Ne-Yo has parted ways from Def Jam and moved over to Motown Records. He’s also been pointed Senior VP of A&R. He will be releasing his fifth studio LP this summer there as well. Via billboard
I’m honored that I’ve been given such a prestigious title and trusted with such responsibility; terrified because I know that playing this role in the fashion of one of my career role models, Mr. Smokey Robinson — these are big shoes to fill. But trust, I can handle it.”
After the disappointment of Universal Mind Control, many assumed that Common’s long 18-year career was finally reaching its death kneel. With Be serving as both a double edged sword and the pinnacle of his career (many newer fans still believe that’s his first album), Common had to prove once again to the ADHD crowd that he’s no typical emcee, despite what his moniker may suggest. However, as hip-hop’s most familiar underdog, being slept-on after tracking into experimental territory isn’t anything new to Com or his fans. Certainly The Dreamer, Believer is no Be, but it’s definitely a strong follow-up after going through a musical dry spell.
Common begins the album strongly with “The Dreamer.” Unfortunately, his intro is so powerful that you may want to press fast-forward through “Ghetto Dreams” “Blue Sky” and the controversial and subliminal single “Sweet” just to press rewind. “Gold,” however, picks up where “The Dreamer” left off. As the name implies, “Gold” instrumentally, is like an Amazonian wonderland. As the track begins strongly with rich and soulful instrumentations, Com asserts himself as a leader of the hip-hop generation with lyrics like, “I’m the voice of the meek and under privileged, the smell of success I want ya’ll to get a whiff of this.” He also drops a dose of clever free associative with lyrics like, ”My dad said it rained on my arrival, now the storm of the brain make these guys drive slow…”
Although he’s not “la la laaing” on any record, Com does touch on “soft” subject matters like being a one-woman man. On “Cloth,” for example, Common bears his heart to his potential wifey-to-be with lyrics like, “anything we can bear, so lets have some cubs” and “hey lover, we can cover each other, through the coldest night, tight, never smothered, it’s two things that hold us together, God is our tailor, and forever.” “Windows” is arguably the most introspective song on the album. Here, Common tackles the reclusiveness women experience after being hurt by lustful men. He goes further into their dilemma by starting at the root of their problem by reflecting through the eyes of his daughter with insightful lyrics like, “A lot of girls without, they become needy, come on dad, I’m too old for the backseat, can you come and get me, are you coming to my track meet, as she begins to the race of life and love I told her, I can’t run it for ya, God knows I’ma coach ya.”
In general, there aren’t any really weak cuts on the album. Whether he’s feeling cinematic in tracks such as “Lovin I Lost,” enjoying life on “Celebrate,” or pummeling sucka emcees on tracks like “Raw (How You Like It),” Common delivers. However, if there’s one song on the album that feels misplaced on the album it would be “Sweet.” Hearing Com transforming into a belligerent and overly aggressive emcee is borderline hilarious due to the fact it just doesn’t fit Com’s collective persona. Even his venomous diss track “The B*tch in Yoo,” doesn’t have a trace of this Dwayne Gittens persona that Com has now assumed. Don’t get me wrong. “Sweet” does make a good point of pointing out cotton candy rappers and it guaranteed a head nod, but it’s just doesn’t sound believable.
In addition to “Sweet,” the only thing keeping the album from being as great as Be are his other two singles “Ghetto Dreams” and “Blue Sky.” They don’t damage the continuity of the album, but in comparison to the rest of the album, they just don’t hold up. Had Common added them as bonus tracks or reduced the album to ten tracks, The Dreamer may have been as great or greater than Be. However, with Universal Mind Control being Com’s strongest debacle to date, who’s complaining? Besides, seeing Common and No I.D. reunite on an album after 14 years is marvelous, and together they master crafted one of the strongest albums to come out this year. So after listening to this album, will Com make you a believer? Mos’ definitely.
Purchase The Dreamer, The Believer on iTunes
Yes, I know it’s not a hip-hop album, but it is worth mentioning that The Black Keys moved over 207,000 copies of their 7th studio album, El Camino. For those wondering, the Keys took second place on this week’s top 200 falling short of Michael Buble who has now sold an impressive 1.5 million copies of his Christmas album. The late Amy Winehouse also debuted on the charts this week with her posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which sold an estimated 114,000 copies. Despite critical acclaim, The Roots missed the top 10 with their latest gem, undun, as did T-Pain with his latest release rEVOLVEr. In other news, Mistah F.A.B. may be scrapping his backpack, as his latest installment pushed a meager 260 copies. For what it’s worth, the album sounds like some of his best work to date, but I guess most prefer his lyrics watered down. Check back next week for the results on Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa’s collaborative effort as well as the numbers on the debut from unlikely duo of Gucci Mane & V-Nasty.
The Black Keys “El Camino” – 207,087 (55% digital)
Amy Winehouse “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” – 114,000
The Roots “undun” – 48,407 (65% digital) [read review]
Robin Thicke “Love After War” – 41,943 (28% digital)
T-Pain “rEVOLVEr” – 33,802 (42% digital)
Mistah F.A.B. “I Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebooks” – 260 (93% digital)
All I’ve got to say is “DAAAAAMMMNNN!” I’m not sure why no ‘mainstream’ rap ‘news’ outlets are covering this, but Connecticut rapper Chris Webby just sold 9,500 copies digitally of his debut EP, There Goes The Neighborhood. To say this is impressive for Webby would be a tremendous understatement, especially when considering that he dropped his EP with absolutely zero promotion on a Thursday, so this figure does not even reflect a full week of sales. Surprisingly with these numbers, this may actually be the first time that many people have even heard of Chris Webby as he has built his fan base largely through social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook rather than blog buzz and web coverage. Last week also marked the release of the Curren$y-backed Jet Life album Jet World Order, the first album showcasing the entire Jet Life crew. While not as jaw-dropping as Chirs Webby’s sales, the album had a successful opening week, scanning over 4,200 units. In other new release news, Rashad & Confidence seemed to miss the boat with their ode to boom-bap debut, The Element Of Suprise. The duo closed the week out with just over 100 units sold.
Chris Webby “There Goes The Neighborhood – EP” – 9,556 (100% digital)
Jet Life “Jet World Order – 4,246 (66% digital)
Rashad & Confidence “Element Of Surprise” – 107 (61% digital)
