Album Reviews: Common and H.E.R.

Let Love. At 47 Common is well past the youthful energy and angst that brought him into rap at a young age. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't still a desire to create art that means something, that says something in the case of a rap artist. The album is bookended by two songs that set the foundation for the album. The first song, "Good Morning Love" is about embracing God's love and how we embrace it in day to day life, specifically how Common embraces it.

The jubilee of a newer me
Giving my enemies something new to see
My community, they be fueling me
In the struggle of us, there's a unity
The moral universe stay schooling me
Will the king of kings really rule in me?
I'm an instrument, stay in tune with me
This orchestrated by Kareem, Samora, Boom, and me
If agape had a Cupid, she'd be shooting me
This rap here is fear's eulogy

The last song, "God is Love" talks about love being at the basis of all that exists in the world that is good and being what drives good things forward.

"Love is love" became the mantra
The montage for creation, we need it in relation
When two ships pass, one love is the flotation
It's what God used to put the planet in rotation
It's what the culture used to build a hip hop nation
From the basement to the attic, where cookie show for magic
It's what we told the world when we said our lives matter
Turn the student to a master, hustler to a pastor
That's why I'm a rapper, it's all that I'm after

What we have in between is a 47 year old very successful artist taking a mature look at choices he's made, people in his life, our world, the things you would expect a thoughtful and intelligent 47 year old to rap about. Where does this leave us for the album. Well it works but at the same time that energy and angst just aren't the same and if I'm honest, though I find this music important and enjoyable to a degree, give me the fire in the belly anytime. I give this one 2 stars out of 5.

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I Used to Know Her. This is a compilation album combining a couple of EPs, some new songs, and some singles. Off and on it works, but it does feel very much like a compilation album. It will be interesting to see where she goes from here and if she ever takes the time to try and create a true album. I wonder sometimes if albums will fall by the wayside as younger artist like H.E.R. find great success through EPs and singles. At 22 Gabriella Wilson is a good look into the current influences in R&B. She's taking a lot of cues from the likes of Lauryn Hill and other artists of the late 90's and early 2000's. Definitely worth a listen I give this one 2 stars out of 5.