The rapping is heartfelt but forgettable and, "So Far To Go", easily the highlight of the album, is actually a track of J Dilla's posthumous The Shining. The disc is hook laden but the hooks are bland. are dealing with the loss of Dilla, I'd take the production as an insult more than a tribute sure, it's reminiscent of Dilla but when you hear the track the late producer had his hand in you realize just how contrived it actually is.
Obviously, some people took that to heart and as a result Finding Forever comes off sounding like everyone behind it was trying way too hard. Produced by West and featuring DJ Premier's scratches, "The Game" has a real 90s vibe and while it's bloated with samples, Common spits lines like "Make cuts and got gashes, scratches over third eyelashes/Punchlines are like jab pits to rappers" enthusiastically.Īs "The Game" so bluntly puts it, you've got to be in it to win it. Conveniently enough, "The Game" is possibly the only other track I'd recommend. Produced by the late J Dilla and featuring D'Angelo, the track has three of the stronger Soulquarians at the top of their game. "So Far to Go" is an obvious highlight because in the end it's just three old-pals kickin' it. The Devo Springsteen produced "Misunderstood" plays with Nina Simone's rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by adding bluesy guitar licks and all the while allowing the focus to remain on Common. Luckily, three of the eleven (discounting the intro) tracks on the album were produced by some other artists and, while they definitely fit into the soulful sound found on the album, they make a point of highlighting Common rather than overshadowing him.
Common said that with this disc he'd "just rap", but the art is lost because you're hard pressed to actually notice his presence. When Kanye's at the helm, Finding Forever is an overcomplicated mess. In short, "The People" is an alright track that's more than indicative of all the faults found on the album. As Common continually builds off the "oh" sound, often jumping back to "my daughter found Nemo/ I found the new Premo", soulful quips play yin to his yang. Common comes in fairly audible, but almost at the very instant he calls Kanye "the new Premo", what feels like an endless sea of samples kick in along with some intense frustration. Lead single "The People" is dominated by organs, shouts and actually starts off fairly promising. Common's laid-back, "sounds sort of like he has a cold" flow is instantly recognizable and definitely at par with his past work, but sadly it's almost instantly drowned out by loud, poorly placed instrumentation. Midway through the track Common finally comes in, sounding restless and mostly uninterested, at least at first. "Start the Show" has West playing ringmaster, introducing the album as if it were his own, a theme consistently found on the disc. West virtually omnipresent on the production front, but he makes himself known by appearing unannounced throughout the course of the album. Maybe it's his ego, or maybe he had something to prove, but regardless, the production on Finding Forever is weighty, distracting and, to add insult to injury, pretty atrocious. Somewhere down the line, I think Kanye forgot he was working on a Common album. Yes, believe it or not, Kanye wasn't the first to alter the pitch on a Nina Simone track. West has made a career in ripping off Pete Rock, DJ Premier and J Dilla. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't he made a career off that? While you could easily assume that most fans of Kanye are unaware of his influences, true hip-hop heads recognize that Mr. Not only did he guarantee a Grammy, he also touted his own chops by saying he'd "pay tribute to Dilla" and that he'd try to "bring back a really soulful feel". West, who also had a heavy hand in Be, has made no effort to subdue the hype.
The only problem is it's highly lauded by producer, douchebag and fellow Chicago-native Kanye West. He solidified his place at the top of the Chicago hip-hop scene with Resurrection, Like Water for Chocolate and 2005's Be and, well, I'm sad to say it might be the end of an era.įor those who don't know, Finding Forever is a highly lauded effort. Common is an MC through and through he's well respected, fairly renowned and, according to Gap, mildly fashionable. It's pretty hard to come into this album without expectations. Fans will probably forget this is a Common album by the third or fourth track and it’s probably for the better. Review Summary: An imitative, soulful mess.
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