February 03, 2015

Common in Rap Pages (February, 1995)

Common (Sense) in Rap Pages (February, 1995) Page 20
Common (Sense) in Rap Pages (February, 1995) Page 21

"With songs like "I Used to Love H.E.R.," Common obviously wants to help guide Hip-Hop to another level. "I'd just like to see Hip-Hop come back to the creativity. I just want the soul back. I want it to progress, but for us to keep some elements that were there back in the days. Like when you heard Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, BDP and Super lover C, it was a feeling that you had that just hit you. It was Hip-hop expression for our people." From Common's feature in the Unsigned Hype section of The Source in '91, to linking with No I.D., and discussing his sophomore (classic) album, 'Resurrection,' this is a solid interview with Common in Rap Pages from February, 1995. Whether he meant 'Hip-Hop in its Essence is Real' or 'Hearing Every Rhyme,' Common's 'I Used to Love H.E.R.' will remain one of Hip-Hop's greatest tracks and metaphors. And, just as it was '95, “We’ve wasted too much oxygen on the never-ending Hip-Hop debate over who’s real and who’s not — “real.” Stop it.