Give it up for Common and Kanye West

The organisers of T in the Fringe pulled off a masterstroke with this one. Gettin' the most wired for sound dude on the radar to play this venue was quite a catch. Can't believe they got him.

I went to see him last year at a sold-out SECC gig and it was the best performance/stage show I'd seen from an MC. A full on string orchestra and big screen visual overload to boot.

The guy can spit a rhyme, harmonise, produce, dance, write, sample the unsampled, perform and basically make it all sound and look original. His style of MCing is unique also. It took a while for me to "get" him.

On the production front he has an outstanding record but for the last couple of months I've been listening to the likes of these 3 tracks on constant (probably illegally somewhere down the line).

The first one here has himself, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams versing once each and Thom Yorke singing his Eraser chorus for "Us Placers" ("lifestyles of the broke and famous" indeed - X-Factor/Big Brother era summed up in 6 words). Thom Yorke and hip hop?

Then, on the second (full video here), he pulls in the Primo himself, DJ Premier, to scratch over arguably the best commercial(ish), lyrically-conscious rapper out there, Common, for "The Game". What a track - best raw hip hop I've heard in ages. Kanye had also been at the helm for the best hip hop album of 2005, Common's "Be".

Then on the third, (full video here), again from Common's new album (out at the end of this month), he pulls the most whacked-out, tuneful sample yet for a truly great tune called "The People". These two together have put Chicago on the hip hop map.


To witness the whole package that is Kanye West (or touched by him) right now in 2007 is like being there for Michael Jackson's Thriller or Stevie's Songs in the Key of Life or Purple Rain-era Prince. He's picking up the broken pieces of a faltering genre and breathing fresh life into it. Underground hip hop will always "keep it real". Commercial hip hop needed the kiss of life. All that bling, bitches, cars, money and quite ridiculous lyrics - yawn


As it stands I think the Kanye West-produced "Finding Forever" by Common (out July 30th) will be the better album this year but Kanye's "Graduation" will be just as slick when it drops 4 days after this gig.


Kannae wizait!

I tell ya - It's the shiit mang.