A really cool cut from the Chicago scene – a bassy boogie number, but one with a bit of a rap as well – a great tribute to our Windy City home, backed with a very catchy chorus! There's plenty of bass in "Sexy Lady" too – very old school, snapping, and with a rollerskating pace – in support of lyrics that are sung and spoken, often with some very cool processing to trip things out (Funky 45's, Hip Hop) 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Charlemagne. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A high school record, but also one of the first hip hop singles to come out of Chicago! Given that in the early 80s, Chi-town was still focusing mostly on soul (and soon, house), the Windy City was way behind New York in terms of hip hop production – and most early rap efforts came out as novelty tunes by local personalities. But this little gem has a surprising level of quality – simple old school backings at best, copping a Sugarhill groove from the start – but some nicely scripted lyrics from a number of Carver High School seniors, presented in a way that's a bit more staid than the usual east coast single – but still quite nice! The flipside has a mellower cut – a cool "Senior Song" that's done like some laidback 80s R&B ballad, but with a more youthful vocal approach. 12-inch, Vinyl record

"I rap with the Passion of Christ, Ni**a, cross me!" BE isn't exactly a back-to-basics LP in the vein of his classic work for Relativity – but it is indeed a return to a focused, genuinely soulful, no BS approach – and it's a very welcome one at that! It seems like Com was a bit affected by some of the criticism folks had for the spacious, astral Electric Circus LP – if you ask us Common had no reason to apologize, but we'd be lyin' if we said we weren't hoping for another batch of tracks that sound like they could have been written on a front porch on the southside of Chicago. This is indeed that record – 12 tracks, few guest appearances, and a warm, consistent sound all the way through. There's a 3 track span on this album, from "Chi-City" through "Real People", that's seriously close to perfection. Welcome home, Common! Ruggedly produced by Kanye West, with a couple of stellar production contributions from Jay Dee! Other tracks include "The Corner" feat Last Poets, "Go!", "Faithful", "Testify", "Love Is. . .", "The Food (live)" (this great track has been circulating for a while since it was performed on Chappelle's Show, and we're thrilled Common and Kanye had the good sense to include it on the album), "They Say" featuring John Legend and "It's Your World (Part 1 &2)". LP, Vinyl record album

Common newcomers who buy Electric Circus for the single with Mary J Blige are going to be left with some head scratching – but if you like the spiritual/psychedelic Com that was hinted at on Like Water For Chocolate, this may be the follow up you were waiting for! This is still hip hop – with production by the Neptunes, Jay Dee, ?uestlove and others, but it's definitely a boundary stretcher. The mood runs from Roots style soul bumpers to Hendrix and Eugene McDaniels style feedback heavy freakouts. There's a guest on nearly every track, mostly from the Okayplayer camp and NuSoul titans, including Bilal, Omar, Pharrell Williams, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and others. We won't lie to you, we miss the Chicago hip hop Common that kicked insight over raw and soulful productions, but you can't fault the guy for being an artist, and he really has crafted something original here. A great cover – a kind of rainbow drenched cut and paste photo collage of the contributors and inspirations with Com out front, sort of reminding us of Tribe's Midnight Maurauders, and even Sgt. Pepper. Tracks include "Ferris Wheel", "Soul Power", "The Hustle", the first single "Come Close", "New Wave", "Star *69", "Jimi Was A Rock Star" and more. CD

In 1994 when everyone seemed to be turning hardcore, Common Sense wasn't having it – and gave the world this superb second album that formed a key part of his soon-to-be huge legacy! The album's very near and dear to our Chicago-born hearts – and is filled with introspective tales of growing up and living on the South Side, given perfect support by the production of No ID – a real overlooked hero of this generation! The album was made with little regard to trends of the time, and that's given it a timeless quality that really holds on over the years – maybe even more so than some of Common's later, bigger records. The set features two guest appearances by Y-Not aka Twilight Tone – and titles include "I Used To Love HER", "Book Of Life", "Chapter 13", "Nuthin' To Do", "In My Own World (Check The Method)", "Maintaining", "Communism", "Watermelon", "Thisisme", and "Sum Sh*t I Wrote". (And bonus trivia – Chicago station WHPK, a breeding ground for Dusty Groove, even gets a mention on the set!) LP, Vinyl record album

Elucid's image on the cover and the title of the record are a great hint at what's within – a deeply personal album that comes at a pivotal time in his music – a debut full length set, but one that also feels like those moments in the career of a more longstanding artist when they decide to clean house, strip things down, and step forward with a lot more power in their music! Elucid's there right at the start, and mostly self-produced the album – at a level that really augments the mood and spirit of each track, even when guests show up – the set features appearances from Billy Woods and Psychic Twin. Titles include "Obama Incense", "No Such Thing", "NY Blanks", "If You Say So", "Bleachwater", "Blame The Devil", "Burn Sugar", "Son Still Shine", and "No Grand Agenda". LP, Vinyl record album

Good ol' Chicago hip hop from the All Natural camp. Tracks include "Wildstyle" by Iomos Marad, "Talented Tenth" by Mr. Greenweedz & Spotlite, "Paragon" and Flavor" by Daily Plannet, Candy Store" by Bam-Ski The Bigot, "No Doubt" by All Natural, and "Mr. Greenweedz". The second LP is all instrumentals. LP, Vinyl record album