P.S. At what point did it seem like a good idea to put Lily Allen in the astronaut suit? lmao

Looking as fine as ever, he opens (appropriately) with “Start the Show,” a shit-talking anthem claiming,

“With 12 monkeys on stage/ It’s hard to see who’s the gorilla/ You was better as a drug dealer..”

It’s clear to me, and apparently the rest of the country, that Common is THAT dude. One of them great artists to still be relevant 14 deep.

Before you advise me to jump off the sack, let me state some of my gripes with the show. For songs such as, “The Game” with it’s gritty drums and “I Used To Love H.E.R.” with it’s reminiscent mood, it just goes to show that sometimes sticking to the record and ditching the live band is the way to go. In my opinion, some songs just lose their raw appeal when softened up with a band. Whereas songs such as “The People” and “Drivin’ Me Wild” sound better with the atmospheric feel of a live band.

One thing that was just a little overboard for me, was when Com decides to bless the 2 pregnant ladies in the front row and then proceed to touch their bellies, (I dunno, maybe I’m the only one without a desire to ever procreate) but Common continues to show and prove that he is, in fact, for the ladies as well. Speaking of which, be sure to check out the will.i.am produced, “I Want You” with allusions to “The Break-Up with Jen and Vince Vaughn” as well as Pete Rock’s “T.R.O.Y.” it seems like everyone wins in this equation.

Album-wise, I won’t front, I was disappointed that “So Far To Go” and “Southside” made the album but was at ease when I heard that “So Far To Go” had entirely different verses and a bit more D’Ang ad-libs. Still pissed about “Southside,” though. Tracks like “U, Black Maybe” (originally a Stevie song) and the heavy-toned, Nina Simone-sampled “Misunderstood” are what push the album into the classics corner. As always, it’s nice to hear Common close out the album with “Pops” doin’ his thing as usual.

One of the highlights of the night, for me, was when Talib Kweli popped up outta nowhere to perform “Get By” and “Get ‘Em High” with Com. (See Annette’s video below) It’s good to see Talib’s got his voice/breath control under, well.. control. I’ll still stand by my word when I say that he is one of the most underrated rappers to this day. I’d have to say that I am anticipating his album more than I did Common’s, partly because “So Far To Go” was already on Dilla’s “The Shining” and I had already heard a handful of the singles. Be sure to check back in once Kweli’s album drops Tuesday, August 21st! And also, do yourself and the whole music industry a favor and go cop it!

As for Miss Badu, seeing how she came on at nearly 3 in the morning, we did not get to stay for her entire set. I was especially ecstatic to hear her draw out her classic “On & On” into “..And On.” I’m just glad I got to hear that one live. She sounded amazing and if you’ve ever seen Badu, you know what I mean when I say she just has this presence. She proceeded to take off her coat and dance around the stage, on the speakers and right before we left went into “I Want You.”

All in all, it was a dope night, with dope performances and even doper friends!

Click below to see pictures from the event.