Finding Forever

Infobox Album |
Name = Finding Forever
Type = Album
Artist = Common


Released = July 31 2007
Recorded = 2006–2007
Genre = Hip hop
Length = 49:53
Label = G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen
Producer = Kanye West, J Dilla, will.i.am, Devo Springsteen, Karriem Riggins, Derrick Hodge
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fnfpxzy5ldse link]
*The A.V. Club (B+) [http://www.avclub.com/content/music/common link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B+) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20047934,00.html link]
*Pitchfork Media (5.6/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44500-finding-forever link]
*PopMatters (8/10) [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/46452/common-finding-forever/ link]
*RapReviews.com (9.5/10) [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2007_07_findingforever.html link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=common link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/15639076/review/15668323/finding_forever?source=album_reviews_rssfeed link]
*Slant Magazine Rating|3|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1168 link]
*"The Source" Rating|4|5
*"XXL" Rating|4|5 (XL) [http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=11614 link]
*ThisIsRealMusic.com Rating|4|5 [http://www.thisisrealmusic.com/albumreviews/20807/common/findingforever.php link]
Last album = "Be" (2005)
This album = "Finding Forever" (2007)
Next album = "" (2007)Singles
Name = Finding Forever
Type = studio
single 1 = The Game
single 1 date = May 22 2007
single 2 = The People
single 2 date = May 22 2007
single 3 = Drivin' Me Wild
single 3 date = 2007
single 4 = I Want You
single 4 date = 2007

"Finding Forever" is the Grammy Award Winning seventh album by Common, released on July 31 2007 on G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, "Be" (2005), "Finding Forever" is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the "Billboard" 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper. [Hasty, Katie (August 8 2007). [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003622881 Common Scores First No. 1 on Billboard 200] . "Billboard". Accessed August 8 2007.] Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold. [ [http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50442&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75 UKMIX - Forums - View topic - US Billboard Charts (19/01/2008) ] ]

Conception

Background

Common explains that "Finding Forever" really means to find a place in music where you can exist forever. Music can be forever if you make it from the heart, if you make it from the soul and it’s good. And I look at music like Bob Marley's or Marvin Gaye's or Stevie Wonder's or A Tribe Called Quest's, that's forever music. And I’m continuing on the quest to make forever music." [Moss, Carey (February 17 2006). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1524427/20060216/common.jhtml Common Wants Kanye for His Own "Forever" (No Diamonds Required)] . MTV. Accessed May 13 2007.]

Common also says: "And now with the death of J Dilla and other things, you start thinking about forever lasting for real through music [...] Jay Dee will last forever through his music and hopefully generations down the line will know about Common through his music. And it's also saying: I been doing this for a nice period of time, so I'm trying to find the place where I can keep existing in the game and make music I love." [Reid, Shaheem (May 24 2006). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532320/20060523/common.jhtml Common, Kanye Going for 'Glory' on Raw, Soulful New Songs] . MTV. Accessed May 13 2007.]

Recording

Common began working on the album in early 2006, recording it throughout the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and Spain with Kanye West. [Collins, Hattie (July 28 2007). [http://music.guardian.co.uk/urban/story/0,,2136496,00.html House of Common] . Guardian Unlimited. Accessed October 31 2007.] [Myrie, Russell (June 29 2007). [http://arts.independent.co.uk/music/features/article2718300.ece Interview: Chicago's cerebral rapper Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr] . "The Independent". Accessed October 31 2007.] [Stack, Tim (June 23 2006). [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1207356,00.html Go West, Young Man] . "Entertainment Weekly". Accessed October 31 2007.] Most of the album was recorded while he was filming his roles in "American Gangster" and "Smokin' Aces". Common explained that "if you working on a movie or something ... [there is] less weight on writing the songs... At a certain point, as an artist, you go through things like, 'Man, I gotta make something better than what I did before.' [But] I didn't feel like that this time, like I got to make this better than "Be". I wanted to make a better album... I definitely felt freer."Rodriguez, Jayson (April 11 2007). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556781/20070410/common.jhtml Kanye West, Lily Allen Finding Something in Common] . MTV. Accessed June 13 2007.] Kanye West described the recording sessions as "a real easy environment". [Reid, Shaheem (April 19 2006). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528967/04182006/west_kanye.jhtml Kanye Says He Won't Do 'Fast-Food' Music — 'M:i:III' Track Took 50 Hours] . MTV. Accessed October 31 2007.]

Music

Production

Common said that on some tracks, Kanye tried to chop the samples in a similar way to Dilla as a way of honoring him. It has also been said that Kanye West attempted to bring back a really soulful feel to the album. "It's gonna be like "College Dropout" and "Be" and "Illmatic" all fusioned together".

