Common 'Nobody's Smiling' | Album Review
10th studio album from Com and my gosh does it goes in. Common goes HAAAARD on this. Production handled entirely by common's long time collaborator/producer and musical genius No ID. I don't really need to talk about Com's delivery and lyrical content, the dude is a veteran. Following on from The Dreamer/The Believer, the album title is inspired by violence and high crime in Chicago and as a way of giving back Com recruited Chicago's up and coming artists Dreezy, Cocaine 80 and Lil Herb. Album also boasts features from ex label mates Big Sean on Diamonds and Malik Yusef on the Title track Nobody's Smiling. Other features include Jhené Aiko on Blak Majik. In a recent interview with Rap-Up TV, Common mentioned his reasons for Aiko on the feature
"I wanted to team up with [Jhené] and do a song that was fresh. I called it 'Blak Majik' because I say we make something out of nothing. It's also a feel-good, fun song, but it's hard, it's rough."The album is packed with bangers and every track could potentially make it as a single. Stand out tracks include Speak My Piece (samples the Biggie lyric from Hypnotise), Nobody's Smiling (title track, features spoken word artist Malik Yusef, speaks on violence and crime in Chicago), 7 Deadly Sins ( the name says it all), Diamonds (one of the lead singles, features Big Sean) and Blak Majik featuring Jhene Aiko. My personal favourite is Rewind That, a track that talks on Commons relationship with NoID as they were coming up in Chicago and how he finally got to do an album with the one he started with. The second verse speaks on his relationship with J Dilla from the first time they met to Dilla's sickness as they were working together. This album is definitely what the game needed, in this era of the Futures and Young Thugs. I mean half the time I can't even understand what they are saying and I'm supposed to relate to that...PLEASE! I definitely recommend a listen. I'd place this joint in Commons Top 3 albums with a wearesofresh rating of 4/5.
Nobody's Smiling out out now- Happy listening.
