This is the brand new EP from Chicago veteran Common. Coming up with off his first 3 albums in the 90’s produced entirely by No I.D., he then made his major label debut in 2000 with Like Water for Chocolate & followed up with the experimental Electric Circus in 2002. Then during the mid 2000s, he released a trilogy of albums with Kanye West’s GOOD Music beginning with Be, bridged by Finding Forever & then ending with Universal Mind Control. In the 2010s, we saw Com reuniting with No I.D. on The Dreamer/The Believer & Nobody’s Smiling. However, he started working closely with Karriem Riggins on Black America Again in 2016 as well as Let Love last summer. But with the presidential election coming up next week, Com & Karriem are back with A Beautiful Revolution.
After the intro, the first song “Fallin’” talks about how black people aren’t actually free over a mellow beat whereas the next track “Say Peace” with Black Thought sees the 2 talking about racism over a dub/boom bap fusion. The song “What Do You Say? (Move It Baby)” gets romantic over a funky beat while the track “Courageous” talks about meaning of such over a piano & live drums. The song “A Place in this World” gets optimistic over a luxurious beat while the track “A Riot in My Mind” talks about internal conflict over some live drums & guitars. The before the outro, the final song “Don’t Forget Who You Are” talks about self-worth over a joyous beat.
Personally, I think this is just what we needed to hear in light of the election. Karriem’s production is as beautiful as ever & the commentary that Common makes is very much relevant that what’s been going on all year.
Score: 3.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 