Rapping

"Sometimes you forget to just rap," Common explained when going back over a few of his past missteps. "I've been doing albums so long, so I look for new challenges. I spit so much on the first albums — and not to say I was the ultimate spitter, but I did it so much that I was looking for new things to do as a writer. I think that's where that stems from, me not really going hard on the rhymes. 'Cause I wanted to take on new subject matters and different things so I could grow and keep it interesting for me. But then you do get to the essence of what you are here for. And I love to rhyme. It does come out [...] "

ingles

Common and Kanye West debuted "Southside Super Bowl" on VH1's Super Bowl Pre Bash. The track is remade for "Finding Forever" under the alias "Southside".

Released on May 22 2007, "The People" featuring a chorus by Dwele is the first single on "Finding Forever", and produced by Kanye West. On the track, Common name-checks Kanye and DJ Premier, rapping, "My daughter found Nemo/ I found the new Primo." He added that "The People" "is really a declaration of who I am right now."

The first video shot for the album, as well the second single for this album is "The Game." It contains free associative lyrics and a 1990s style boom bap beat. The duo brought in DJ Premier to scratch a chorus out of lines from "Half Good, Half Sinner" by O.C..

The third single is "Drivin' Me Wild", which features Lily Allen. [Concepcion, Mariel (July 12 2007). [http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003611205 Common Rapping for Zune, Starbucks] . "Billboard". Accessed October 31 2007.] Its video premiered on YouTube on September 1 2007.

The fourth single is "I Want You". The music video was co-directed by Kerry Washington.

Reception

"Finding Forever" has received mainly positive reviews from music critics. Pitchfork Media criticized it for being "tired". "Rolling Stone" similarly criticized it for being boring at times (though they gave a generally positive review). Despite some minor criticisms, "Finding Forever" was well-received, yet did not reach the same respect as his previous album "Be". The album has since been certified gold by the RIAA as of October 25, 2007. This album was #15 on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. [ROBERT CHRISTGAU, DAVID FRICKE, CHRISTIAN HOARD, ROB SHEFFIELD (December 17, 2007). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007/15 "The Top 50 Albums of 2007"] "Rolling Stone". Retrieved 2007-12-20] "Finding Forever" was called "The Album Of The Month" in the german Hip Hop magazine in the 100. Issue (september 2007).It aimed nearly perfect 5.5 of 6 "Crowns".

Grammy Nominations

"Finding Forever" was nominated for three 2007 Grammy Awards:

* Best Rap Album, for "Finding Forever"

* Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West) (from "Finding Forever") WON

* Best Rap Solo Performance, for "The People" (featuring Dwele) (from "Finding Forever")

Track listing

There are three preludes on this album that appear within songs: "Prelude to the Game," "Prelude to Southside," and "Prelude to Break My Heart." The first consists of a phone message, the second is produced by J Dilla, and the third is produced by James Poyser (Keys,) Karriem Riggins (Drums,) and Derrick Hodge (Bass). [ [http://hmblog.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/common-finding-forever-preview/ Finding Forever album credits from Honourable Media] ]

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic. [ [http://wm05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fnfpxzy5ldse~T2 allmusic ((( Finding Forever > Credits )))] . Allmusic. Accessed October 31 2007.]

;Performance credits
*Bass (electric) – Derrick Hodge
*Cello – Alana E. Bennett, Zoé Cartier
*Flute – Omar Edwards
*Harp – Brandee Younger
*Keyboards – Omar Edwards
*Scratching – DJ Premier
*Viola – Hannah Kelin, Dawntanya Smith
*Violin – Margherita Biederbick, Laura Rajanen, Monique Spencer, Edith Dawn Yorkley
*Vocals – Lonnie Lynn
*Voices – Chillz

;Technical credits
*Producers – Common (exec.), Derek Dudley (exec.), Kanye West (exec.), Derrick Hodge, James Poyser, Karriem Riggins, Dilla, will.i.am, Devo Springsteen
*Engineers – Brian "B. Kyle" Atkins, Neil Baldock, Neil Baldock, Anthony Kilhoffer, Phil Strong, will.i.am
*Assistant – Dave Paul
*Mixing – Andrew Dawson, Mike Dean, Jimmy Douglas, Dylan Dresdow
*Illustrations – Nigel Evan Dennis
*A&R – Don-C
*Marketing – Tim Reid
*Photography – Nabil Elderkin
*Production Coordination – Cliff Feiman
*String Arrangements – Derrick Hodge
*String Quartet – Teldex
*Synthesizer – Omar Edwards

References

External links

* [http://www.common-music.com/ Common's official site]