During these current times we've been seeing such a chaotic
and violent nature being displayed over the globe from the back and forth
attacks in the Gaza and Israel resulting in an horrific amount of deaths and
while this may be hard to stomach and witness this kind of heartless slaughter
occurs all over mother earth for example there is a windy city that’s located
in the united states that has a homicidal death toll of 172 people during the
first six months of 2014 this being a decrease from the 181 last year. This
city I'm referring to is Chicago recently dubbed “Chi-Raq” because of the war-like behaviour that’s been happening as
of lately, a city that over the decades seem to have no hope, no means of
escape and the only aspiration that most of the youth in this town may have is
probably the privilege to live to see another day, small similarities between
the people of Chi-Raq and the people
of Gaza/Israel but the main one is that the drug dealers on
the block are not smiling, the kids that are locked away in their houses to
avoid stray bullets are not smiling, the elderly are not smiling, the people of
Chicago are not smiling and change is their main priority to escape this
malicious mentality that has plagued their city for far too long but in order
for this change to commence the rest of the world must be aware, somebody has
to step forward and let everyone know what is happening in these streets, what
really goes down behind the curtains and how can we can implement the right
measures to improve the longevity of life for Chicago, Chicago Legends No I.D
and Common take on this responsibility and give you the real, raw and
uncensored audio expression on “Nobody’s
Smiling”.
This new LP released under Atrium/Def Jam Records Consists of 10 tracks on the standard
edition and 13 for the Deluxe and is the second project Common has done with No
I.D handling majority of the production since One Day It’ll All Make Sense in 1997, since then No I.D’s production
skills have become very diverse over the years so with Nobody’s Smiling you really will hear Common on beats that are
not so soulful and sample driven like their acclaimed classic Resurrection in 1994 but the embodiment
of the album itself has that classic feel to it. The intro record The Neighbourhood really invites you into the main idea of the album
where Common gives you a vivid description of what occurs in the neighbourhoods
of Chicago and he is accompanied on this tale by Cocaine 80’s James Fauntleroy and Lil Herb, a member of the new
generation of Chicago rappers that gives his own perspective of the everyday
struggles in Chicago like “I've been out there 3 days and I got shot at like
three times felt like every bullet hit me when it flew out each 9 I’ll be happy
when I wake up and I have a free mind” . Another favourite of mine and probably
the most gravitating record on the album is the lead single Kingdom, the way No I.D sampled the
voices of conquest ‘O my Yes Lord’
really gives the record this uplifting, spiritual and powerful sound that grabs
you as the record begins and Common and Long Beach newest sensation Vince Staples spreads the message of
the people that are forever searching for their keys to the kingdom whether
that be money, women, a house or simply freedom from being a victim of their
environment, this record truly represents Hip Hop in its truest form a
conscious message to revolutionize the mentality of our people. Other tracks to
be keen to are records like ‘Hustle
Harder” where Common shares his idea of what the mind state of a female
hustler is from his city and gets help from a fellow Chicago female hustler
like Dreezy who delivers a hot 16 on
the third verse to end the record. Few features from Common’s G.O.O.D Music
family like Big Sean on “Diamonds” and Def Jam Label mates Jhene Aiko on “Black Majik” and Elijah
Blake on “Real”, all in all the
entire album is very diverse as it relates to the content of each record and
the production so there’s a song on there for everybody.
This album is just the beginning of the steps being
orchestrated for the improvement of the communities in Chicago, many charities
and organizations have been started by Common and No I.D and other chi town
legends like Kanye west, Lupe fiasco and others that are to
provide better education, after school programs and jobs for a numerous amount
of residents in the city and it only makes sense to give back seeing as these
are the same people who supported these icons before the world got to witness
their talent. Common is a rare one though his style is slightly unorthodox his
message is as real and impactful as any other emcee and being a huge fan of
conscious Hip Hop I support the message he has portrayed over the years and
that is what makes him so legendary, it’s okay to turn up every now and then
and have fun but there comes that time you gotta ask yourself “what do I stand for?” “What message do I live by and who am I as
a person?” these are the questions conscious Hip Hop music force you to
answer and I hope one day it will be back at the forefront of popular culture.
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