Monday, October 5, 2009
MTV's Hottest MC's in the game right now...
10. Raekwon
9. 50 Cent
8. Fab
7.Jeezy
6. Gucci Mane
5. Rick Ross
4. Kanye West
3. Drake
2. LiL Wayne
1. Jay-Z
* Now, I definitely respect this list, and I saw how it was compiled, and I respect how it was formulated. Here is where I disagree... Kid Cudi..not on the list, Wale, Not on the list. Kanye should of been left off, but overall, this was a pretty solid list. And, the only reason I say Kanye should of been left off, is because his last album was not a hip-hop album. but.. yeah, it is what it is.
9. 50 Cent
8. Fab
7.Jeezy
6. Gucci Mane
5. Rick Ross
4. Kanye West
3. Drake
2. LiL Wayne
1. Jay-Z
* Now, I definitely respect this list, and I saw how it was compiled, and I respect how it was formulated. Here is where I disagree... Kid Cudi..not on the list, Wale, Not on the list. Kanye should of been left off, but overall, this was a pretty solid list. And, the only reason I say Kanye should of been left off, is because his last album was not a hip-hop album. but.. yeah, it is what it is.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
This dude still sings??? SMH...
As with shotgun weddings and annulments, an artist's time on a record label can be fleeting. Just two months after R&B singer Omarion signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment in early June came the news that he was leaving to run his own imprint, Starworld Entertainment under EMI Records.
While some initially thought the former B2K frontman was dropped--suspicions that arose after his single, "I Get It In," leaked to the Internet, shortly followed by a tweet from Young Money President Mack Maine stating that Omarion was "no longer with Young Money"--Omarion quickly skirted the rumor in a statement, also denying his involvement in the song's leaking.
"I remember [Mack Maine] tweeting. He didn't say I got dropped. He didn't say anything," Omarion tells VIBE. "I think because I haven't been on the scene for a long time, people sometimes forget my history and forget that I had a career before Young Money. I've been in B2K, I've had a successful solo career, so nobody can 'drop me,' so to speak."
The singer further maintains that he and Wayne remain on good speaking terms despite the sudden departure.
"We spoke and he pretty much was like, 'Do what you wanna do and do your thing,'" says Omarion. "It's no bad blood. It's business."
Since the news of his leaving also came days after Bow Wow announced signing to Cash Money, some speculated friction between the pair, who released a collaborative effort, Face Off, in 2007. Omarion denies any animosity there, too, calling Bow Wow a "good friend."
"Business wise, Young Money and Cash Money are two totally separate entities. Wayne has his group of artists and Cash Money has its group of artists," says O. "It is one big family but Bow Wow, he's under Birdman. That didn't have anything to do with me wanting to be released."
Following B2K's disbandment in 2004, Omarion dropped two solo projects, briefly linking with Timbaland for one of his biggest singles, "Ice Box." More recently, he was featured on "Bria's Interlude" from Young Money rapper Drake's February mixtape, So Far Gone, and popped up on an early version of Young Money's new single, "Bedrock." Now prepping the release of his third solo album, Ollusion, due November 24, Omarion-who turns 25 that month-says he's ready to step out on his own after being under the management of others for much of his career.The whole Young Money situation was a really, really great idea in the beginning," he explains. "But when I really started to think about the history of superstars, you know, they stand alone, including Wayne, Kanye... So when I thought about that I really wanted to pursue, and at that moment I had an opportunity to not only be an entertainer and stand on my own, but be an entrepreneur."
Ollusion features production from King, who co-produced "Icebox," Detail, and Tank, who helmed the Gucci Mane-assisted lead single "I Get It In." A video for the song is being shot next week.
"Sonically it's kinda like passive aggressive. It's definitely sexy like what I gave with 'O,'" Omarion says of the album, adding that the title represents the falseness of the music industry. "A lot of people have to fake a front and pretend and have this persona. They might appear to be fearless but truthfully we all have fears. It's not what you think it is. It's an illusion." --Clover Hope
THE Dude Bol...
Lost in the hoopla re: last week’s Billboard albums chart was the fact that Kid Cudi’s album did so well.
When I saw the results last week, I was more concerned with the fact that the Blueprint 3 continued to do so well, and M.O.P.’s Foundation did so poorly.
The Jay-Z album sold an additional damn near 300,000 more copies, which is more than pretty much any rapper these days could hope to sell their first week out, and enough to land it in the number one spot for the second week in a row. I know the beginning of the fall is a big time of the year for album releases. I wonder if the Blueprint 3 beat out some other, non-rap album that was released.
