nobody’s smiling

Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere it's clear that over the last decade hip-hop has been rapidly evolving, so much so that if you look away even in the slightest you might miss its next big move. So then, what do we make of Common's newest attempt at staying relevant? Read more after the jump.

Common's Nobody's Smiling is soon to be released. "The Neighborhood" follows a familiar series of Common tropes: poems about his romance with the ghetto, fables about street heroes and villains, an R&B singer in the mix. This is a terrific indication that Rashid is back to his roots as the capital-C Conscious rapper, and will save the truly sweet stuff for the next project.