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- VH1 Soul is dead, long live Centric posted on March 29, 2010
- The ten most popular indie-rap artists… posted on January 11, 2011
- Digable Planets fracture, cancel tour posted on March 22, 2009
- Superlists!: Top Ten Femcees posted on March 24, 2009
- The Plug One Q&A: Flying Lotus posted on June 10, 2008
- Review: Atmosphere, “To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy” posted on September 9, 2010
- R.I.P. Paper Thin Walls posted on August 29, 2008
- Zion-I tour dates posted on February 25, 2009
- Vibe’s demise posted on July 1, 2009
- Why Plug One survives posted on March 17, 2010
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Tag Archives: Common
Common, the Roots headline “Hennessy Artistry Series”
Common and the Roots (pictured above, of course) will host this year’s edition of the “Hennessy Artistry Series.” It takes place in four urban markets — Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and New York — and will give attendees an opportunity to … Continue reading
Review: Common, “Universal Mind Control”
Common Universal Mind Control Geffen Universal Mind Control may be the worst album of Common’s career, but it’s not for the reasons you’d think. It’s not bad because Common plays with the electro-funk sound that has overtaken dance clubs. There’s … Continue reading
Common’s “Universal Mind Control”
Despite a few months of delays and a title change, Common still plans to release his eighth album before the end of the year. Originally called Invincible Summer, his Universal Mind Control is scheduled for a December 9 date via … Continue reading
Common, N.E.R.D. itinerary
Common is touring in advance of his upcoming album, Invincible Summer. It was scheduled to drop this month, but is currently TBA. N.E.R.D. are trying to stir up some hype behind their unjustly-ignored third album, Seeing Sounds. Hey, did you … Continue reading
Review: Common, “Finding Forever”
Executive produced by Kanye West, Finding Forever continues a hot streak first started on 2005’s Be by “one of Chitown’s gods.” (Editor’s note: This review has been updated.) Continue reading
Common, Q-Tip head on 2K8 Sports Bounce Tour
Last week, I posted an item about several spot dates Common will fulfill next month, a few as part of the Heineken Red Star Soul tour. Well, only several days later, it turns out that the much-beloved Chicago rapper will undertake another corporate-sponsored jaunt, too.
Some fans might remember that A Tribe Called Quest reunited last year to headline the 2K7 Sports Bounce tour with Rhymefest and Consequence in tow. This time, Common will lead the 2K8 Sports Bounce tour. According to MySpace bulletins sent out by the artists, opening acts include Q-Tip, who continues to promise that The Renaissance will come out this year; Termanology, a rising Boston MC known for mixtapes and assertions of lyrical superiority; and 88-Keys, a producer who has credits on classics like Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides, and who is prepping a solo album, The Death of Adam, for Decon Music. (September 4 update: Percee P has just been added to the tour.)
This is the third edition of the 2K Sports tour; Tribe led the 2006 version, and the Roots inaugurated it in 2005. Also, Z-Trip produced a 2K Sports-affiliated compilation, All Pro, and completed a tour for the album this summer. Which means 2K Sports really likes hip-hop, I guess.
Official details about the tour have yet to be released, but all of the artists have posted dates on their MySpace pages. Those dates, along with the rest of Common’s itinerary, are listed below. This post will be updated when official information becomes available.
Common hits number one, quickly plummets
On the week of August 11, Common’s Finding Forever debuted at the top of the charts. The most impressive thing, however, wasn’t the fact that Common landed the first number one album of his decade-plus career. With movie roles, a high-profile creative partnership with Kanye West, and much critical acclaim for his work, Common was expected to do well with his latest release. Remarkably, however — and no one noted this — he may be the first rap artist in history to top the Billboard charts on his seventh album. His resiliency is a great rebuttal to the ongoing debate over hip-hop’s durability in the mainstream marketplace.
On the following week, however, Finding Forever quickly tumbled from the top to number seven on the Billboard charts. (Ironically, it was replaced by UGK’s self-titled sixth album, making for perhaps the oldest hip-hop group to achieve a number one slot.) Unfortunately, most rap stars still depend on radio hits to move major units; since nothing has yet emerged from Finding Forever, it’s doubtful (but not impossible) that Common can translate his amazing feat into massive record sales.
Meanwhile, dude is heading out on the road for several spot dates, some of which will be for the Heineken Red Star Soul tour with promising new soul artist Emily King. He’ll probably announce a more extensive run during the next several months. In the meantime, check out the dates below.
Common finds forever
If you’ve seen Common in the news lately — whether promoting the DVD release of his craptastic action flick Smokin’ Aces or imparting some much needed dignity on Oprah Winfrey’s hip hop "town hall meeting" — then you may have forgotten that dude actually has a new album coming out. Or maybe you did know, and he’s all over the place because that’s his way of hyping the album. Synergy…that’s how artists do it nowadays.
Common’s new album is Finding Forever, and it’s due on July 10. According to a news story on Billboard.com, the album features production from Kanye West, will.i.am, the late J Dilla and Devo Springsteen. Guests include Lily Allen (who appears on "Drivin’ Me Wild), Bilal and Dwele. "So Far to Go," originally released on J Dilla’s 2006 album The Shining, is also slated for inclusion. The first single will be "The People."