My Saturday night: After a hit-and-run, 10 shots of Patron, and a quick call to my boy Earl, I slid into my seat just as DJ Dummy screamed, "Give it up for my man C-o-double m-o-n!"
The light at the Roxy flashed
and Common took the stage for the SanDisk Sunset Strip Block Party. As a
live band led by drummer Kareem Riggins rocked the intro to Finding
Forever, I stood on my chair and joined the rest of the standing room
only crowd as the Chicago MC expressed his excitement about the night.
Meanwhile, I couldn't help but notice a dark Coke bottle figure being
ushered into the booth behind mine. I thought the effects of the Patron
were beginning to take over again but when the lights flashed I realized
I was really seeing Serena Williams in all her glory.
Shaking what I thought was the last bit of groupie out of my system, I
focused on the stage as Common rapped, "My daughter found Nemo, I found
the new Primo."
The lyrics from "The People" demanded my attention as
Common started what would be a 10-minute Red Bull rush as he moved
through the beginning of Forever.
The band began to play "Drivin Me Wild" and I found myself having
another groupie moment as I tried to look back hoping Lauren London or
Kerry Washington had decided to join Serena. I gave up my male groupie
notions just as Common began to transition into his catalogue of hip hop
jewels.
The transition came in the form of a beat-infused monologue that
included Common's feelings on O.J. going back to jail, Britney Spear's
love for fucking up, and how one day it would all make sense led us into
the highlight of the show: Common's hip hop medley.
The band began to play a soul version of Tribe's "Award Tour." Common
dropped lyrics to a beat morphed in soul remixes of classic joints like "I Used to Love H.E.R.," Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" and Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin' But a G' Thang" while repeating "hip hop, hip hop, hip hop" to
the unbroken chain of classics.
After performing "The Light," his ode to an ex-girlfriend off 2000's
Like Water for Chocolate, he stood pin straight, head shining with
sweat, raised two fingers toward heaven and gave peace to the late J
Dilla, Common's former super-producer and roommate who died last year.
During "Misunderstood" he name-dropped people he felt fell into that
category: "Tupac, Mick Vick, Lauryn Hill," he rhymed slowly . . . "misunderstood."
As the night ended and Common took his final bow, Common had reassured
the crowd that even though the radio is filled with pop-heavy hits like
Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" and Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat," good music will
prevail.
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