Some of these lines are corny as fuck, but listen: Common has always been like that. It’s who he is. He’s still unimpeachably dope. “Wise Up” is not a return to form, because his flow was always loose enough to stay timeless in any era. His work in the back pocket here, over some bright Pete Rock funk psychedelia, is exemplary writing. His pen game is diamond cut, even if his poetic sensibilities can be pure Chicken Soup For The Soul. Let the man cook. This track is an old school master class.
A big part of that is Pete Rock, of course. Rap discourse stays stupid, and the label-mandated pantheons of “GOAT producers” are just as baffling as the corporate rap hall of fame arguments. What is wrong with the souls of these men? Who the fuck honestly believes that DJ Premier or Dr. Dre is better at this than Pete Rock? He is the Ahmad Jamal of this shit, a singular freak of nature.
This is a time for legends. In the weird extended halo of “Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary™,” a lot of heavyweight legacies have been stepping out into the spotlight. Some of that has been hard to watch. Bitter old men are depressing. What’s been far harder to bear witness to is a hip hop culture with no center of gravity, no honest authority, just cheap hustles like The BET Awards, which is owned by a noble-born heiress whose proud lineage changed their last name from “Rothstein” to “Redstone” for fashion purposes. The hour is far too late to lament such things. The only real revenge is making better product.
So it’s important to note that this video is exactly that. These are not random slices of life, this is footage from Mecca, honoring cultural luminaries from the orbit between Harlem and The Bronx. This is a vastly different multi-generational vision of hip hop, clearly articulated in the face of mass media bullshit. That war may never be won, but every victory counts. This is one.
“Wise Up” is the lead single off an upcoming joint album, The Auditorium Vol. 1. That recipe seems like it would be nearly impossible to fuck up, but stranger things happen in this industry every week. For what it’s worth, both artists insist this LP will rank among the best work of their careers. That’s bold & mighty promising. I’m just going to pray that Talib Kweli’s name isn’t on it when that tracklist drops.
Until then, no need to over-complicate something beautiful. Common is giving 100%, Pete Rock remains the greatest, and even the video itself is dope. This is the soundtrack to a beautiful bonfire of a summer in America. Five Dickies.
