https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRS8e-lysQU.

this got released a couple weeks back.
with that Dilla heat on the beat.

V.

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http://confessionsofacurlymind.com
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DROkayplayer™

i still fuck with him, but not this style so much

It was fresh back in like 2005 when he first started going this route w/songs like "It's Your World" etc. Now it's just tired as fuck for the most part, super redundant even though the subject matter changes from time to time. Doesn't move the needle at all.

Give me more "Pyramids" type stuff.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

>It was fresh back in like 2005 when he first started going
>this route w/songs like "It's Your World" etc. Now it's just
>tired as fuck for the most part, super redundant even though
>the subject matter changes from time to time. Doesn't move the
>needle at all.
>
>Give me more "Pyramids" type stuff.

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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca

Cuz that had a different vibe even down to the guests

You take the 2-4 weak songs off NS and it’s solid as
hell.

Even then, most com albums have a few skippers.

I feel like folks slept on or even unfairly shitted on
that album.


It was fresh back in like 2005 when he first started going
>this route w/songs like "It's Your World" etc. Now it's just
>tired as fuck for the most part, super redundant even though
>the subject matter changes from time to time. Doesn't move the
>needle at all.

I don’t disagree, I do think people are too hard on
Common, Yasiin, etc though.

Like are the people who want com to switch it up ok
with the stuff he tried on NS?

Do the people who think Com should hang it up also
criticize Yasiin for hanging it up?

Etc

I think *sometimes* our favorites can’t win regardless.
>
>Give me more "Pyramids" type stuff.

Sure, but even that song had that corny hero/sandwhich
line. And that track sounds like it would fit on NS.

As far as the track in the OP, I agree it’s forgettable
though.

>Cuz that had a different vibe even down to the guests
>
>You take the 2-4 weak songs off NS and it’s solid as
>hell.

I think if he took off those weak songs and added pretty much every bonus track, that album was fire - so yea, with you 100%.


>Even then, most com albums have a few skippers.
>
>I feel like folks slept on or even unfairly shitted on
>that album.

I think it was more the former than the latter. I don't remember a lot of folks shitting on it, just that it flew largely under the radar for whatever reason.

Like you said, it was good cause it did have a different vibe - but it wasn't exactly mindblowing or super exciting. Was just very, very solid.


>I don’t disagree, I do think people are too hard on
>Common, Yasiin, etc though.
>
>Like are the people who want com to switch it up ok
>with the stuff he tried on NS?
>
>Do the people who think Com should hang it up also
>criticize Yasiin for hanging it up?
>
>Etc

Yea man I'm with you. I think I went a little too hard in the post you're responding to but that wasn't really the tone I intended to give off. I just meant songs like these are sleepy time, I'm not saying that Comm has been sleepy time since 2005. By no means would I be saying that - as you know I'm one of his biggest, longtime fans.

I just get bored with these types of tracks. And he's been doing them for a long time.

An example of Comm going the "easy listening" (for lack of a better term) route that's more effective IMO was "Red Wine" from his last album. That track GOESSSS.


>I think *sometimes* our favorites can’t win regardless.

Agreed. I've said this before but I think a big part of it is that we now have so much of their greatest material to compare them to, so they have an impossible standard to live up to.

If Comm had dropped "Nobody's Smiling" in 2002 it'd have been dubbed a classic. But in 2014 we were all so used to Common being really fucking good that anything less than excellent doesn't really break the surface beyond his core fanbase.


>>Give me more "Pyramids" type stuff.
>
>Sure, but even that song had that corny hero/sandwhich
>line. And that track sounds like it would fit on NS.
>
>As far as the track in the OP, I agree it’s forgettable
>though.

Haha true. He has his moments.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

Almost in the vein of reply 1 but not quite.

The song itself isn't so bad for me. It's the.... pretentiousness of the video. I'm all for the beautiful black imagery (truly all for it), but this video somehow manages not to feel natural... almost like it's hamfisted black artistry, going through the motions and hitting key visual points. It's hard to explain... like when he goes acapela and the woman is dancing as the camera pans back to him exaggerating his words and hand movements to drive home lyrics. Dude, just 'be'. It just felt like "here's a big artistic moment, ready.... go!" Then there's the woman on the couch with the "Black and Beautiful" banner on. We see that she's both black and beautiful. The banner is completely unnecessary. It's also the fact that it's full of stills of people either staring at the camera or posing as opposed to them just 'being' and existing in some kinda way. Even the music he chose for this joint just sounded like he's trying to make some sweet love song coupled with the way he's delivering his lyrics. The original sounds like 'Fuck The Police' had a baby with 'Fight The Power' compared to this joint lol. He had an album called "Be" and this video makes it look like he's still struggling to simply do so... but I don't hate him for that. It's his journey and perhaps part of his personal struggle, but I have to be honest and say it's starting to make the art less enjoyable than it could be. Even still, I appreciate everything there, just not exactly how it was all used. For instance, there's a song called "Final Form" by Sampa The Great, and the video is full of black people just doing them. The chorus even contains the term "Black Power" repetitively and mentions of melanin, but it manages to never feel forced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lvgKDpiSA

