While many of his peers were drawing black and white pictures of thugs, gangsters, pimps and hoes Common was dipping into a thousand-color palette to paint a picture that would capture the experience of the average person and all of its nuances. The name of his masterpiece is BE, simple yet profound the album is culmination of 13 years in the music biz and a lifetime of feeling, learning and growing. "I look at my career like a circle," says Common. "My last album, Electric Circus, was the fur   [ read more ]

CD $14.99

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Common spent the '90s carrying the Native Tongues torch through an era dominated by gangsta rap, earning a sizable underground following. Positive-minded alternative rap came back into vogue by the new millennium, and Common managed to land with major label MCA for 2000's Like Water for Chocolate. The album established him as a leading figure of alternative rap's second generation, not just because of the best promotion he'd ever had, but also because it was his great musical leap forwa   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

VINYL FORMAT. While many of his peers were drawing black and white pictures of thugs, gangsters, pimps and hoes Common was dipping into a thousand-color palette to paint a picture that would capture the experience of the average person and all of its nuances. The name of his masterpiece is BE, simple yet profound the album is culmination of 13 years in the music biz and a lifetime of feeling, learning and growing. "I look at my career like a circle," says Common. "My last album, Electric Circus[ read more ]

2xLP $17.99

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Finding Forever is the follow up to the four times Grammy nominated, critically heralded and Kanye West produced Be, which spawned hits including 'The Corner', 'Go', and 'Testify'. This album finds Kanye again taking the bulk of production work with help from Will.I.Am on the sultry 'I Want You', the late great J. Dilla on 'So Far To Go', featuring a surprise guest appearance by DAngelo and G.O.O.D Music producer Devo Springsteen on 'Misunderstood'. On Finding Forever, Common, rips the   [ read more ]

CD $10.99

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An overview of Common's early days on Relativity -- featuring a few tracks each from Can I Borrow A Dollar?, Resurrection and One Day It Will All Make Sense -- a strong sample of his earlier greatness.

CD $13.99

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VINYL FORMAT. Finding Forever is the follow up to the four times Grammy nominated, critically heralded and Kanye West produced Be, which spawned hits including 'The Corner', 'Go', and 'Testify'. This album finds Kanye again taking the bulk of production work with help from Will.I.Am on the sultry 'I Want You', the late great J. Dilla on 'So Far To Go', featuring a surprise guest appearance by DAngelo and G.O.O.D Music producer Devo Springsteen on 'Misunderstood'. On Finding Forever, Co   [ read more ]

LP $13.99

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With his previous records (released under the name Common Sense), Common demonstrated that he was one of the few Midwestern rappers to have a unique vision, but One Day It'll All Make Sense is where his talents come into focus. Blending hip-hop with jazz is a '90s clichT, but Common relies on bebop rhythms and street poetry, resulting in an album that has a loose, organic flow. The grooves have deep roots and the rhymes have humor, heart, and intelligence -- few of contemporaries could    [ read more ]

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Firmly out of the underground by the time Electric Circus came out in late 2002, Common takes the vision to the next level, employing high-profile producers ?uestlove, Dilla (Jay Dee), and the Neptunes. It's no surprise that the ?uestlove tracks push the most unclaimed territory. The Roots' Phrenology record, which appeared concurrent with Electric Circus, also flips the script on preconceived notions of beats and rhymes. Frequently the new sound on both records is pushed into    [ read more ]

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Although Chicago is often praised for its blues, jazz, and house music, the city has failed to be successful when it comes to rap. One of the few Chicago MCs who has enjoyed any type of national attention is Common Sense, whose complex style of rapping and jazz-flavored tracks inspire comparisons to De La Soul, Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Pharcyde. On his sophomore effort, Resurrection, the South Sider doesn't hesitate to let you know that he has considera   [ read more ]

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A former Source magazine "Unsigned Hype" winner, Common Sense almost single-handedly put Chicago hip-hop on the map in the early '90s with his excellent debut, Can I Borrow a Dollar?, which displayed a truly unique sound that, nevertheless, situated the rapper somewhere between the ground staked out by A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr. Can I Borrow a Dollar? features the fabulous, oddly muted production of 2 Pc. Drk Productions (Immenslope and Twilite Tone). They opt for a spar   [ read more ]

CD $13.28

Electric Circus cost and won Common some fans. It was very exploratory, especially so for a rap album released in 2002, containing developments -- some of which soared, some of which sank -- that few longtime followers could have foreseen. Listeners either felt Common was picking up fresh, new inspirations, or that he was just being distracted by a whole lot of ill-fitting nonsense. With Be, it seems the MC has realized that not every album that's sprawling and eclectic is as good as {^Electr   [ read more ]

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