Artists can blah blah about their upcoming album plans in YouTube videos until they’re blue in the face but without any sort of action (read: leaks!) nobody’s listening.
Well, Common appears to be dead serious about his Nobody Smiling movement. Hours removed from him telling REVOLT TV about its concept, he’s fired the first shot off the upcoming LP without warning.
Common isn’t known for his more hardened records as much as he should be. The rap Internet’s short-term lifespan will cause us to get convenient amnesia, but the last time the Chicago Bull released an album, he was baited into battling Hip-Hop’s other golden boy of the hour.
On “War,” Common doesn’t squander the opportunity to kick poetic street tales over No I.D.’s acidic production which is choked full of brass instrumentation and muddled drums. The album’s concept is centered around Chicago’s combative zone which has since died down in the past few months but we as a people should not be allowed to forget about the senseless murders just yet.
With lines like “We under-21 gun salute/just to go back and recruit ’em/I’m talking’ bout war!,” Common isn’t naive to the power he holds standing behind the mic filter. Stream the song below and keep that grin tucked in.
Winter is still here.
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Photo: Instagram
