Common

Common and Kanye's previous collaborative effort, 2005's Be, felt like a (pleasant) retreat to hip-hop's mid-'90s formative years. Finding Forever alludes to new directions, recruiting UK pop princess Lily Allen for the excellent "Drivin' Me Wild" and sprawling into epic soul pomp on the seven-minute "Forever Begins." Lyrically, Common delves into his signature subject: the promise of spirituality and love in a world dominated by institutions and prejudices. Each song feels connected to the last, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a rarity for rap.

Two years ago, Be was not only Common's highest-charting CD, it was also the best of his
career - thoughtful, "bitch"-free and mama-friendly like all Common records, but also edgy,
lush and likable all over, thanks to chief producer Kanye West. No surprise, then, that the
Chicago rapper took a similar approach with Finding Forever: Kanye is back, producing
eight tracks, and also back are the charged-up beats, R&B hooks, gospel singers a... More >