What happens when two hip hop moguls come together to make music? Magic. That’s the best way to describe Chicago’s Common and New York’s hip-hop producer Pete Rock’s first collaborative album, The Auditorium, Vol. 1.
The first song Dreamin’ starts with a quote from Common, “From the stellar regions of the soul” goes right into Azar Lawrence’s People Movin’ and a slightly sped up Aretha Franklin’s Daydreamin sample. When the beat drops on this one it’s a guaranteed head bopper especially when Common’s unique but easily digestible flow runs through the 70’s inspirational sound. The lyrics paint a picture of Common’s different influences guiding throughout his career or dreams so far. Bars like: “A movement was happenin’, H. Brown was rappin’ And Kool G and Polo talkin’ ’bout they back again I seen Prince, he was time-travellin’ Through the Morris Days and Gladys Knights’’ show some of the people Common is talking about as well as the clever writing he exudes on track.
Never being the one to Chi away from his origins (see what I did there) it wouldn’t be a Common album without a track talking to the ladies on Chi-Town Do It . Ironically, through a Kanye West All Falls Down sample, Common is talking to a girl who he wants to love as much as Chicago.
The guest appearances fit like a glove on this album. So Many People rides this smooth bassline and drum pattern while R&B artist Bilal sings on the chorus. This song serves Common’s full-circle moment from his 1994 classic I Used to Love H.E.R., a song in which he metaphorically uses a woman to describe the origins of hip hop until that year. In this song although named So Many People, it metaphorically describes his personal relationship with the genre using women’s names such as: Destiny, Faith and Hope. A GOD (There Is) featuring EGOT Jennifer Hudson brings a gospel element to this album with choir like sound effects to give it a nice churchy hip hop feel.
Energy driving tracks such as Stellar and the hit single Wise Up makes the album a breath of fresh air to listen to. They certainly make you think that maybe Pete Rock is, “God’s favorite producer” as he says on the When The Sun Shines Again (feat. Posdnuos) track.
Overall Common and Pete Rock certainly struck lightning in a bottle with this one. Common hasn’t rapped like this since his album Be (2005) or Resurrection (2007) in which Kanye West had huge parts in both of those projects. It should definitely be in the running for Rap Album of the Year.