Go!: Common Classics

As hardcore rap was apexing in the 1990s, Common was percolating in the Chicago underground. A stylist in the Rakim school, his delivery flows with the syncopated rhythms of jazz. The new millennium brought a new sensibility to hip hop and new opportunies for Common. He hit out of the box with Like Water for Chocolate, featuring "The Light." With production helmed dominantly by Kanye West, The Neptunes and will.i.am, Common went from strength to strength, including standout 2005 effort Be. Compiled with Common's input, Go! gathers eleven Common classics from the past decade, plus material from the early in-demand battle record The Bitch In Yoo, and the brand new track, "Next Time (Just Write Version)," featuring Queen Latifah, recorded for the film Just Wright (um, featuring Common and Queen Latifah).