Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

CD Review-Common's Like Water For Chocolate

Common

Like Water For Chocolate

(MCA)

Four stars

Even as mainstream hip-hop has grown more clichˇd and unoriginal in recent years, there has been a resurgence of distinctive, promising music from hip-hop's underground.

Recent releases from Prince Paul, Mos Def, the Roots, and Common reveal a new hip-hop style, aware of the music's power to influence but not forgetful of its origins on the street corner.

Former Chicago Bulls ball boy Common's new release, Like Water For Chocolate, stacks solid, funky beats with Common's poetic flow, full of inventive meters and unusual rhymes.

Hip-hop records that sample jazz have become something of a clichˇ, but Common's jazz sampling seems subtle and fresh, not derivative of other acts like A Tribe Called Quest.

Frequent Tribe collaborator Jay-Dee assists with the all-star production, along with D'Angelo, DJ Premier, James Poyser (Lauren Hill, the Roots), and the Roots' ?uestlove.

Common's fluent rapping covers many subjects on the album. "Sucker" MCs, black-on-black crime, rap's misogyny and politics all receive some attention, on thoughtful, humorous tracks.

On "The Light," Common presents the most sincere pledge of love and devotion on a hip-hop album in memory. "Love ain't simple/why can't it be?/anything worth having/you work at annually," he rhymes over dynamic beats.

On "A Film Called 'Pimp'," Common plays the character of a vegan pimp, trying to lure a woman to his stable and give up animal products.

Common's work has always been more self-conscious and thoughtful than that of many of his peers. With this immensely rewarding album, Common has crafted an original, artistically ambitious document, the portrait of a man constantly evaluating his personal growth and the role of hip-hop.