It’s hard to get an idea how rap album sales compare to album sales overall, from the dumbass album sales rundowns XXL pays some kid to do - not to mention the reports on how much rap albums are projected to sell, the ones where people who work for XXL predict how an album might sell, the videos where random-ass people on the street predict how an album might sell, so on and so forth.
That M.O.P. album, meanwhile, only sold 2,100 copies. I’m not even sure how to go about categorizing such poor album sales. I can’t think of another example of an album by a prominent rap group selling so poorly. Even that Clipse album on Koch Graveyard, where it was just garbage from their last few mixtapes, somehow made even worse, sold more copies than that.
In a widely disseminated update on Twitter last week, I made it a point to compare M.O.P.’s disappointing album sales to the fact that Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day somehow managed to sell 104,000 copies its first week out, i.e. damn near 50 times as many as the M.O.P. The comparison seemed especially fascinating to me, in that I can hardly think of two rap groups that are more diametrically opposed. M.O.P. are old and badass. Kid Cudi is young and suspect. Kid Cudi is like the anti-M.O.P.
I didn’t even realize people were checking for Kid Cudi like that. In the past few weeks, all I’ve heard about on Twitter re: Kid Cudi is how people who stumbled upon a leaked copy of his album were surprised at how much they didn’t like it. And keep in mind, these weren’t aging haters such as myself. These were people you’d think might like a Kid Cudi album.
Then I saw where Cudi deleted both his Twitter and his blog, which was considered by the late, great (er, zombified?) Vibe magazine as one of the best hip-hop blogs evar - probably several spots ahead of my own blog, which I’ve been updating since back when Kid Cudi was having his first homosexual experiences, in middle school. What a waste. Whether or not the harsh criticism of his album and Cudi retreating from the Internets were related, I’m not sure.
I’ll give credit where credit is due - the hype re: Kid Cudi seemed a lot more genuine to me than the hype surrounding a lot of these other beta male rappers. “Day N’ Nite” and “Make Her Say” were both big singles. “Make Her Say,” which is Kanye at his lecherous best, and perhaps a foreshadowing of the incident at this years VMAs, is my shit. And I’m not gonna lie - when I’m on my way home from the BGM and one of those teh ghey techno remixes of “Day N’ Nite” comes on Sirius, I’ll let that shit ride. Kid Cudi supposedly wrote both of the songs people actually like from the last Kanye West album, and he’s featured on the new Jay-Z album.
If you would have told me that Kid Cudi, rather than Drake, had received a groundbreaking $2 million contract, I might have actually believed you. What has Drake really done, by comparison? Before I mentioned that the Kid Cudi album sold way better than the M.O.P. album, I saw where it was projected to sell way better than the retail version of Drake’s So Far Gone. This seemed odd to me, and I said as much on Twitter. A few people responded that the Drake album was just a bowdlerized, $8 version of a free mixtape. Which might be true, but I doubt the people who gave Drake $2 million give a shit. Why did Drake put out a retail version of a mixtape last week, as opposed to an album? It’s not like “Best I Ever Had” is getting any newer. And people are obviously (inexplicably) back buying CDs.
Alas, it looks like last week’s strong album sales could end up being the peak of Kid Cudi’s career, rather than the promising beginning. This week, Man on the Moon slid 13 spots on Billboard’s albums chart, selling about 28,000 copies, i.e. only a little more than a fourth of what he sold last week. So Far Gone: The Version That Has Less Songs and Costs Money outsold it by about 8,000 copies, which was enough to land it in the top 10. Let me guess - the 100,000 people who copped Man on the Moon its first week out hated it, just like the people I follow on Twitter, and they spread the word. Otherwise, who knows how well it would be doing right now. In fact, advance negative word on the Internets may have even hampered those first week sales. Man on the Moon possibly could have even given the two week old Blueprint 3 a run for its money.
It’s not like I give a shit whether or not Kid Cudi album does well. As I stated at the outset, that’s just not my cup of tea. I was much more concerned with how poorly the M.O.P. album sold. But the Kid Cudi album is fascinating to me, in that I can hardly think of a rapper in a better position to blow. What’s happened in the past week or so with Man on the Moon is like what happened with Cudi’s Freshman 10 cohort (and touring partner) Asher Roth earlier this year all over again. They both had the full force of the industry behind them, but they could only ever make but so many people give a shit.
