DON’T SLEEP: Common “Nobody’s Smiling” [ALBUM REVIEW]

NOBODYSSMILING

Ever since Common announced he was moving over to No ID’s new ARTium imprint on Def Jam I’ve been anticipating this project. That anticipation was raised significantly after Common dropped the single “Kingdom” and epic seven minute mini movie video directed by Hype Williams. Some of the excitement over the album’s potential quality decreased a bit following the release of two lackluster follow up singles, “Speak My Piece” and “Diamonds” (featuring Big Sean on a horrible hook) but that didn’t completely kill the momentum. I received an advance of the project not too long ago and now that the project is available for streaming and you can hear it for yourselves here’s my review of Common’s “Nobody’s Smiling”.

The album opens with the engaging selection “The Neighborhood” which features Cocaine 80’s and Lil’ Herb just to lose that momentum the second Big Sean’s clunky chorus sabotages “Diamonds” from the outset. This leads us to “Blak Majik” which might be the loudest and most demonstrative vocals we’ve ever heard from Jhené Aiko. Overall, the track works but once again the flow of the project is stifled by the clunky and boring “Speak My Piece”. Nothing about this song is appealing from the sonics down to the bars so it was extremely confusing they picked it as a single. It sounds like a song that Kanye West would’ve left off of “Yeezus”. “Hustle Harder” was a battle because not only is the hook terrible but Chicago newcomer Dreezy might have bodied Common on the jawn. Following “Nobody’s Smiling”, the album is halfway over and it’s underwhelming at this particular point. There isn’t a song that is comparable to “Kingdom” in the first 6 songs of the album so the second half of the project better deliver.

The Elijah Blake featured “Real” suffers from an unimaginative hook that opens up the track but the song itself is good. Between “Hustle Harder” and “Real” it seems like Common is trying too hard to appeal to a younger audience with these hooks and choruses. Just be you, Common. Damb! We finally arrive at “Kingdom” which has sort of tricked us into thinking we were in for a great album but the album hasn’t lived up to the debut single and the excitement it generated. Next song is “Rewind That”, a jawn that sounds like the kind of material we expected to hear more of on “Nobody’s Smiling”. This is typically when an underwhelming song rears it’s ugly head but instead we get the Vince Staples assisted banger “Out On Bond”. So…is the next track going to suck or have a hook that ruins the listening experience? NOPE. Here comes “7 Deadly Sins”, yet another song that sounds like the Common we wanted to hear more of on the this album. How come THIS, “Rewind That” or “Out On Bond” weren’t chosen for the 2nd and 3rd singles instead?

The album closes with the tolerable “Young Hearts Run Free” featuring Cocaine 80’s. I don’t want to waste anymore keystrokes on this song than I already have. I wish there was less reaching from Common and No ID in hopes of appealing to another audience and more of them just making the album they were capable of. This would’ve been a much better album if “Speak My Piece” and “Diamonds” were left on the cutting room floor and “Real” and “Hustle Harder” had either better hooks and scratched/sampled hooks instead. As for “Young Hearts Run Free”? Why not just replace it with another song entirely? Or we can all pretend it never happened…

Ultimately, “Nobody’s Smiling” is good for a major label Rap effort but the missteps and obvious pandering to a younger audience keep it from serious contention for album of the year. That’s good considering most Def Jam released projects make me wish I were actually deaf. I’m going to check out the new Cormega x Large Professor and AWAR x Vanderslice albums next. At least they won’t try to compromise their sound or aesthetic in hopes of reaching an audience that gives zero fucks about their recorded output.

One.