I think Common is one of the most underrated emcees in hip-hop history. He’s a legend in my book. Coming through in 1992 with his debut album Can I Borrow A Dollar, Common has been consistent. So consistent that over his 24-year career, he’s worked with greats such as A Tribe Called Quest, Questlove, and let’s not forget that he worked with the legendary J Dilla (RIP). What I love most about Common is his ability to be socially conscious but not pigeonhole the music into production that some won’t feel. Now in releasing his 11th LP, Black America Again, Common is here to refocus our attention on what’s important.

Let me set the scene, here in 2016 the black community has lost numerous lives to racism, we’re still seeing domestic violence toward our women all in the face of the presidential election that housed a candidate who I’m convinced is ready to bring the apocalypse. Enter Common, with Black America Again as a play on Trump’s slogan. Common the OG has entered the ring with many emcees (De La Soul and soon to be A Tribe Called Quest) and gave us an album perfect for these times. Common’s past two records The Dreamer/The Believer and Nobody’s Smiling really seem like preludes that led to Black America Again. This time around, Common is the only emcee rapping. But a roundtable of vocalists and producers surround him to really drive home the Black America vibe — and it works.

Common holds nothing back here, he’s trying to make an unequivocally black album and he’s opened the floor to more than just his rap lyrics. The aforementioned past two records had No I.D at the helm for production, this time around though, Common has recruited Karriem Riggins to handle the majority of production (with Robert Glasper & Frank Dukes providing some help) and he creates an atmosphere of soul, funk and jazz to really personify the black music being made here. “Joy and Peace” comes in with demanding drums to set the tone. Common is really here to help ground us and educate us in a time where it seems we’ve lost sight of what we’re here for. “N*ggas get foreign cars and think they made it/It ain’t yours ’til you create it” Common says in the opening track.

Love is another theme that takes the forefront on this album with tracks like “Love Star” where Common is speaking to his person about…well showing her love. However the idea of Love isn’t just for our dating relationships, it extends into our friendships and our family and Common touches on all of this. “The Day Women Took Over” is one of the best songs on the album and in my humble opinion one of the most important tracks of this year. Common vividly paints a picture putting legends like Oprah, Michelle Obama and Rosa Parks on the dollar bills, where chivalry never dies and equality is a reality. This track really puts things into perspective for the listener in how unbalanced things are now and how much better things could be if we just let the Black Girl Magic shine.

Again, Common’s Black America Again is a necessary piece of art during these times. The title track is the album’s thesis statement, where Common speaks on the struggles we face and the inequality that we deal with on a daily basis. He makes his point with lines that mince no words, lines such as “The new plantation, mass incarceration/instead of educate they’d rather convict the kids/As dirty as the water in Flint, the system is/Is it a felony or misdemeanor/ Maria Sharapova making more than Selena.” And if that doesn’t really drive home the point of the record, I don’t think anything will. The song concludes with a James Brown sample, but also an outro from the great Stevie Wonder reminding us that “We are rewriting the black American story”.

Black America Again is a loaded record, there’s a lot going on, but it really does feel like it came at perfect time (I mean is just me or has 2016 just been a downer). This album is the wake-up call, yes we’re facing and dealing with some serious issues and problems in this country, but we need to stay focused and progress. Our ancestors fought hard to get us here, and although we still feel some of the scars from the past, Common is reminding us that we can push forward. Black America Again does a fantastic job focusing on the Black experience and creating Black Music, between the sampling, the interludes, and the mature commanding social commentary from Common, I strongly suggest popping in this record when times get tough.

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Marsha Ambrosius

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