Common Album: “Finding Forever [PA]”

I have followed Common Sense ever since I heard the track "Take It EZ". Originally, I didn't purchase

, but I definitely enjoyed "Take It EZ", "Breaker 1/9", "Soul By The Pound", "Heidi Hoe" and "Charms Alarm". Once I heard "I Used To Love H.E.R.", Common's dedication to hip hop, I knew that his next CD,

, would also be worth checking out, but for some reason I didn't purchase the CD right away. When I saw the video for Common's track with Lauryn Hill, "Retrospect For Life", once his 3rd disc had already dropped,

, that's when I decided to make my first Common purchase. Tracks like "Gettin' Down At The Amphitheater" w/De La Soul, "G.O.D." w/Cee Lo, "All Night Long" w/Erykah Badu, "Stolen Moments Part 2" w/Black Thought from The Roots and "Making A Name For Ourselves" w/Canibus ended up being my favorite tracks. Common's 4th CD,

, may have just been his best CD. The DJ Premier produced 1st single, "The 6th Sense", "Dooin It", "A Song For Assata", and one of his most successful singles to date, "The Light" ended up being my favorite tracks.

seemed to be more of an experimental CD for Common. Although I did enjoy the 1st single, "Come Close" which featured Mary J. Blige and the CD's closer "Heaven Somewhere", Common definitely lost me within the experiment of this CD. However, Nas had "Nastradamus" and Jay-Z had "In My Lifetime Volume 1" so just because Common made 1 CD that I didn't enjoy didn't mean that I would stop supporting Common.

However, at the right time, it seemed as if Common had his own "Resurrection" after some of his fans were disappointed with "Electric Circus" with his verse on Kanye West's "Get 'Em High", which also featured Talib Kweli. If any of Common's fans thought he had lost it after "Electric Circus" he definitely proved them wrong after just one verse. I later found out that Common had signed with Kanye's G.O.O.D. music imprint and while I was hesitant at first, I figured that if anyone would steer Common's career back in the right way that Kanye could. When I first heard "The Corner", that was definitely the Common that I had missed on

. Common seemed like he had a passion to rhyme again and with Kanye West on the boards it seemed as if Common had a point to prove all over again.

was in the CD player for a long time. My favorite tracks ended up being "The Corner", "Testify", "Chi City", "Go", "Real People" and "The Food", which was originally featured on The Dave Chapelle Show.

The first track that I heard off of Common's 7th solo offering "Finding Forever" was "The Game". The Kanye West track definitely had an old school feel to it and Common sounds like he is trying to make sure that people didn't believe that "Be" was a fluke. He also wants to make sure that if you are tired of listening to the hip hop of today, which has no substance at all that you have a CD that you can put in your stereo or in the CD player in your car that you can actually learn something from. Common's 2nd single "The People" which features Dwele is an excellent example of that. Common could have easily went with "Break My Heart" or "I Want You" as the next single. However, he dares to be different. He doesn't want to follow the trends of the rapper who is just motivated by selling units and selling his soul to "The Game".

"Finding Forever" was released on July 31, 2007. After a short instrumental intro, Common and Kanye West's hook does a good job to "Start The Show". Common's lyrics are just as potent as they are on "The Game" and Kanye has one of his best beats on "Finding Forever" on this track. You will definitely be able to tell that Common has some subliminal messages in the track for a certain rapper or rappers in general. "Drivin' Me Wild" may take awhile to grow on you because, in my opinion, it's not a track that you will like after just 1 or 2 listens. This is track 1 of 4 that Common has on "Finding Forever" where he is talking about a woman or women in general. While it may not be one of Finding Forever's best tracks, "Drivin' Me Wild" will grow on you after awhile. Will.I.Am stops by to produce what may be the 3rd single in "I Want You". While I have never been a fan of The Black Eye Peas, Will.I.Am has definitely impressed me with his production work on the latest offerings from Mary J. Blige, Nas, Game and John Legend. He also produced another track that should be on "Finding Forever" in "A Dream" that was featured on the "Freedom Writers" soundtrack. One of the best production moments on this CD is when Will.I.Am. changes the beat of the track before the 3rd verse begins. Track 2 of 4 for the ladies is neck and neck and may even be a tie with "Break My Heart". Will.I.Am has a nice hook and Common's lyrics take care of the rest. "Southside" features Kanye West and the 2 rappers do a good job of going back and forth together with their verses like they have been in a group for years. The track appears to be a freestyle with a nice Kanye beat and you can never go wrong with that combination. Common even goes as far as saying, "You in the building, but the building's fallin', you wouldn't be ballin', if your name was Spalding". It appears Nas isn't the only one that has words for fly by night rapper of the moment, Jim Jones. Common is a teacher spreading his lessons on "U, Black Maybe". On the track, Common makes you think as he raises the question of Blacks always trying to blame the next man, which is usually another race, for their problems. However, in some cases we bring our own people down and we don't even recognize that fact or we in our own system of denial. Common features track 3 of 4 for the ladies in "So Far To Go" which features D'Angelo and is produced by the late, great J Dilla. The track was originally featured on J Dilla's "The Shining" CD. Common was also featured on another track on "The Shining" entitled "E=MC2". "Break My Heart" may be the song that will stay in your head just because of the Kanye West sample. However, Common's wordplay on this track is simply phenominal. He describes a situation where a woman is hesitant to get invloved with him and Common uses his lyrics to get the woman to "come on and go with him". This track is definitely one of my favorites on "Finding Forever".

