aquarius lol it was a great album and era

I think as far as right now Be is my fave era, like I love every single song from that album. But I REALLY love Go and They Say. He & Kanye were great musically together.

Those are about the only 2 I know the most about or gave that much attention too, so what I'll do is, by Friday morning, I'll rundown his entire discography then do a better breakdown of them all.

And I'll save my Discog artist for Sunday, you did REALLY great, again you did great :cheers:

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Electric Circus is my favorite album by Common. Its a very progressive album as it trascends the genre of Hip Hop and I can tell he was highly influenced by Badu when he was creating it, but something about it is also eternally Common. Every song is an extension of himself and his artistry AND its presented in a very experimental way. I love it. I could listen to it all day and feel like im some.where in deep space.

this song moves my voodoo spirit:

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What put off many people to Electric Circus is exactly what turned me to the album; it completely breaks the status quo. For the longest, I only heard "Come Close," which does not even begin to scratch the surface. It's very diverse including electronica ("New Wave"), jazz ("I Am Music"), gospel ("Heaven Somewhere"), and even psychedelic rock ("Jimi Was A Rock Star"). After many listens, it's gone on to become my personal favorite! :excited:With this album you have to be openminded, or just plain weird like me. :fart:

HA!

love you for that.

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:mellow: @ the fact that he has albums before Like Chocolate...I now remember Resurrection but i was completely unaware of the others.

Common is one of the few hip-hop artists I have time for. Like Water is prob may favourite. Kanyefest "Be" is cool but feels like its over before it starts. I didnt like Electric Circus and Universal Mind Control, well, i never gave it a chance.

Finding Forever needs to be revisited and I didnt know he had a new album out so thats overdue too!

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His discography is amazing. I love all the albums but Electric Circus IS my fav. It's weird but it works. It's like a Urban version of a Moloko album meaning far from basic and not for everyone :wub:

Finding Forever is very underrated. The People, Driving Me Wild, I Want You, So Far To Go, Break My Heart,Misunderstood ...

First time i heard this song , LAWD -_-

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Thanks jarry! For the 90s albums, I highly recommend Resurrection and One Day....

Yeah "Come Close" is such a good song as is the video; those cue cards were brilliant! :lol: Oh yeah, and another thing about the album, despite it being so diverse, is that it's still cohesive. I end up wanting to play it straight through. And I concur with what voodoo said. He meshes with each style and it doesn't come off forced; he's still himself. Too bad only one single came out of the project though. "I Am Music" is my 2nd favorite, I think it would've made a nice video. ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4pXvhvR2Lc

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I'll have to revisit this thread when I have more time to dissect his discography properly, but I will say that Common is one of the few artists who I feel just get better with age. And when I say that I don't necessarily mean each album supercedes the last, but he is constantly growing and exploring new depths which I absolutely love. And right now he's on a hot streak.

My ranking (not having heard Can I Borrow a Dollar? or Resurrection):

1. Universal Mind Control

2. Finding Forever

3. Electric Circus

4. Be

5. The Dreamer/The Believer

6. Like Water For Chocolate

7. One Day It'll All Make Sense

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  • 2 years later...

Now that he just dropped his latest album Nobody's Smiling, I shall share my lil really rushed review here... B)

Nobodys+Smiling+Deluxe.png

On first listen, I thought it was alright. I appreciated it more on 2nd listen though. Interesting and varied production from No I.D., and Com still holds a steady, storytelling flow. It's a concept album of sorts, which captures the dark atmosphere of Chicago's violence. "Kingdom" is the centerpiece of the album; that track is just powerful. The Elijah Blake-assisted "Real" was a musical highlight - it's my current favorite at the moment; the most R&B-tinged of the songs. And "Rewind That" is another standout ~ a nice personal tribute to the late J. Dilla. I wouldn't consider it one of his best albums, but it's still listenable. B) My rating: B-

My top 3 changed, but it's constantly changing lol. Most of my overall album ranking hasn't changed, but as of now it goes... (+ favorite track at the moment)

1. Like Water for Chocolate | "A Song for Assata"

2. Resurrection | "thisisme"

3. Electric Circus | "I Am Music"

4. Be | "Love Is..."

5. One Day It'll All Make Sense | "Gettin' Down in the Ampitheathre"

6. The Dreamer/The Believer | "Gold"

7. Finding Forever | "Misunderstood"

8. Nobody's Smiling | "Real"

9. Can I Borrow a Dollar? | "Penny for My Thoughts"

10. Universal Mind Control | "Changes"

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