Ladies & Gentlemen, REAL HIP HOP IS BACK! Common’s new CD Finding Forever was waiting for me when I got home from work today and I must say, putting on the headphones and listening to this CD is like breathing a breath of fresh air! Simply breathtaking, Common is the answer to “where is real hip hop music today?”. Looking over the tracklist, I was disappointed at first to see only 12 songs, where a lot of CDs today boast close to 20 tracks. But if you think about it, how many of those 20 tracks are real quality music? If you’re lucky, you may get 12, with all the skits, interludes and song fillers. So after putting that into perspective and definitely after my first listen, I am very much satisfied with Common’s latest effort.

Finding Forever is Common’s seventh studio album. You may remember him from the old days as Common Sense. This is the second time Common has teamed up with super-producer Kanye West to put together a stellar album. The first was 2005’s Be, which has been critically acclaimed by music enthusiasts and is one of my personal favorites. It will forever go down in history as a hip hop classic. So with that level of achievement, Common had some pretty big expectations this time around. I’m not going to come straight out and call Finding Forever another classic, nor am I going to say it’s as good as Be; but it’s pretty darn close. Common & Kanye have put together a musical formula that exudes perfection. Musical harmony + meaningful lyrical expression = Finding Forever. Before you rush out to the stores on July 31 to buy Finding Forever, I urge you to get a copy of Be first if you haven’t already. If you like what you hear, which I think you will, then check out some of his earlier work such as, Resurrection and Can I Borrow A Dollar. Here’s my track by track review…

01. “Intro” (10/10) - most album intros offer little insight as to what the rest of the album has to offer. The intro to Finding Forever is a notable exception. It’s a short instrumental number that sets the overall theme of the album. No words necessary, Common lets the music speak for itself this time.

02. “Start The Show” - produced by Kanye West (9/10) - blending from the “Intro” straight into this song, we hear Kanye demanding, “Let’s start the show”. Common’s first verse reminds you why he is a true MC. I love Common’s verses on this track, but Kanye’s chorus is a little disrupting and doesn’t quite flow with the rest of the song. But they make it work.

03. “The People” - produced by Kanye West (10/10) - this is the first single, which was released back in the spring. When I first heard this song, I was totally exited for Common’s new CD. Throughout the song Common reps Kanye up as he raps, “My daughter found Nemo/I found the new Premo”, comparing Kanye to the legendary DJ Premier. Great song!

04. ” Drivin’ Me Wild (featuring Lily Allen)” - produced by Kanye West (9/10) - this is rumored to be the third single from the album, featuring Lily Allen (a relatively new singer/songwriter from England). She doesn’t provide much to the song other than the chorus, but she seams to have a sweet voice. This song has a nice flow, with a “marching band” snare in the background.

05. “I Want You (featuring will.i.am)” - produced by will.i.am (10/10) - this is one of the few songs on the album not produced by Kanye West. The man behind this song is none other than will.i.am of the Black-Eyed Peas. will.i.am has been doing great things production-wise. Most of his stuff has been kinda pop-ish and bouncy. The song is not one of them. It’s real smooth sounding, with will.i.am singing the chorus. It fits in well with the rest of Kanye’s productions by not making the album sound repetitive.

06. “Southside (featuring Kanye West)” - produced by Kanye West (9/10) - the beat on this song is hot! Kanye hits us hard with one of his bangers and a tight rap flow. Trading verses with Common, Kanye does it again with this one reminding us where this musical duo comes from — Southside Chicago. Who’s that singing at the end of the song? Crazy!

07. “The Game” - produced by Kanye West (10/10) - this is the second and current single from the album. When I first heard this song, I thought it was a DJ Premier production. Well, I wasn’t too far off. It is, of course, produced by Kanye West, but they hired DJ Premier to perform the scratches heard throughout the song. They wanted the best, they got him — DJ Premier is THE BEST when it comes to DJ scratching. he just has a technique that is easily identifiable, but doesn’t interrupt the flow of the song. I love this track!

08. “Black Maybe (featuring Bilal)” - produced by Kanye West (10/10) - featuring neo-soul and jazz singer Bilal, this song samples the song “Black Maybe” by the great Stevie Wonder. No one samples like Kanye West and Bilal’s vocals on the chorus are mesmerizing. Common has been known throughout his career for spitting some of the most profound lyrics and this song is no exception. “Black Maybe” is a song about social awareness and a tribute to people of color.

09. “So Far To Go (feat D’angelo)” - produced by J. Dilla (10/10) - wow, where has D’angelo been?!?! He sure has been missed, but his vocals on this song show us he’s still got it. This song is a gem, not only for Common’s collaboration with D’angelo, but the production by the late J. Dilla. For those of you not familiar with J. Dilla, or Jay Dee as some know him, he was one of the most prolific producers of the past 10 years, embodying the neo-soul sound into hip hop. He passed away earlier last year at the young age of 32, but not before leaving a lasting impression on producers such as Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams who recognize J. Dilla as an inspiration. This song has classic written all over it. Rest In Peace J. Dilla.

10. “Break My Heart” - produced by Kanye West (9/10) -back to the familiar Common & Kanye formula, “Break My Heart” does not stray from the norm. Nothing too special here, just another great song.

11. “Misunderstood” - produced by Devo Springsteen (9/10) -the third and final song on the album that’s produced by someone other than Kanye West, “Misunderstood” samples the Nina Simone classic “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”. Again, the different production here does not distract from the flow of the album. Probably because Devo Springsteen is signed to Kanye West’s Good Music label. A new producer on the scene, Devo is reportedly responsible for launching the career of John Legend. By the way, is that John singing toward the end of the song?

12. “Forever Begins” - produced by Kanye West (9/10) - sampling Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”, this title track closes the album with the themes that Common is most known for — spirituality, poverty, and social awareness. Just as Common has done with all of his albums since Resurrection, he closes out the album with a few words of inspiration from his father Lonnie Lynn, “Origin is forever. Common good is forever. God’s memory is forever.”

Runtime: 50 minutes
Overall score: 9.5/10

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