When I saw the results last week, I was more concerned with the fact that the Blueprint 3 continued to do so well, and M.O.P.’s Foundation did so poorly.
The Jay-Z album sold an additional damn near 300,000 more copies, which is more than pretty much any rapper these days could hope to sell their first week out, and enough to land it in the number one spot for the second week in a row. I know the beginning of the fall is a big time of the year for album releases. I wonder if the Blueprint 3 beat out some other, non-rap album that was released.
It’s hard to get an idea how rap album sales compare to album sales overall, from the dumbass album sales rundowns XXL pays some kid to do - not to mention the reports on how much rap albums are projected to sell, the ones where people who work for XXL predict how an album might sell, the videos where random-ass people on the street predict how an album might sell, so on and so forth.
That M.O.P. album, meanwhile, only sold 2,100 copies. I’m not even sure how to go about categorizing such poor album sales. I can’t think of another example of an album by a prominent rap group selling so poorly. Even that Clipse album on Koch Graveyard, where it was just garbage from their last few mixtapes, somehow made even worse, sold more copies than that.
In a widely disseminated update on Twitter last week, I made it a point to compare M.O.P.’s disappointing album sales to the fact that Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day somehow managed to sell 104,000 copies its first week out, i.e. damn near 50 times as many as the M.O.P. The comparison seemed especially fascinating to me, in that I can hardly think of two rap groups that are more diametrically opposed. M.O.P. are old and badass. Kid Cudi is young and suspect. Kid Cudi is like the anti-M.O.P.
I didn’t even realize people were checking for Kid Cudi like that. In the past few weeks, all I’ve heard about on Twitter re: Kid Cudi is how people who stumbled upon a leaked copy of his album were surprised at how much they didn’t like it. And keep in mind, these weren’t aging haters such as myself. These were people you’d think might like a Kid Cudi album.
Then I saw where Cudi deleted both his Twitter and his blog, which was considered by the late, great (er, zombified?) Vibe magazine as one of the best hip-hop blogs evar - probably several spots ahead of my own blog, which I’ve been updating since back when Kid Cudi was having his first homosexual experiences, in middle school. What a waste. Whether or not the harsh criticism of his album and Cudi retreating from the Internets were related, I’m not sure.
I’ll give credit where credit is due - the hype re: Kid Cudi seemed a lot more genuine to me than the hype surrounding a lot of these other beta male rappers. “Day N’ Nite” and “Make Her Say” were both big singles. “Make Her Say,” which is Kanye at his lecherous best, and perhaps a foreshadowing of the incident at this years VMAs, is my shit. And I’m not gonna lie - when I’m on my way home from the BGM and one of those teh ghey techno remixes of “Day N’ Nite” comes on Sirius, I’ll let that shit ride. Kid Cudi supposedly wrote both of the songs people actually like from the last Kanye West album, and he’s featured on the new Jay-Z album.
If you would have told me that Kid Cudi, rather than Drake, had received a groundbreaking $2 million contract, I might have actually believed you. What has Drake really done, by comparison? Before I mentioned that the Kid Cudi album sold way better than the M.O.P. album, I saw where it was projected to sell way better than the retail version of Drake’s So Far Gone. This seemed odd to me, and I said as much on Twitter. A few people responded that the Drake album was just a bowdlerized, $8 version of a free mixtape. Which might be true, but I doubt the people who gave Drake $2 million give a shit. Why did Drake put out a retail version of a mixtape last week, as opposed to an album? It’s not like “Best I Ever Had” is getting any newer. And people are obviously (inexplicably) back buying CDs.
Alas, it looks like last week’s strong album sales could end up being the peak of Kid Cudi’s career, rather than the promising beginning. This week, Man on the Moon slid 13 spots on Billboard’s albums chart, selling about 28,000 copies, i.e. only a little more than a fourth of what he sold last week. So Far Gone: The Version That Has Less Songs and Costs Money outsold it by about 8,000 copies, which was enough to land it in the top 10. Let me guess - the 100,000 people who copped Man on the Moon its first week out hated it, just like the people I follow on Twitter, and they spread the word. Otherwise, who knows how well it would be doing right now. In fact, advance negative word on the Internets may have even hampered those first week sales. Man on the Moon possibly could have even given the two week old Blueprint 3 a run for its money.
