Common - Finding Forever

When I heard that Kanye West was producing the new Common album, Finding Forever, I was more than excited. I have been very impressed with the hip hop coming out of the Midwest (Lupe Fiasco , Brother Ali) so it seemed that the combination of the two most respected Chi-town MCs could mean nothing but hip-hop gold. This turned out to be mostly true. Thanks to the signature rhymes of Common and the infectious beats of Kanye West, Finding Forever has peaks of brilliance. But, as nature would have it, there are valleys of disappointment between them.

“Start the Show” is an incredible introduction to the album. It begins with a jazzy angelic opening until a heavy beat drops like a bomb on a meadow. Although the incoming beats are heavy and fast, the flowery piano and harp still linger in the background and become a perfect compliment to Common’s rap. “Start the Show” displays Kanye’s ability to combine seemingly uncombinable components into a seamless beat and melody and Common’s ability to fill out the songs with his one-of-a-kind rhymes.

“Drive Me Wild” is a catchy tune about average people’s misguided attempts to gain respect and acceptance. This song, as well as “U, Black Maybe”, shows that Common understand the people who listen to his records, their everyday problems, and how those problems impact the larger society. The biggest reason that Common’s raps work so well in these songs is their upbeat tempo and old-school atmosphere. Common needs those musical circumstances in order to best display his talent.

The gems of the record are without a doubt “The Game” and “Misunderstood”. These shows of turntable mastery show Kanye’s incredible ability to make a cohesive and usually catchy song out of a wide assortment of sounds and styles. Like any accomplished artist, Kanye understands the past but is also able to look forward and integrate a signature style. Sadly though, where these songs excel, others fall short.

“Southside”, placed in the middle of the album, could have been a great song, but they could not leave well enough along, and the song ended up cluttered and an overall disappointment. As much I respect Kanye as producer, he is not a great rapper. And this is never as clear as in “Southside”. His vocal presence adds nothing to the song and he sounds like a squawking crow in the interchange between him and Common that makes up the chorus.

“Breaks My Heart” contains large gaps in the music and leaves much to be desired in its lyrical content. At one point, Common says, “I got my SAG card/ Babe I’m an actor.” This song does sound like Common threw it together between takes of Smoking Aces. My advice Common, stick to your day job and leave the Gap commercial to better looking and less talented or else you may make more songs like “I Want You”. This is a sorry attempt at a love song, with such tear-jerking lines as “So many hot girls, but I need your warmth” and “I need to move on/Its kind of like the break up of Jen and Vince Vaughn.”

These songs do not make the album worthless, just less enjoyable. Their absence would make Forever a much more complete album.

As all of Common’s work do, the album ends in introspection, brought by a monologue by Common’s father. His James Earl Jones voice speaks many words of wisdom and finished by saying, “God’s memory is forever” and the album ends and leaves me generally satisfied by the whole experience.