Devo Springsteen must have gotten access to Kanye's stash of samples because he cleverly uses a sample on "Misunderstood". The clever use of the sample, the production and Common's lyrics make this track a nice combination. Bilal does a good job on the hook and Common does his best to make people understand that the problems in the world today are real problems and not just things that you can ignore because it isn't happening to them. "Forever Begins" ends "Finding Forever" on a nice note especially with Common's verses and towards the end of the track with the powerful words. The chorus is fine but it seems as if Kanye had an "overproduction" moment when the singers started singing the hook.

Overall, "Finding Forever" is a CD that will be in your CD player for awhile just as "Be" was. I would give a slight edge to "Be" as far as what CD I like better but "Finding Forever" is just as nice as "Be" was. Common's 2nd CD on G.O.O.D. music will also end up being a classic to most of his fans and fans of real hip hop music. There are some moments that Common will have you wondering why are you talking about Jen and Vince Vaughn and Ryan and Reese Witherspoon, however, his attack of the 2007 "I must sell unit" rappers on "Start The Show" and "The Game", his lessons on "U, Black Maybe" and "Misunderstood" and his wonderful tracks for the ladies with "Break My Heart", "I Want You" and "So Far To Go" will make you forget about any disappointments that you may have with this CD. If this CD doesn't cement Common's legacy in rap music, I am not sure what else he will have to do in order to convince you of his skills. If you liked "Be" and if you are a fan of Common's previous CDs, then you would be a fool to pass up on "Finding Forever".

James' Top 5

1) The Game

2) Misunderstood w/Bilal

3) The People w/Dwele

4) Break My Heart

5) Start The Show

Honorable Mention:

Southside w/Kanye West

I Want You w/Will.I.Am

So Far To Go w/D'Angelo

Forever Begins

U, Black Maybe

Ranking Common's Discography: (This was hard)

1) Resurrection

2) Like Water For Chocolate

3) Be

4) Finding Forever

5) One Day It'll All Make Sense

6) Can I Borrow A Dollar?

7) Electric Circus

I admit it has been more than awhile since i've bought a Common cd. Not sure of the last one, but i do know one thing. I will be getting his other cds that he's released very soon. Listening to "Finding Forever" made me remember what i loved about hip hop in geneal MCs with a tight flow, meaningful lyrics and rapping about worthwhile things. I can't really rate this cd compared to his recent ones since i dont have those as of yet.

But i do know that this cd will get much play from me and i'm sure others will get in on this as well. Even after 15 years in the game, Common still hasnt lost his love for hip hop in the least. Hmmm, pick a song that hit me more than any other that would have to be "Forever Begins". I don't know it just does something for me that makes me think about the song long after it has stopped playing. I believe that is the goal of a song to have you thinking/debating on it way after.

I enjoyed other tracks on the cd as well a lot. Like "Start the Show", "The People", "U, Black Maybe", "So Far To Go" with D'angelo (love his music) and "Southside" with Kanye.

Others that will get plenty of play as well:

"I Want You" w/will.i.am

"The Game"

"Break My Heart"

"Misunderstood"

In the realm of rappers trying to be hard and having nothing but disrespect for women out there. It's really heartening to see Common come along and kick that trend to the side and give the respect as it is due.

"Finding Forever" i hope that it finds its way into many people's CD collections.

This project is very decent yet it has it's drawbacks that should be noted. First of all, Common has lyrically pigeonholed himself. How many times can you say the things but in a slightly different way? Hearing him portray himself as the hip hop Stokely Carmichael has gotten very tiring. His range of subject material is more minute than ever even though it's positive. However, being positive can only be seen from the contrast of negativity. In other words, too much of a good thing is bad. The production is "cute" at best. Kanye is no J Dilla. The beats on "The People" and "Black Maybe" are fragile beyond belief. Kanye's sound isn't wholesome and fully blossomed as Jay Dee's was and is. There is absolutely no "thump" in his beats as if Kanye has never heard of a kickdrum.

