Originally Posted by louder

I agree that he's not a very good rapper in the traditional sense of the word.. off the top of my head, I can't really name one verse from him which I can confidently say that he killed. At least as opposed to Drake, he's fine with being a complete cheeseball and doesn't try to act cooler than what he really is. I think that's a part of his charm. His honesty and vulnerability make him relatable in a way. Plus he has a knack for melody and it works for him every now and then.

"Soundtrack 2 My Life", "CuDi Zone", "Pursuit of Happiness", "Day N Night", "Mr. Rager" and "Just What I Am" are all very good pop rap songs.

Originally Posted by louder

There are rappers who are corny and fine with it (Kid Cudi), there are rappers who are corny but try to act tough (Drake), rappers who are your normal average guy but try to seem important by pretending to be smart (J. Cole), rappers who are actually smart (Kendrick), rappers who are actually tough and would probably kick your ass (The Game, Gucci Mane), and rappers who are effortlessly and naturally cool (Snoop, 2Pac, Method Man).

Originally Posted by louder

Originally Posted by Severian

Man have you heard that new song? Perfect Illusion? It's SO bad. It's like being pummeled with a limp dick. Just redundant, hackey crap, produced by that Tame Impala guy.

Originally Posted by Severian

There's also rappers who can't be reasonably placed in any single category... who often don't even qualify as rappers, or for whom "rapping" is only a fraction of what they do. You know who I'm talking about.

There's also fake ass pimp billionaire rappers, like Rick Ross, who act out a character based on a fiction they've created about themselves. And then the are those who actually are Forbes 500 level multimedia moguls and/or previous or former drug and gun running pimps. I'm thinking about Jay Z here.

Originally Posted by Severian

You got it man. I said I'd do it and Ima do it! I actually own that album... or owned it. It's in a massive pile or alphabetized box somewhere. But I bought it when I first started getting into hip-hop, and it fell to the wayside. That happens when you amass as much music as I tend to. In my youth I hit the record store every time I had a pay day (or even an allowance), and that trend continued into my adulthood. I have probably a couple hundred albums that I've purchased that never got heavy play from me, and this is one of them.

I promise, I swear on all that is good and holy, that I will track down my copy. If I can't, I will buy it on iTunes (there's a hip-hop classics sale going on right now... Lots of good '90s and 2000s albums from $5.99). So don't you worry. I'll get this shit done and report back.

As far as other Common goes, I have Like Water for Chocolate, One Day It'll All Make Sense, Be, Finding Forever, and Nobody's Smiling. The one I really liked was Be, even though it's almost too goddamn happy at times. When I think of Common, I think of Be. I know that probably sounds insane to a big fan, but that's just the way it is. I lost interest in his solo albums around the time he started popping up in commercials (Finding Forever). But I do like him, and I respect him, and he's got a great voice (like GLC and Cam'ron, his deep gravely delivery has always appealed to me).

So fear not. I'm on it.

Originally Posted by noisereductions

waiting... :)

Originally Posted by noisereductions

FYI: I'm not trying to come down on you or anything, but in my teens Common was wayyyy up there for me man. I feel like his latter years really has destroyed his image which is a shame. But back in the 90's that dude was so interesting. He was in his own world. Can I Borrow A Dollar is alright, and has its moments. But Resurrection and One Day are incredible. Like Water is up there too. But I'm serious, back then I thought of him as Chicago's Nas. This dude was killing it and no one knew it.