“Close
your eyes...and picture different colors..."
-- Common
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The
most important part of being an artist,
however, is making a good record. Serious
artists purposely cut tour life short so
they can develop new sounds and styles,
taking time out to drop jewels on other
artists joints in the process. When you
take to much time off to make a record you
gotta get back into the swing of things.
You have to keep writing and recording because
you’re building up your confidence
and yourself.
Fans of Common may just agree with his way
of doing things, particularly now when the
rap music market is so popular. If Nelly
can create such a stir in the pop market
using grammar school-inspired harmonies,
it stands to reason that Common can create
the same level of excitement in the rap
industry by using clever lyrics.
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Present-day
pop/rap crossover artists enter a different
scene compared to Common’s emergence
into the music industry several years ago
with his 1992 debut disc Can I Borrow
a Dollar?
That effort was praised for
its down-to-earth vibe and intelligent rhymes,
but the unapologetic middle-class sensibilities
conveyed on Common's second album, 1994's
Resurrection, which yielded the hit
"I Used to Love H.E.R.," earned
him respect from music critics and fans alike.
Although “I Used to Love H.E.R”
was burning up college play lists around the
country, the public in general had no idea
who recorded the track. Worse still, many
didn’t care.
One year later the single exploded,
launching the career of Common into another
dimension. Nevertheless, it makes you wonder
if Common is bothered that people hang on
to that one song instead of focusing on other
gems Common has out there.
“In a sense,” he
begins “you always want [people] to
move on and listen to what you have out now.
But I think the first song that captures the
mind of fans, they’ll always love that
track more than anything you do because it
was their first glimpse of the group. I think
for the most part people open their minds
to our [music].”
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Common
takes time to pose for photographers at an
ASCAP music publishing function, top pic,
and looks to peer into the minds of readers,
above photo.
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He would redouble his efforts,
and eventually get through the recording process
with a product that any rap fan would enjoy.
BE is the wild experience Common
always hoped it would become.
"I'm at a new place in my life so I felt
a certain amount of freedom, peace and enjoyment
while I was making this album," Common
said.
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