Thisisme Then: The Best of Common [PA]

Performer: Common
Artist: Chantay Savage; Q-Tip
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: THIS IS ME THEN: THE BEST OF COMMON surveys the early career of the Chi-town artist formerly known as Sense. Drawing from his first three albums (CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR, RESURRECTION, and ONE DAY IT'LL ALL MAKE SENSE), this collection of 15 classic tracks gives a picture of Common's stylistic evolution. The earliest, first-album cuts show us an MC whose high-energy, conspicuously squeaky tongue-twister vocals and comedic subject matter mirrored a variety of hip-hop acts of the day (Das Efx, Redman, et al.). The RESURRECTION tracks mark a clear turning point--a move away from light-hearted content towards poetic maturity. "I Used to Love H.E.R.," with its airtight extended metaphor, remains one of the most poignant hip-hop songs of all time. By album three, Common had garnered respect from the likes of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, and his work heralded the arrival of a new kind of conscious super-MC, capable of speaking from the heart on subjects such as street crime ("Stolen Moments"), abortion ("Retrospective for Life"), religion ("G.O.D."), and coming to terms with one's adolescent past ("Reminding Me (of Sef)"). THIS IS ME THEN also includes the rarely heard "High Expectations" from the soundtrack to the 1997 film SOUL IN THE HOLE.

Blender (Magazine) (p.105) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[The collection] reveals a young man grappling with complex issues...with fleet, sophisticated rhymes." Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This collection is the sound of a rapper not only finding his feet, but producing what still stands as some of his greatest work."

Born Lonnie Rashied Lynn in Chicago, the rapper who would become an integral part of the 1990s underground hip-hop scene started out as Common Sense. His 1992 debut CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? showcased a politically conscious, musically eclectic artist interested in expanding the boundaries of hip-hop. Though forced to shorten his handle to Common after a legal dispute, he pursued his vision, incorporating jazz, rock, R&B and more into his sound, and collaborating with everyone from jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove to up-and-coming rapper Cee-Lo and R&B diva Erykah Badu.

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