Black America Again
Common
(Def Jam)
Four-and-half stars
After an ineffective decade, rapper Common has reawakened with this stirring album. Increasingly volatile North American politics and social issues, ranging from the gun violence in his native Chicago to the Black Lives Matter movement, are all forcefully explored here. Provided with an evocative backdrop by producers Karriem Riggins and jazz wizard Robert Glasper, Common weaves tales of lost hope and institutional racism. The title track, featuring Stevie Wonder, is a brilliant distillation of the disenfranchisement felt by many African Americans. Nothing is spared here: Common traces North America's history of slavery all the way up to the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, and the reaction to British-Nigerian actor John Boyega being cast in last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Pyramids is a rapping tour de force – like a game of Tetris, Common's flow twists and turns around the complex percussive production. The powerful Letter to the Free is a plaintive plea to march on. Powerful and passionate, Black America Again finds Common finding his voice again in these uncertain times.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