It’s not like I give a shit whether or not Kid Cudi album does well. As I stated at the outset, that’s just not my cup of tea. I was much more concerned with how poorly the M.O.P. album sold. But the Kid Cudi album is fascinating to me, in that I can hardly think of a rapper in a better position to blow. What’s happened in the past week or so with Man on the Moon is like what happened with Cudi’s Freshman 10 cohort (and touring partner) Asher Roth earlier this year all over again. They both had the full force of the industry behind them, but they could only ever make but so many people give a shit.
GOOD SHIT FROM XXLMAG.com
let this hit your mind...
Yesterday’s blog had the brightness of an Esham record, which I apologize for; when something’s front-and-center in your head, it’s tough to maneuver around the elephant in the mind. Even though my topic today isn’t necessarily for the laughs, it’s much more pleasant to digest. The mirror is still pointed inward, though, and this time it’s a result of my last XXLMag.com blog week. For those who recall, I put together a couple of regional-specific posts—the first, reminiscing about Pete Rock and Marley Marl’s “Future Flavas” radio show, and the second, a collection of my favorite storytelling rap songs of the weirdly-conceptual kind.
I’d thought both would be immune to the anger of the commenting sect, but then a strange, unexpected thing happened; I was accused of perpetuating an apparent East Coast bias on this site. My first reaction was one of disbelief and self-defense. But then, the more I thought about it, the accusation brought me back to 2004, when Democratic candidate John Kerry lost to George “Dubya” Bush—or, American history’s biggest dumbass—in the presidential election. I’d lied to myself throughout that entire race; here I was, living in New Jersey while working in New York City, both areas predominantly liberal. Of course Kerry was going to wreck shop in the nearby polls. So when Bush started whooping his ass on election night, the U.S. map on CNN covered in red all over the South, I was stunned. Not as much by disappointment, but by the shock of my ignorance. “Shit,” I thought, “I really am NY-centric. To my own narrow-minded fault.”
Which brings me back into the hip-hop side of things. As hard as I try to tell myself it isn’t the case, I really am overly partial to the New York sound. There’s always my love for all things Outkast, Scarface, N.W.A. and Hieroglyphics, but when it comes down to it, I’ll always pick the Skyzoo album over the Lil Boosie disc. People keep telling me to fuck with those new Nipsey Hussle mixtapes (and I do, because the guy can definitely spit), but midway through I can’t resist the compulsion to switch the iTunes over to Apathy’s Wanna Snuggle? (Ap’s from Connecticut, technically, but his sound is truly Eastern-minded; and that new album is serious, for the record).
All of this leaves me to wonder: why can’t I completely embrace a new Gucci Mane song? What is it about the NY sound that works best for me? I love all hip-hop, and my CD collection wouldn’t be over 1,500 deep if I’d only copped albums from my neck of the woods over the last 15 years. In fact, I had MC Ren’s “Behind the Scenes” on repeat for hours yesterday. So I’m not close-minded; I’m just a rap head who’s fortunately self-aware enough to acknowledge his downside.
It’s funny, because my older brother and elder cousin used to bang West Coast records over my head back when I was in grade school. Especially tracks by Above the Law (“Murder Rap” is actually a top 10 all-time song in my book) and Eazy-E. If they’d tried even harder, I could’ve written this asking why I’m a New Yorker who can’t stop bumping Cali music. But, alas, that’s not the case. I was reminded of this problem back in college; I went to St. John’s University, out in Jamaica, Queens. One of my good friends there was from South Central, Los Angeles, and he was full of out-of-town habits that were all foreign to me. For instance, the kid walked slower than an elderly woman nursing a Charlie horse, a stroll that he attributed to the slower LA lifestyle. My fellow Metropolitan area folk, we break out in that speed-walk to compete with local insanity.
The craziest thing about my Cali friend, though? He’d never heard of M.O.P. prior to stepping foot onto the St. John’s campus. That absolutely blew my mind. I specifically remember lying on my bedroom floor back in ‘96, ripping the shrink wrap off of my new Firing Squad CD, and running through that dopeness until it was dinner time. Out on the Left Coast, though, this guy could give two shits. He was, and still is frankly, West Coast biased. And that’s proof that regional preferences go all ways. Maybe it’s because I’m from NY, but I always feel like New Yorkers get the “Open your ears” shouts more than others. I can almost hear John Kerry himself yelling that at me. “That’s essentially why Bush was given another four years to drive us into the ground.”
