>Yeah. Well, what I mean by that... is that Common saying that
>AFTER flipping the script on EC started to feel like he was
>doing it more to prove he was still not to be fucked with on
>certain subjects rather than just those classic "WTF did
>Common just say" moments. On LWFC I felt Com was just RIGHT
>there with the rawness. Though placement ("Nag Champa" reuse
>of that old verse) was odd, it still felt like those moments
>when Com would catch you off guard back then. (See: "Car Horn"
>and the "tossing salads" line). I kind of thought that was
>dope about Common. Sure he was hanging out with the boho crowd
>but he was still a raw dude from Chicago who could offend. My
>favorite of such lines (besides the aforementioned "circle of
>faggots" line) was the one where he said someone "raps like a
>dude with his nipples pierced". LMFAO.
>
>EC and "Between Me, You, and Liberation", "Come Close" was
>like him becoming full boho. And it seemed like some of that
>kind of shit was over. Then he was like "NOPE... ROLLBACK"
>
>it's hard to quantify that, it's just the emotional feel I got
>from hearing that line on Be. I laughed at it anyway.


I can see what you're saying. On Between Me, You & Liberation, it seemed like he made the full transformation into a fully conscious dude, so to flip it back does seem KIND of odd. But I just didn't find the line from Real People that you referenced all that shocking I guess. But again, I totally see what you're getting at.

And as a huge lifetime Common fan, I have been talking about his lack of "rawness" or that "it" factor since LWFC around here for a while, so I agree. Like you said, he was coffee shop/boho but still had that edge, that "swag" (ugh)...which makes his dope lyrics sound that much better from that old time period. Since then, he's still got dope rhymes but something has been missing a lot of the time. So I feel you.