I don’t know much about hip-hop, but I have at least heard of Common — he was the target of one of Fox News’ regular moral panics when he was a guest at the White House, and I admired his classic 2000 album Like Water For Chocolate. I read that Pete Rock is a highly prominent producer from that era too. I suppose this collaboration is the East coast hip-hop equivalent of that album Liam Gallagher did with John Squier.
Like that record (I haven’t listened to it, but I can imagine), this album is steeped in nostalgia: the first track in particular is a sort of victory lap of not just their own careers but black culture in general. Throughout, there’s a great deal of self-glorification — hardly an unusual trope in hip-hop, but the downside to Common’s relaxed behind-the-beat vocal attitude which I like a lot, is that he can be excruciatingly earnest. That’s fine when the subject is worthy, but I think this is trying to be a party record. By that criteria, the best party tracks are the opener Dreamin’, We’re on Our Way (built on a tasty Curtis Mayfield sample) and All Kind of Ideas with it’s Latin piano intro.
For old heads looking for solid product to help them reminisce, this is probably ideal. For me, I found too many of the beats dull and the flow sometimes monotonous.
5/10