I could deliberate this for hours, for a neverending series of paragraphs, so I’ll quit while I’m (hopefully) ahead. The question I ask, however, is: for those brave enough to fess up to having one, how can we best explain our regional bias? Is it simply a result of growing up in areas where radio stations favor the local sounds? I reply to that, “Well, I watched Yo! MTV Raps religiously, so I’ve always been exposed to every style.”
Is there even a definitive explanation for this? I’ve long thought not, but what do I know? I’m the same guy who visited Waco, Texas (don’t ask), once and stood in amazement at the first sight of a dude wearing a cowboy hat. “They really wear those out here,” I asked my girl at the time. “Yes,” she shot back, “what’d you think, that those only exist in western movies? You really need to leave the Tri-State more, man.” As my friend from Cali used to say, “Chuuuch!” And, yes, he really did say that. -Matt Barone
Yesterday’s blog had the brightness of an Esham record, which I apologize for; when something’s front-and-center in your head, it’s tough to maneuver around the elephant in the mind. Even though my topic today isn’t necessarily for the laughs, it’s much more pleasant to digest. The mirror is still pointed inward, though, and this time it’s a result of my last XXLMag.com blog week. For those who recall, I put together a couple of regional-specific posts—the first, reminiscing about Pete Rock and Marley Marl’s “Future Flavas” radio show, and the second, a collection of my favorite storytelling rap songs of the weirdly-conceptual kind.
I’d thought both would be immune to the anger of the commenting sect, but then a strange, unexpected thing happened; I was accused of perpetuating an apparent East Coast bias on this site. My first reaction was one of disbelief and self-defense. But then, the more I thought about it, the accusation brought me back to 2004, when Democratic candidate John Kerry lost to George “Dubya” Bush—or, American history’s biggest dumbass—in the presidential election. I’d lied to myself throughout that entire race; here I was, living in New Jersey while working in New York City, both areas predominantly liberal. Of course Kerry was going to wreck shop in the nearby polls. So when Bush started whooping his ass on election night, the U.S. map on CNN covered in red all over the South, I was stunned. Not as much by disappointment, but by the shock of my ignorance. “Shit,” I thought, “I really am NY-centric. To my own narrow-minded fault.”
Which brings me back into the hip-hop side of things. As hard as I try to tell myself it isn’t the case, I really am overly partial to the New York sound. There’s always my love for all things Outkast, Scarface, N.W.A. and Hieroglyphics, but when it comes down to it, I’ll always pick the Skyzoo album over the Lil Boosie disc. People keep telling me to fuck with those new Nipsey Hussle mixtapes (and I do, because the guy can definitely spit), but midway through I can’t resist the compulsion to switch the iTunes over to Apathy’s Wanna Snuggle? (Ap’s from Connecticut, technically, but his sound is truly Eastern-minded; and that new album is serious, for the record).
All of this leaves me to wonder: why can’t I completely embrace a new Gucci Mane song? What is it about the NY sound that works best for me? I love all hip-hop, and my CD collection wouldn’t be over 1,500 deep if I’d only copped albums from my neck of the woods over the last 15 years. In fact, I had MC Ren’s “Behind the Scenes” on repeat for hours yesterday. So I’m not close-minded; I’m just a rap head who’s fortunately self-aware enough to acknowledge his downside.
It’s funny, because my older brother and elder cousin used to bang West Coast records over my head back when I was in grade school. Especially tracks by Above the Law (“Murder Rap” is actually a top 10 all-time song in my book) and Eazy-E. If they’d tried even harder, I could’ve written this asking why I’m a New Yorker who can’t stop bumping Cali music. But, alas, that’s not the case. I was reminded of this problem back in college; I went to St. John’s University, out in Jamaica, Queens. One of my good friends there was from South Central, Los Angeles, and he was full of out-of-town habits that were all foreign to me. For instance, the kid walked slower than an elderly woman nursing a Charlie horse, a stroll that he attributed to the slower LA lifestyle. My fellow Metropolitan area folk, we break out in that speed-walk to compete with local insanity.
The craziest thing about my Cali friend, though? He’d never heard of M.O.P. prior to stepping foot onto the St. John’s campus. That absolutely blew my mind. I specifically remember lying on my bedroom floor back in ‘96, ripping the shrink wrap off of my new Firing Squad CD, and running through that dopeness until it was dinner time. Out on the Left Coast, though, this guy could give two shits. He was, and still is frankly, West Coast biased. And that’s proof that regional preferences go all ways. Maybe it’s because I’m from NY, but I always feel like New Yorkers get the “Open your ears” shouts more than others. I can almost hear John Kerry himself yelling that at me. “That’s essentially why Bush was given another four years to drive us into the ground.”
