Common-Follow Me

Sometimes the best way to stop a bully is to ignore them. Sometimes it's best to call them out. This bully has already been called out time and time again, but it's the biggest bully on the block. I probably need a bigger megaphone, but this will do.

The rapper Common has found his name stirred in the constantly simmering pot of misinformation and hype served daily by Fox News. The Obamas are hosting a poetry night to celebrate American poets, and one of the invitees is the Chicago rapper Common. Immediately, talking heads like Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, and Karl Rove hopped in, using their vast knowledge of hip hop and deep readings into the lyrics of the discography of Common, called him fan of cop-killers, accused him of making threats on George W's life, and called him out on supposedly supporting carrying uzis around and on top for being bad for the kids. And Fox News love the kids.

If the Obamas had invited Tyler, The Creator over for tea, I see how that could cause a stir. But Common? The same Common that has built a career on introspection? Common is one of the shining examples that good hiphop can combine both dope lyricism and great beats, that the two aren't mutually exclusive, and the combination can still be really commercially successful. Reading the lyrics to many of his songs highlights the poetry at heart of the best hiphop, and listening to him perform lets you hear the intrinsic symbiosis between the words and the beat. Common is a rapper's rapper. And all that can be found in this unreleased track that's been chilling in my computer for a little bit. The lyrics are the same ones that are causing all the ruckus now, the sames ones from the Def Poetry Jam from 2007. On top of a easygoing beat by Kanye, Common adopts the voice of an inner-youth, writing a letter to the government about police brutality. The message is there, the lyrics are there, the flow is there, the poetry is there. And that is all Common is. A poet, an artist, and every artist deserves their fair share of free-rein.

Fox News charges Common with being a bad influence on the kids. I'd say that Fox News holds way more influence than the Chicago rapper ever will, and unlike Common, uses that influence very, very poorly. That's where the real danger is, not with a rapper whose most offense recent act was releasing his atrocious last album.

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 Common-Follow Me by jamand1/2