Common’s Speak My Piece Is A Beautiful Illustration Of His Vision On Nobody’s Smiling (Audio)
Common’s sound has evolved over the last 22 years. From working with The Beatnuts to No I.D. and Dug Infinite to The Soulquarians to Kanye West to Pharrell and back… Comm’s forever playing with his growth as an artist, surviving the times, and making each body of work stand apart from the others. Beyond the personnel listed in the liner notes, Common’s sound—especially with No I.D.—has changed a ton. From the jazzy samples of the ’90s to the sparse, minimalist sounds on One Day It’ll All Make Sense to a revivalist approach in 2011’s The Dreamer/The Believer… it’s always changing. However, after the latest glimpse from Nobody’s Smiling, chances are you haven’t heard a progression like this.
“Speak My Piece,” is an obvious play on thought, mentality, guns, and a verbal essay. The song’s vocal sample, courtesy of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize,” sets the stage for Common to push some amazing abstract impressionism. “Doing it for the hometown and the homies,” “In the land of the humble and proud,” Common meets Chicago in the middle, talking about the climate for the industry, as well as his stream of consciousness surrounding the times.
This sound is unique for Common, but has the same qualities for a heavily-rewindable track: