By Mark T. Sneed
Relativity Records put out the Chicago-based native's first project with very little hoopla. It was more dollars and cents than Common Sense, really. But now with Resurrection, Common Sense's second effort, the twenty-year old Common Sense has taken the reins for his album and his video presentation. Also, Common Sense's makes his directorial debut on his video, "I Used To Love Her", the album's first single's.
There have been a lot of changes, a lot of transformations since Can I Borrow A Dollar?. On Resurrection, Common Sense has finally shown the public what this Chicago-based rapper is all about. His lyrical style has matured, and he is consequently winning over many with his metaphorically rich rhymes and tight production skills.
While being grounded in some of the most articulate rhythms and funkiest beats, this album is more personal, introspective and thoughtful, a breakthrough for Common Sense.
There is a feeling of rebirth on Resurrection. A newness to Common Sense's approach can be felt on all the tracks.
Catching up with Common Sense in Washington D.C. before his performance at the Howard University Summer Jam, Common had a few things to say about what makes him different as a rapper.
"'4080'? What's that mean?" Common Sense asked, then after a pause continued: "Is it from the Tribe?"
I answer him and he smiles, satisfied.
4080 comes from the Tribe Called Quest song about the music industry. The lyric goes like this: "Rule four thousand and eighty. The music industry is shady."
Common chuckles and adds: "Yeah, man, the record business is definitely shady."
What do people call you? Mr. Common? Mr. Sense?
Common Sense laughs at the question. "Most people call me Common, you know?"
So, what do you want people to say after they hear Resurrection?
There's a pause then Common Sense explains as succinctly as possible what his music means to him.
"When I'm rapping I want to make sure that everything I do or says makes sense, you know? I want it to last, to be worthwhile. I want brothers to say afterwards: 'Man, that nigga's dope. He's saying the dopest shit.' Everything I say should stick to your soul."
Stick to your soul? Is this a rap interview I wondered silently, but then again I know that Common Sense is anything but a common or average rapper. Common Sense is someone who dares to say and do things that others might not.
Look at the new album. Resurrection is unlike any rap album in its vulnerability. Though it puts Common Sense out there, the album is not weak or soft, but just so personal and insightful, that listeners may feel as if they are intruding on a person's privacy. If nothing else, Common Sense is showing another view of stories that are being told today.
There is this openness about Common that is immediately present as he talks; he is intelligent and honest and hopeful. These qualities alone set Common Sense apart from the throngs of rappers that talks about self-destruction, guns, sex and money nowadays. Common Sense is different.
How did "I Used To Love Her" become the first single?
"At first I didn't think that it should be a single. Then we remixed it and I listened to it again and it was slamming. People listened to it and thought it was overwhelming. They told me that it was a classic hip hop song. People think it is the new hip hop anthem. I just wanted the single to be something that smacked you in the face and made you pay attention."
How did the response to the video go?
"My video is on The Box and has been getting a lot of good press. People say that they didn't even know I was talking about rap until the last line. I directed and edited that video. I put it all together. I figure that if I'm a rapper I should be able to tell them, direct them, in how I want it to look. This is my first video. I used to let others direct me, but they didn't know what I wanted. They would say things like: 'Move around more,' or 'Show me more feeling.' I kept saying to myself, 'This is how I feel." So I decided to make my own video. I just got tired of the goofy stuff those director's were trying to make me do."
How did that track with your pops happen?
"My pops came into the studio one day while I was laying down my tracks and I said: 'Come on pops, do something,' and he just sort of improvised and I decided to put it on my album. It's nice, you know? It shows that I'm proud of my pops. He's where I came from and I'm proud of that."
Common's beginnings make the rapper smile as he retells a story of self-confidence and perserverance.
"I began making demos back in '86. I'd shop them around get turned down and keep shopping, you know? I never gave up. It's all about growing. I mean you know that A&R's are signing some whack acts. But if you keep at it your time will come."
Common Sense pauses and thinks of all the hoops he had to jump through before he even got close to a record deal.
"So, I ended up at the New Music Seminar, but Relativity Records didn't sign me until they saw me at The Source's Unsigned Hype. That was in '92."
What happened after you dropped your first album?
"I thought that once I signed I'd blow up, be kicking it on Video Soul and what not. But the game is tough. It's a struggle. There are just so many factors in blowing up. The record company has to push you. The radio stations have to play you, put you in rotation. The street promoters have to push you. It's just like 4080. The industry is definitely filled with a lot of shady people. I mean if you have a great record then none of that matters they will play you no matter what. But the game is full of chumps."
Common Sense is a little bitter over the mistreatment that he received in his effort to get into the rap game, but the effort taught him a lot.
"Being in the rap game taught me about life. I learned not to trust nobody in the industry. I mean there are just so many chumps around who will say one thing to you and then turn around and do another thing. It's just like 4080, you know? The record business is definitely shady. That' why I like being with my homiez. When you're with your homiez they will tell you the truth and you can be true with them, you know? When you're with your homiez it's all about being true to yourself."
Where are you living right now? Are you still in Chicago?
"I live on the Southside of Chicago still. I represent Chicago in everything I do."
What's coming out of Chicago?
"Chicago got a lot of up and coming brothers, you know? There's No ID, who produced me. Professor Nice. This group called Mainframe, who is cold as hell. There's David Tome and this group called: Tunes that are going to be around for awhile. There's just a lot of brothers doing things in Chicago."
What are you listening to? What are you kicking when you're just cooling?
"I'm not listening to a lot of rap, right now. I'm listening to Stevie Wonder, Soul II Soul, a lot of jazz. I love John Coltrane. I've been listening to Miles Davis, you know? It gets deeper than that, but I ain't listening to too much rap, really. I'm spending more time studying music, you know? I want to know more. I am listening to Biggie's album, though, but generally I'm just not paying a lot of attention to rap right now."
Common, how do you want to be seen? I mean, anyone that listens to Resurrection should know that you aren't just some common street thug with a microphone in hand, you know?
Common takes offense at that street thug remark and corrects me.
"Street thugs are smart, you know, they just ain't book smart. Me I want people to look at me and say: 'Common is dope.' I want them to look at me and say things like, 'Common has a big brain.'
How often do you hear that a rapper wants to be known as someone that is smart as hell? Common Sense is distinct in his presentation and visions of life.
How do you stay fresh and relevant?
"I'm trying to stay fresh and relevant by looking at what's going on around me, chief. I'm trying to be aware. I'm feeling what is out there, by staying in my environment, soul searching and listening to music.
"I'm reading too. I'm reading James Baldwin's Beale Street Can Talk right now. I read the Qur'an and the Bible, you know? I just started reading this book called: From Niggers to Gods, which is about how Blacks move from one state of being to another. But I just started reading that one."
Common Sense is supposed to be a feeling that can sometimes be difficult to put in words. It can be as simple as knowing when you are in danger or as complicated as knowing who your real friends are. Common Sense can save your life, if you trust it.
Here is an uncommon man, a renaissance man, really. Common Sense. He is gentle, polite, intelligent and unafraid to let all of that be known. When all is said and done those that are uncommon, who are unlike all the rest, will be the ones that lead, while others follow.
Relativity Records put out the Chicago-based native's first project with very little hoopla. It was more dollars and cents than Common Sense, really. But now with Resurrection, Common Sense's second effort, the twenty-year old Common Sense has taken the reins for his album and his video presentation. Also, Common Sense's makes his directorial debut on his video, "I Used To Love Her", the album's first single's.
There have been a lot of changes, a lot of transformations since Can I Borrow A Dollar?. On Resurrection, Common Sense has finally shown the public what this Chicago-based rapper is all about. His lyrical style has matured, and he is consequently winning over many with his metaphorically rich rhymes and tight production skills.
While being grounded in some of the most articulate rhythms and funkiest beats, this album is more personal, introspective and thoughtful, a breakthrough for Common Sense.
There is a feeling of rebirth on Resurrection. A newness to Common Sense's approach can be felt on all the tracks.
Catching up with Common Sense in Washington D.C. before his performance at the Howard University Summer Jam, Common had a few things to say about what makes him different as a rapper.
"'4080'? What's that mean?" Common Sense asked, then after a pause continued: "Is it from the Tribe?"
I answer him and he smiles, satisfied.
4080 comes from the Tribe Called Quest song about the music industry. The lyric goes like this: "Rule four thousand and eighty. The music industry is shady."
Common chuckles and adds: "Yeah, man, the record business is definitely shady."
What do people call you? Mr. Common? Mr. Sense?
Common Sense laughs at the question. "Most people call me Common, you know?"
So, what do you want people to say after they hear Resurrection?
There's a pause then Common Sense explains as succinctly as possible what his music means to him.
"When I'm rapping I want to make sure that everything I do or says makes sense, you know? I want it to last, to be worthwhile. I want brothers to say afterwards: 'Man, that nigga's dope. He's saying the dopest shit.' Everything I say should stick to your soul."
Stick to your soul? Is this a rap interview I wondered silently, but then again I know that Common Sense is anything but a common or average rapper. Common Sense is someone who dares to say and do things that others might not.
Look at the new album. Resurrection is unlike any rap album in its vulnerability. Though it puts Common Sense out there, the album is not weak or soft, but just so personal and insightful, that listeners may feel as if they are intruding on a person's privacy. If nothing else, Common Sense is showing another view of stories that are being told today.
There is this openness about Common that is immediately present as he talks; he is intelligent and honest and hopeful. These qualities alone set Common Sense apart from the throngs of rappers that talks about self-destruction, guns, sex and money nowadays. Common Sense is different.
How did "I Used To Love Her" become the first single?
"At first I didn't think that it should be a single. Then we remixed it and I listened to it again and it was slamming. People listened to it and thought it was overwhelming. They told me that it was a classic hip hop song. People think it is the new hip hop anthem. I just wanted the single to be something that smacked you in the face and made you pay attention."
How did the response to the video go?
"My video is on The Box and has been getting a lot of good press. People say that they didn't even know I was talking about rap until the last line. I directed and edited that video. I put it all together. I figure that if I'm a rapper I should be able to tell them, direct them, in how I want it to look. This is my first video. I used to let others direct me, but they didn't know what I wanted. They would say things like: 'Move around more,' or 'Show me more feeling.' I kept saying to myself, 'This is how I feel." So I decided to make my own video. I just got tired of the goofy stuff those director's were trying to make me do."
How did that track with your pops happen?
"My pops came into the studio one day while I was laying down my tracks and I said: 'Come on pops, do something,' and he just sort of improvised and I decided to put it on my album. It's nice, you know? It shows that I'm proud of my pops. He's where I came from and I'm proud of that."
Common's beginnings make the rapper smile as he retells a story of self-confidence and perserverance.
"I began making demos back in '86. I'd shop them around get turned down and keep shopping, you know? I never gave up. It's all about growing. I mean you know that A&R's are signing some whack acts. But if you keep at it your time will come."
Common Sense pauses and thinks of all the hoops he had to jump through before he even got close to a record deal.
"So, I ended up at the New Music Seminar, but Relativity Records didn't sign me until they saw me at The Source's Unsigned Hype. That was in '92."
What happened after you dropped your first album?
"I thought that once I signed I'd blow up, be kicking it on Video Soul and what not. But the game is tough. It's a struggle. There are just so many factors in blowing up. The record company has to push you. The radio stations have to play you, put you in rotation. The street promoters have to push you. It's just like 4080. The industry is definitely filled with a lot of shady people. I mean if you have a great record then none of that matters they will play you no matter what. But the game is full of chumps."
Common Sense is a little bitter over the mistreatment that he received in his effort to get into the rap game, but the effort taught him a lot.
"Being in the rap game taught me about life. I learned not to trust nobody in the industry. I mean there are just so many chumps around who will say one thing to you and then turn around and do another thing. It's just like 4080, you know? The record business is definitely shady. That' why I like being with my homiez. When you're with your homiez they will tell you the truth and you can be true with them, you know? When you're with your homiez it's all about being true to yourself."
Where are you living right now? Are you still in Chicago?
"I live on the Southside of Chicago still. I represent Chicago in everything I do."
What's coming out of Chicago?
"Chicago got a lot of up and coming brothers, you know? There's No ID, who produced me. Professor Nice. This group called Mainframe, who is cold as hell. There's David Tome and this group called: Tunes that are going to be around for awhile. There's just a lot of brothers doing things in Chicago."
What are you listening to? What are you kicking when you're just cooling?
"I'm not listening to a lot of rap, right now. I'm listening to Stevie Wonder, Soul II Soul, a lot of jazz. I love John Coltrane. I've been listening to Miles Davis, you know? It gets deeper than that, but I ain't listening to too much rap, really. I'm spending more time studying music, you know? I want to know more. I am listening to Biggie's album, though, but generally I'm just not paying a lot of attention to rap right now."
Common, how do you want to be seen? I mean, anyone that listens to Resurrection should know that you aren't just some common street thug with a microphone in hand, you know?
Common takes offense at that street thug remark and corrects me.
"Street thugs are smart, you know, they just ain't book smart. Me I want people to look at me and say: 'Common is dope.' I want them to look at me and say things like, 'Common has a big brain.'
How often do you hear that a rapper wants to be known as someone that is smart as hell? Common Sense is distinct in his presentation and visions of life.
How do you stay fresh and relevant?
"I'm trying to stay fresh and relevant by looking at what's going on around me, chief. I'm trying to be aware. I'm feeling what is out there, by staying in my environment, soul searching and listening to music.
"I'm reading too. I'm reading James Baldwin's Beale Street Can Talk right now. I read the Qur'an and the Bible, you know? I just started reading this book called: From Niggers to Gods, which is about how Blacks move from one state of being to another. But I just started reading that one."
Common Sense is supposed to be a feeling that can sometimes be difficult to put in words. It can be as simple as knowing when you are in danger or as complicated as knowing who your real friends are. Common Sense can save your life, if you trust it.
Here is an uncommon man, a renaissance man, really. Common Sense. He is gentle, polite, intelligent and unafraid to let all of that be known. When all is said and done those that are uncommon, who are unlike all the rest, will be the ones that lead, while others follow.