>I really don't though. Literally none of the folks on my list
>of current favorites working today fit that description at all
>and most of them are also rapping about "what grownups think
>about."
>
>The difference: they're doing it really well.

^^^ right. And the music is interesting and inspiring.


>Common's cemented his place as a top-tier rapper while doing
>it really well, too. But right now his version of grown-man
>rap feels like a checklist of cliches articulated through
>uninspired, uninspiring lyricism. I wouldn't even say it's
>bad, I just find it boring and predictable.

That's exactly right. It's just - there. It's fine. It's very listenable. But it's just predictable and redundant. And Comm's my favorite all time MC so I'm saying this while having a heavy, heavy bias for the guy, and even I can't get myself to care for most of his recent output since Black America Again (which was *excellent*).

A good example is the most recent song with Black Thought. Common used to outrap Thought on their songs. Love of My Life (Comm definitely won that one IMO), UNIVerse at War (could go either way but I prefer Common on there as well) ... but on this new song it's jarring how Thought *sounds* like a wily veteran who still has it, and who can rap in his fucking sleep. And Comm just sounds .. there.


>Last year, Blu dropped a substantial album's worth of music
>working with similar subject matter as Common is right now,
>complete with "Imagine the world like this" tracks, plus a
>handful of EPs, and even when he's working through the same
>ideas that he's spoken to on another track, it usually sounds
>fresh both technically and subject-wise. Not always - he has a
>few tropes he leans on - but usually. It's not about whether
>or not someone is positive/socially aware/talking about life
>as an adult, it's about whether they're doing it well.

Yea. I also find that Riggins' production leaves a lot to be desired. Again, it's *good*, it's fine, literally none of it is bad. But I find that a lot of it sounds very similar, has similar elements and tones - it's just midtempo freestyle jazz jamout sessions. Nothing stands out.

And maybe that's what they're going for. It just doesn't do much for me. It's like rap easy listening.