Details
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Start the Show
3. People, The
4. Drivin' Me Wild - (with Lily Allen)
5. I Want You
6. Southside - (with Kanye West)
7. Game, The
8. U, Black Maybe
9. So Far to Go - (with D'Angelo)
10. Break My Heart
11. Misunderstood
12. Forever Begins
Album Notes
Personnel: Lonnie Lynn Jr., Will.I.Am (vocals); Chillz (spoken vocals); Brandee Younger (harp); Monique Spencer, Edith Dawn Yorkley, Margherita Biederbick, Laura Rajanen (violin); Dawn Smith, Hannah Klein (viola); Alana E. Bennett, Zoe' Cartier (cello); String Quartet Teldex (strings); Omar Edwards (flute); James Poyser (keyboards); Derrick Hodge (electric bass); Karriem Riggins (drums); DJ Premier (scratches); Rhea Williams, Dwele, Bilal (background vocals).
Additional personnel: Lily Allen, Kaney West, D'Angelo .
Chicago's finest returns with his seventh full-length, FINDING FOREVER--a title that, in Common's words, refers to an effort to find that musical place where one can exist forever. Production comes primarily from Kanye West, and, as on BE (Common and Kanye's previous effort together), FINDING FOREVER utilizes samples from such diverse artists as Nina Simone, Bob James, Stevie Wonder, Gil Scott-Heron, Mountain, Dorothy Ashby, and Paul Simon to create a purer, soul-influenced hip-hop sound. Lyrically, Common is in the same place as ever, spreading positivity and spirituality, speaking on relationships and the ghetto struggle, and preaching love as the central message. The artist formerly known as Sense also utilizes topical media references ranging from the astronaut love-triangle incident of '07 to contemporaneous celebrity breakups. Supplemental production work comes courtesy of Karriem Riggins, Will.i.am, Devo Springsteen, and the late, great J. Dilla. Other guests include Lily Allen, Bilal, Dwele, D'Angelo, and DJ Premier (who provides scratches on "The Game"). Compelling and entertaining from start to finish, FINDING FOREVER is another triumph for one of the strongest purveyors of positive hip-hop.
Industry Reviews
Ranked #36 in Q's The 50 Best Albums Of 2007 -- 2007's real hip-hop star was Common.
FOREVER captures Common maturing gracefully into his -- and hip hop's -- middle-age...
3 stars out of 5 -- There are smart samples and interpolations, and big guests like Bilal, D'Angelo and Dwele.
4.5 stars out of 5 -- FOREVER is livelier, grittier, and better....Best of all are 'The Game'...and 'Southside,' on which Common and Kanye West trade witty verses over intense electric guitars.
Included in Rolling Stone's 50 Top Albums of the Year 2007.
3.5 stars out of 5 -- [With] charged-up beats, R&B hooks, gospel singers and other warm, vibrant stuff.
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