Like Water for Chocolate

by

Common

Edit

I remember anxiously awaiting this album after hearing the Primo-produced "6th Sense". I thought it would be more along the lines of his last CD. I was way off...but that's a good thing.

Common has grown up on "Like Water For Chocolate" and made a CD that is the complete opposite of DMX, Jay-Z, and similar MCs. Instead of using hitmakers to produce the CD he used the capable hands of ?uestlove of The Roots (who exec. produced it), D'Angelo, Jay-Dee of The Ummah (one of the most underrated producers) and DJ Premier (technically a hitmaker but not really). Instead of tired and played out cliches he discusses the story of Assata Shakur (Song for Assata), pretends to be a socially-conscious pimp (A film called pimp), goes a little meta-physical (Time Travellin), expresses frustration with current hip hop (6th Sense), and even does a song tributing incense (Nag Champa).

As always his lyrics are excellent. The beats are innovative. Like The Roots, live instruments are used with horns, pianos, and bass in full supply. The CD has many influences from soul to Jazz (Time Travellin is a tribute to Fela Kuti). Despite all this, it still has roots firmly in hip hop as tracks like Doonit remind you.

All in all, this is Common's best CD in a long time. Some people will write it off as soon as they hear it. If you as a listener do, just listen to it again because this is a CD that gets better and better with every listen.

Don't get me wrong, Common is a great emcee, but lately it seems he's hit a bit of a wall. Torn between his natural lyrical skills and his desire to be too "conscious", his latest CD comes off as boring. His lyrics are sometimes remarkable, but other times terribly contrived. The beats definitely don't bang, so you probably won't be poppin' this one in your car stereo anytime soon.

The best I can say for this one is that if you're a Common fan, then pick this one up. If you're someone looking for some of his best work, I'd pick up Resurrection. Like Water for Chocolate might be a disappointing place to start.