Idolator: Common

Common And Pharrell: Professors Of Robotics

Jess Harvell — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EDT

A leather-clad Common, Pharrell (or probably just some dude) in a robot head, and a lot of "abstract" black and white computer graphix: the video for "Universal Mind Control"—which leaked way back in May—is either "stark" or "cost-effective." All I know is those glowing red robot eyes are going to haunt my dreams tonight, much as Pharrell's vocoder hook is going to haunt me for the rest of the day. [Nah Right]

Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common, Universal ...

Maura Johnston — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:15:00 EDT

Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common, Universal Music Group, Island Def Jam, and Interscope Geffen A & M were all hit with a copyright-infringement suit by the daughter of musician Joe Farrell, thanks to their sampling his 1974 song "Upon This Rock" without Farrell's estate's OK. [Reuters]

Common Makes A Summer Jam With Pharrell? Whuh?

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:30:00 EDT

ARTIST: Common
SONG TITLE: "Universal Mind Control (feat. Pharrell)"
WEB DEBUT: May 22, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT How did Pharrell keep this beat away from Madonna? It's his best in a while—electro-dance that makes me want to put some cardboard out on the sidewalk and practice my moves. (Anybody want to school me on the source?) Common's staid, cheesy flow even fits the retro "yes, yes, y'all" vibe. This is easily the most immediately likable track I've ever heard from Common, possibly because it's the first one where the beat grabbed my attention before the lyric, without being Kanye bombast.

WHERE TO HEAR IT: Hip-Hop DX has a stream, Rap-Up has a download, and the track's starting to pop up on YouTube.

Breaking News: Common Is Probably Not Gay

Anthony Miccio — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:05:26 EDT

The homophobia of his early albums, as well as recent singles (I'm pretty sure "stay in your lane, Brokeback ain't the way of the game" is meant as a gaybait in 2007's "The Game") would imply that Common is seriously bothered by alternate lifestyles. Even his pseudo-apologia "Between Me, You & Liberation" on Electric Circus was more conflicted than regretful. But this video of an awkward Common nodding and adding "yes, yes, y'all"'s to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Holiday" at an outdoor fair in San Francisco reveals that if he can't get over the idea of two men having sex, it's not because he's a closet queen. [TMZ]

The Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament Takes A Squiggly Path

mjohnston — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:00:15 EST

Welcome back to our Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament, which has already provided us with a few tight races, a few blowouts, and many, many amazing comments from the ballot-casting public. Today we close out the first round of voting in the Bad Photoshop Bracket with two covers that look like they were inspired by the same Trapper Keeper—or at the very least, the same batch of bad hallucinogens.

Common And Lily Allen Have A Weird-Looking (Video) Baby

jharv — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:32:45 EDT

Well, some 20 hours after the video for Common and Lily Allen's new single hit the Internet, no less than 900,000 copies have appeared on the various video sites, perhaps not so surprising for a guy who recently had a No. 1 album and a woman who might as well have in the perspective-skewed world of bloggery. Common sports a white penguin suit, there's an astronaut, some aquamarine-tinted beer commercial hallways, Lily Allen recreates the climatic running-in-slo-mo scene from "Under The Bridge" (somehow having less pendulous chest wobble than A. Keidis) in the only green dress she seems to own, a woman becomes pregnant, there are masks of what look like Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons (??), etc. What does it all mean? That the jumbled, quasi-narrative pop video is not yet dead? That better Lily Allen than John Mayer? Nothing at all? Everything?

Video: Common Feat. Lily Allen, "Drivin Me Wild" [The Fader]

Common Finds The Top Spot

mjohnston — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:39:32 EDT

Buoyed by the power of his super-psychedelic hoodie, no doubt, Common debuted at No. 1 on this week's Billboard 200. His Kanye West-produced album Finding Forever sold 155,000 copies in its first week on store shelves in the U.S., a total that was high enough to give the Chicago rapper the first No. 1 album of his career.

Biggest Debuts: Korn's cleverly untitled Untitled sold 123,000 copies and debuted at No. 2; Sean Kingston's self-titled debut album sold 75,000 copies and entered the chart at No. 6, while the better-than-Fergie summer single "Beautiful Girls" sold 235,000 copies in its second week of being available. (No doubt the execs at Epic Records are getting suicidal, suicidal over the fact that Kingston wasn't born seven years earlier.) Right behind Kingston was the latest installment from the Kidz Bop Kidz; Kidz Bop 12 sold 71,000 copies.