There are about 2 too many "love" songs. Leave 2 of "Drivin' Me Wild" , "Break My Heart", "I Want You", or "So Far To Go" off the CD. And speaking of "So Far To Go", the lyrics are awful. The lyrics seem to be an afterthought as Common does even take them seriously. It was thrown together at the last moment and came off as a slap in the face to the legend J Dilla. The version on "The Shining" is ten times better and should have been on the cd instead. Also, Kanye said that he chopped up the samples the way J Dilla would have, but the only thing on this cd that reminds me of J Dilla is the 15 second beat on the end of "I Want You" that could have only been done by someone from Detroit like Kareem Riggins because I know Will I Am couldn't have done it. The beat was both refreshing and agitating because it reminded me of a J Dilla beat yet it lasted for only a short moment.

A few of the songs seem like they were made for 13 year olds like "Break My Heart" and "Driving Me Wild" - very immature. About 2 months ago on www.wikipedia.com, I saw a track listing for this project. Common had a song titled "The Ambassadors" that featured Nas on the cd. Why was that an unused track? Now if you go to www.wikipedia.com, you will see that songs featuring The Last Poets and Eminem were left off the cd as well. What happened? The Kanye West and Common dynamic duo thing is boring now. It would have been great to hear Common rhyme with other heavyweights in the game. Was he going get shown up by Nas and Eminem on his own project like Eminem did Jay-Z on "Renegade"? I wonder.

All in all, this project is acceptable. I really believe that Common isn't putting his full effort in his music anymore, as he has 3 movies coming out in the near future. This project isn't as better as "Be" and "Like Water For Chocolate" kills it. And yes, even the misunderstood classic "Electric Circus", which was waaaay ahead of it's time. It's a shame and a travesty to keep hearing Common apologize for that right-brained masterpiece - another insult to the late great J Dilla. That project was creativity at its height.

Common has a blueprint that needs modifications. It's getting to be the same ole song only appropriate for the moment, not forever...

You cant mention the positive side of hip hop without mentioning Common. As with any great MC that has given you substantial music, Common has always evolved. Unfortunately not many of his fans have evolved with him. Be was a good album but it felt like it was missing something. This album seems more complete than Be was. Start The Show is a great track but the hook by Kanye is kind of suspect. The People is on point and Dwele wasnt too shabby on the chorus. Common excells at storytelling in Drivin Me Wild which features Lily Allen. The Game is that vintage b-boy Common sense joint where Common shows that he is still a nasty lyricist. Im not sad that there isnt more tracks like The Game on here and its not the end of the world if he doesnt make tracks like that anymore. U, Black Maybe and Misunderstood are as enjoyable as they are soulful. Will.i.am(whose production has been sounding pretty good lately)joins in on I Want You as Common kicks it for the ladies over a thumping beat. Skip Material: Break My Heart is not bad but it doesnt really grab this reviewer and Southside featuring Kanye West stinks! Plus Kanye's high-pitched singing after the third verse sounds kind of feminine(you know that part where he goes "you have to spice it up"). Bottom Line: The verdict is in... Common's Finding Forever is one of 2007's best releases. The production was superb and Common still has what it takes to make good music. Common will continue to evolve as an MC and as a person so if you refuse to evolve with him then its not his fault. Its all on you. Standout Tracks: THE PEOPLE, DRIVIN' ME WILD, I WANT YOU, THE GAME, U, BLACK, MAYBE(my favorite), SO FAR TO GO and MISUNDERSTOOD. You didnt think that I was going to go without addressing this babbling idiot a couple of reviews down did you? Racial slurs? Comtempt for women? Disdain for police? You didnt hear this album at all did you? Just another f****t a** yokel making halfa**ed assumptions based off your irrational preconcieved notions about rap. Its obvious that you're jealous that people respect him over you but who could blame them. You're a sissy a** garbage pail kid who talks reckless behind closed doors. Nobody in their right mind respects a sniveling coward that despises people behind their backs but grins in their faces and look at when you mouth off. When nobody is around to give you the a**beating you deserve. You craven gender-bender! You spineless fruitbasket! F*** You, B**** O Reilly and all 20 of those weasels that agreed with your babbling a**! Schizophrenic F****ts!

I head this in a friends car, and I couldn't believe how good this is! I am getting burnt on all the normal releases in the Rap world, more of a Hendrix, Al Green type of listner lately, or hard rock.... but this is fantastic....And of course that lead me to snoop around a bit more and I heard the new Devin the Dude 'Smoke Sessions' CD...that's even better! I don't know if this means I am having some sort of midlife crisis or not, but great, great CD's....check out that Devin the Dude Cd.....Brilliant!