"Resurrection": breathing life into the corpse of mainstream rap (May Music Madness W/O)

You may have been wondering where I have been lately, considering my review output has diminished considerably over the past few months. Well it’s been down to school commitments – coursework, revision etc – and I’ve had virtually no time to write anything other than schoolwork. But, my final deadline was yesterday and everything was handed in so now, aside from revision, I have considerably more time. And where better to start than the Queen of Pop’s Kristinafh’s mammoth write-off “May Music Madness”. The first task of this four-part write-off is the I’ve got the Music in Me, where participants have to review an album they feel is worthy of precisely 5 stars. A CD I’ve been itching to review is the classic Resurrection, easily an album worthy of this award.

Picture the scene. It is 1994, and Hip Hop is blowing up. The Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy are just some of the names leading the charge… but they’re all from either the East or Westcoast. Grom the centre of the country, specifically the Windy City Chicago, a young emcee named Common Sense basically came and defined his own sound with his classic follow-up album “Resurrection”. Hailed by the Hip Hop purists as an intelligent, poetic man and lyricist, backed wit jazzy production, and with one gigantic enduring single, Common quickly defined everything that could possibly be good about rap music. He had dropped his solid debut "Can I Borrow a Dollar?", and would go on to drop amazing albums like One Day It'll All Make Sense", Like Water for Chocolate" and "Electric Circus". Resurrection is arguably his best album.

Track Listing

1. Resurrection. (*****)
2. I Used To Love H.E.R. (*****)
3. Watermelon. (*****)
4. Book Of Life. (*****)
5. In My Own World (Check The Method) Feat No I.D. (*****)
6. Another Wasted Nite With...
7. Nuthin' To Do. (*****)
8. Communism. (*****)
9. WMOE.
10. Thisisme. (*****)
11. Orange Pineapple Juice. (**** ½)
12. Chapter 13 (Rich Man Vs. Poor Man) Feat Ynot. (*****)
13. Maintaining. (*****)
14. Sum Sh*t I Wrote. (*****)
15. Pop's Rap

What has made Common one of my favourite rap artists ever, and what has endured him to thousands of other rap heads and critics, is his ability to constantly innovate and create, yet still remain one of the illest lyricists alive. His most popular song ever is undoubtedly the classic, classic, classic “I Used to Love H.E.R”. No I.D., who skilfully handles the vast majority of the album’s production, lays a simple bassline with dreamy, floating jazz melodies placed on top, but Common’s lyrics are what define the song: it is one extended metaphor, as the Chicago emcee in a detailed, fluid manner narrates a gradually declining emotional relationship he had with a female, which is actually metaphor for his increasing disillusionment with the state of rap. You hence get some superbly detailed, intricate analysis of the rap game - It’s a standout album moment that started the trend of the "concept" rap song, and one of Hip Hop’s greatest ever songs (Top 10).

In Hip Hop circles “Resurrection” is known as one of the best “lyrical” albums EVER released. When you think about it, that’s saying something: considering rap is a lyrical music form. Common is one of the most versatile, creative emcees rap has ever seen, it is that simple. His lyrics during the album are quite astounding. The title track “Resurrection” is definitely one of my favourites. No I.D. again showcases his amazing producing talents, with a solid, fluent bassline over which he loops the most divine, mellow piano sample. Common defecates the mic with two fun verses where he simply drops witty punchlines and clever braggadocios rhymes: “My style is too developed to be arrested / It's the freestyle, so now it's out on parole”. This kind of lyrical experimentation embodies the creativity and poetic style that Common is famous for. He cleverly plays on the use of the word “Com” over the eeriest beat of the album in “Communism”: “It's a common market and it's so much competition / but to me, competition is none / To my comp I'm a ton, I get amped like Watts in a riot / my compact disc is a commodity, so buy it”. It's short, sharp and to the point: and utterly compelling.

Common doesn't really vary too much from this formula for most of Resurrection, he drops high-calibre written freestyles that experiment with the boundaries of the English language throughout - but it's so enjoyable and executed so well that who cares? Tracks like “Water Melon” and “Sum Sh-t I Wrote” where he spits enjoyable lines like “It's funny how time flies / Well I'm as fly as time / I don't believe in role models / But if I do, then I'm mine”, just place the Chicano in the upper echelon of rap music artists. He reminds me in many ways of Gza – each line is crafted individually, and not a word is put to waste. He just doesn’t understand the concept of “filler”.

But even though on this album (he would later) Common doesn't vary his style too much, it goes without saying that he is capable of great variety. “Nuthin’ to Do” is one of the jazziest, most enjoyable tracks on the album, and subject-wise it’s excellent – dealing with how hard it is growing up in a deprived urban area, inner-city Chicago. He can jump head-first into introspection, like on one of my favourites, “This is Me”. Over a truly warm, cheerful piano-dominated track the Windy City MC looks at himself as an artist, as a person, and basically how he fits into life, again filling the song with quotables: I “probably would get bumped more if I was a gangster / But I am a gangsta, call me the gangsta of love!”. The production on this track is also truly memorable; it demonstrates how No I.D.’s beats help make this such a good album.

Any album that contains I Used to Love H.E.R” is already a classic on the strength of that alone, but “Resurrection” has the added bonus of having a lyricist like Common onboard – who delivers the performance of his life, full of zest, creativity and fluidity – and he has jazzy, mellow beats from No I.D. that will get your head nodding . This is as close to Hip Hop perfection as you can get, and an undisputed classic.

5 stars