All in all, I appreciate the brother and what he aims to represent. I appreciate that he strives for self-improvement and that he listens to his fans concerns even if he is far too apologetic about some of his choices (Electric Circus was a dope ass album). And for who he is as a person, I still ride with him.

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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca

I think a lot of his latter career has felt forced and sorta phony ? Even if his heart has always been in the right place. Like you said, it doesn't feel natural.

I hate to do the "I miss the old Kanye" thing with my favorite artists cause like you, I support and appreciate their personal journeys but you look back at a video like the "Be (Intro)" vid and *there* was a dude who was comfortable as fuck in his own skin. This video and song feel like pandering, sadly.

Like you said, it's not that the song (nor the video !) is *BAD* per se. It's just not inspiring at all like it wants to be and should be, considering what he was going for in the video and the callback to arguably the most well-known and important song of his entire career.


>Almost in the vein of reply 1 but not quite.
>
>The song itself isn't so bad for me. It's the....
>pretentiousness of the video. I'm all for the beautiful black
>imagery (truly all for it), but this video somehow manages not
>to feel natural... almost like it's hamfisted black artistry,
>going through the motions and hitting key visual points. It's
>hard to explain... like when he goes acapela and the woman is
>dancing as the camera pans back to him exaggerating his words
>and hand movements to drive home lyrics. Dude, just 'be'. It
>just felt like "here's a big artistic moment, ready.... go!"
>Then there's the woman on the couch with the "Black and
>Beautiful" banner on. We see that she's both black and
>beautiful. The banner is completely unnecessary. It's also
>the fact that it's full of stills of people either staring at
>the camera or posing as opposed to them just 'being' and
>existing in some kinda way. Even the music he chose for this
>joint just sounded like he's trying to make some sweet love
>song coupled with the way he's delivering his lyrics. The
>original sounds like 'Fuck The Police' had a baby with 'Fight
>The Power' compared to this joint lol. He had an album called
>"Be" and this video makes it look like he's still struggling
>to simply do so... but I don't hate him for that. It's his
>journey and perhaps part of his personal struggle, but I have
>to be honest and say it's starting to make the art less
>enjoyable than it could be. Even still, I appreciate
>everything there, just not exactly how it was all used. For
>instance, there's a song called "Final Form" by Sampa The
>Great, and the video is full of black people just doing them.
>The chorus even contains the term "Black Power" repetitively
>and mentions of melanin, but it manages to never feel forced.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lvgKDpiSA
>
>All in all, I appreciate the brother and what he aims to
>represent. I appreciate that he strives for self-improvement
>and that he listens to his fans concerns even if he is far too
>apologetic about some of his choices (Electric Circus was a
>dope ass album). And for who he is as a person, I still ride
>with him.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

This is a new Dilla beat. Pretty sure we’ve heard it before
though I think it’s been spruced up some by maybe K Riggns?

The beat is flames, the content and rapping sucks.

Com last really good project to me was Dreamer / Believer.
I thought he sounded rejuvenated and was playing with his flow
and delivery on that album - it actually Kind of reminded me a bit of Resurrection
honestly, not the production (even though both mainly NoID.)

be is great but I love EC; always have.
FF sucked.

Whatever else post Be I don’t really like (besides like i said, dreamer / believer)

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Cameo
Soundshape Records

Nm

...such a shame to continue to see a legend decline...stop with the subpar music Com, and embrace your new(er) Hollywood status...weak, and pandering like cats said above...

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

that shit was a near classic, and the August Greene album was dope too, but like everyone else said, this is just okay. You hear it once, you probably don't need to hear it again. Not bad, just not gonna turn heads.

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Heard it a while back. Beat is great. Com is boring. Pretty much what everyone said above.

GamerTag and PSN: PokeEmAll

Wish it would happen more often whether the beat is out or not.

phemom's the name, all-star writer/
searching 4 journalistic fame, mindframe igniter....www.twitter.com/hayabusaage

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Soundshape Records