I could deliberate this for hours, for a neverending series of paragraphs, so I’ll quit while I’m (hopefully) ahead. The question I ask, however, is: for those brave enough to fess up to having one, how can we best explain our regional bias? Is it simply a result of growing up in areas where radio stations favor the local sounds? I reply to that, “Well, I watched Yo! MTV Raps religiously, so I’ve always been exposed to every style.”
Is there even a definitive explanation for this? I’ve long thought not, but what do I know? I’m the same guy who visited Waco, Texas (don’t ask), once and stood in amazement at the first sight of a dude wearing a cowboy hat. “They really wear those out here,” I asked my girl at the time. “Yes,” she shot back, “what’d you think, that those only exist in western movies? You really need to leave the Tri-State more, man.” As my friend from Cali used to say, “Chuuuch!” And, yes, he really did say that. -Matt Barone
WTF is SELLING out in 2009??
The iconic hip hop band was on CNN and spoke about them being labeled sell outs for mainstream gigs, such as being the house band on the Jimmy Fallon show. ?uestlove quelled those rumors as nonsense and insisted that the band is merely being business savy, cashing those late night checks, as well as enjoying keeping fans guessing.
Here is what Questo said to CNN:
"I don't know if selling out is even a factor in 2009. There's being responsible, and there's being businessmen," he said. "My definition of selling out is when your products start sounding crappy and when you phone it in from home. But I don't think there's anything compromised or rushed or ill-timed or misthought about our career decision. As long as the music's funky and true, and our art is still represented, I don't see that at all.”
Here is what Questo said to CNN:
"I don't know if selling out is even a factor in 2009. There's being responsible, and there's being businessmen," he said. "My definition of selling out is when your products start sounding crappy and when you phone it in from home. But I don't think there's anything compromised or rushed or ill-timed or misthought about our career decision. As long as the music's funky and true, and our art is still represented, I don't see that at all.”
THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!!
Common is returning to his roots. After linking with The Neptunes for the majority of last year’s dance friendly Universal Mind Control, the Chi-town MC is reuniting with Kanye West and No I.D. for his ninth studio album, The Believer.
During the benefit show for his Common Ground Foundation over the weekend, Com told XXLMag.com that he has already recorded tracks with Kanye and No I.D. for the project, which he expects to hit stores sometime next spring.
No I.D. has been producing songs for the rapper/actor ever since Com first broke out onto the scene in 1992 with Can I Borrow A Dollar? He went on to produce the majority of Common’s next two albums: Resurrection and One Day It’ll All Make Sense.
Along with signing the fellow Chicago resident to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint, Kanye produced the bulk of Com’s highest selling album 2005’s Be, as well as 2007’s Finding Forever.
Common also said he has been in the studio with beatsmith Twilite Tone, who he hasn’t worked with since One Day It’ll All Make Sense. Like I.D. Twilite also produced a lot of songs on Com’s debut.
As previously reported, the rap vet brought out a star studded cast of hip-hop heavyweights at his show last Saturday (September 26). Nas, Ye, De La Soul, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Ludacris, Heavy D and Queen Latifah all hit the stage to help Common raise money for his foundation. –Max G with reporting by Slav Kandyba
During the benefit show for his Common Ground Foundation over the weekend, Com told XXLMag.com that he has already recorded tracks with Kanye and No I.D. for the project, which he expects to hit stores sometime next spring.
No I.D. has been producing songs for the rapper/actor ever since Com first broke out onto the scene in 1992 with Can I Borrow A Dollar? He went on to produce the majority of Common’s next two albums: Resurrection and One Day It’ll All Make Sense.
Along with signing the fellow Chicago resident to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint, Kanye produced the bulk of Com’s highest selling album 2005’s Be, as well as 2007’s Finding Forever.
Common also said he has been in the studio with beatsmith Twilite Tone, who he hasn’t worked with since One Day It’ll All Make Sense. Like I.D. Twilite also produced a lot of songs on Com’s debut.
As previously reported, the rap vet brought out a star studded cast of hip-hop heavyweights at his show last Saturday (September 26). Nas, Ye, De La Soul, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Ludacris, Heavy D and Queen Latifah all hit the stage to help Common raise money for his foundation. –Max G with reporting by Slav Kandyba
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