Common - This Is Me Then: The Best of Common

Early classics from one of hip-hop’s finest

Drawn from Common’s first three albums, released between 1992 and 1997, this stunning collection shows the early development of one of hip-hop’s most underrated and consistently interesting MCs. The standout is I Used To Love HER, taken from second album, Resurrection. This lyrical watershed for the young Common sees him brilliantly personifying hip-hop’s early 90s drift towards West Coast gangsterisms, lamenting that she “used to be there for me” but now she’s “with those boys in the hood… talking about popping Glocks, serving rocks and hitting switches”. The earliest tracks from raw debut Can I Get A Dollar? lack this lyrical sophistication, but bristle with the exciting sound of a young MC finding his flow, making Soul By The Pound memorable for its layered production and the line “I got soul like Korea”.

A loftier approach can be heard on the later tracks from One Day It’ll All Make Sense. The pick of these is the epic piano-led Cee-Lo collaboration GOD (Gaining One’s Definition), which makes full use of the Goodie Mob/Gnarls Barkley man’s rapping and distinctive singing. This collection is the sound of a rapper not only finding his feet, but producing what still stands as some of his greatest work.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Relativity/Legacy | 88697193382

Reviewed by Tom Seaman
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