Notable Jumps: Michael Bublé's Call Me Irresponsible was the only new entry in this week's top 20, ticking up to No. 20 from No. 27.

Dropping Off: Sum 41, last week's No. 7 album, dropped all the way to No. 34; its units-sold total fell from 45,000 to 19,000.

Nickelback Award For Inexplicable Durability: Not to pick on oldish-timey alt-rock acts that still have fanbases, but how on earth do people take these guys seriously at all? What, they're only angry about their lives and the entire existence of everything in the world when they're on stage, but when they're making press appearances, the world is hunky-dory? Why, it's enough to make me ... write an angry song about it! Yeah!

Common Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200 [Billboard]

Common Finds Himself On Reviewers' Minds

mjohnston — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:00:49 EDT

Every week, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today's entry is Common's Finding Forever, which hits stores in the U.S. tomorrow:

• "When an album's missteps still convey its overall passion, though, admiration remains. Does Finding Forever improve on the questionably classic Be? In some ways, yes. Kanye experiments more (hear his mimicking of Dilla's off-kilter sample chopping on "Break My Heart"), while Common continually pushes boundaries by simply spitting genuinely. Truthfully, though, comparisons aren't necessary. Once again, Common makes timeless hip-hop seem easy." [XXL]
• "To keep from sounding didactic, Common has a counterbalance: the lush, tuneful backup devised by Kanye West (the album's executive producer, main track producer and guest rapper) and others. Rich strings, cooing voices and keyboards hinting at 1970s soul suffuse the album with aspiration, while in love songs like 'I Want You' (produced by will.i.am) Common sounds genuinely forlorn. Common has a lot on his mind, but he and Mr. West understand that his messages travel best when the ride is smooth." [NYT]
• "The album is both lush and gritty, integrating awkwardly hacked samples, rowdy percussion, and sweet backing vocals from neo-soul hipsters like Dwele (Slum Village) and Bilal (Erykah Badu, Jill Scott). With that kind of muscle, Common need not worry about watching his mouth. B+" [EW]
• "It could just be a matter of an album needing the right audience: Its over-earnest soul-rap production and righteous indignation might strike a nerve with anyone who's under the impression that "real rap" needs to be saved from some evil influence (like, I don't know, Southern tracks with hooks or whatever). The problem is, Common already brought this "real" hip hop back two years ago, and by presenting a weaker, more frivolous and significantly duller version of it, he's risking falling into the same routine of formulaic coasting as the white-tee strawmen older heads gripe about. Call it Be Minus, and let me know when he's found his spark again. 5.6" [Pitchfork]

Leak Of The Day: Common Once Again Goes To The Mat

Brian Raftery — Fri, 11 May 2007 12:02:33 EDT

"The Game" is another solid track from Common's upcoming Finding Forever album; while it's not as leap-out-at-you great as "The People", it's further proof that DJ Premier should be employed on at least 80 percent of all rap tracks. Weirdly, this is the second Common track in a row to make a yoga reference, which means that he's about one album away from doing ads for the Gap's new line of Shavasana sweats:

~~Common - The Game~~ [MP3, link expired; via Nah Right]

Leak Of The Day: Common Stretches Out

Brian Raftery — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:10:29 EDT

"The People," a new song from Common's upcoming Finding Forever album, wound up on Spine Magazine earlier this week, and it's one of his best tracks yet. Produced by Kanye West, "The People" is a sharp state-of-the-state cut that ties together the Grammys, a Finding Nemo reference and a jab at white people who only care about "dogs and yoga." Just don't tell Common about this, or he'll be really pissed!

~~Common - The People~~ [MP3, link expired]

Videodrone: Common And Kanye West Take A Shine To Chi-Town

Brian Raftery — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:23:59 EST

Common debuted his new single, "South Side," during the weekend's Pepsi Mega-Citement Soft-Drink Purchase Hullabaloo; it's surely the first hip-hop song of the year to include references to Steve Jobs, Grey Poupon, and American Idol. The track also features a cameo by Kanye West, who shows his usual restraint by only taking over sixty percent of the track.

Common & Kanye West - Southside LIVE (2-3-2007) [Onsmash, via Spine Magazine]