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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Finding Forever
by Common
The seventh album produced by Kanye West (who also guests on one track), features appearances from Lily Allen, DJ Premier, D'Angelo, and Bilal.
| LABEL: |
Universal Music Group |
| RELEASE DATE: |
31 July 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rap |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
95
RapReviews.com
'So Far to Go' embodies everything great about Common--his witty delivery, smooth flow, loquacious lyrics and perfect sense of timing --but then the same could be said for virtually any track on Finding Forever.
91
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
The best music here is so deep it's more powerful than the rhymes.
90
Spin
Forever is livelier, grittier and better [than "Be."] [Aug 2007, p.101]
83
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It's tight, cohesive, devoid of filler, refreshingly brisk (at 50 minutes long), and sonically and lyrically focused.
83
Entertainment Weekly
The album is both lush and gritty, integrating awkwardly hacked samples, rowdy percussion, and sweet backing vocals. [03 Aug 2007, p.67]
80
PopMatters
Finding Forever is a winner, lean and mean and without a minute of wasted space.
80
Billboard
Common has made a record that follows the same formula as its predecessor. Not a bad move considering the success of the four-time Grammy Award-nominated "Be."
80
Urb
Finding Forever, Common’s spectacular seventh full-length, isn’t 'The Bitch in Yoo,' but it is his hardest release since.
80
Observer Music Monthly
West produces the bulk again on Finding Forever, and it's his skill in embellishing a sample and his unerring eye for a soulful hook that is consistently bringing the best out of his mentor-turned-protege.
80
Boston Globe
Finding Forever finds Common at his best lyrically, which means at his most basic, bending beats to fit his deliberate delivery.
80
Village Voice
With Forever, Common delivers the expected--political, lover-man, and battle rhymes told with wit and complexity over street-commercial beats--in spades.
80
Amazon.com
Whether Finding Forever surpasses "Be" is a matter of individual, song-for-song taste: At worst, it's on par--a laudable accomplishment for a veteran now 15 years into his career.
80
Vibe
Forever captures Common maturing graefully into his--and hip hop's--middle age at a time when many peers are either talking retirement or being forced into it. [August 2007, p73]
75
Prefix Magazine
Finding Forever, then, is Common's snapshot of hip-hop's awkward middle age--an album that is neither here nor there.
70
New Musical Express
The rest of it though, is soulful and intelligent where 'intelligent' is not exclusive to 'good beats and rhymes.' Which is what it's all about.
70
Hartford Courant
Although Common has always been an earnest rapper, his drive to induce meaning on many of these tunes sometimes comes at the expense of catchiness. They're like cauliflower: nutritious, but without much flavor.
70
Rolling Stone
His ear-grabbing command stands up to almost any MC out there.
70
All Music Guide
The album includes a handful of well-placed and effectual guest contributors, including Bilal, Dwele, Lily Allen, Common's dad, and the one and only Primo. Still, it's a shade less satisfying than "Be."
60
Blender
Kayne West once again saves his friend from the NAACP lecture circuit with soul-snapping beats that effectively turn the headliner into a guest star on his own album. [Aug 2007, p. 110]
60
Slant Magazine
Finding Forever is something to be admired, even if it is uneven.
60
NOW Magazine
If you can stomach the contrived slow jams and the sensitive soul-baring, there are a couple of decent joints produced by West.
60
Dot Music
On paper then, Finding Forever has the dubious distinction of being the equal of "Be". In practice, its jaded formula falls someway short of the genuine energy of its predecessor's finer moments.
56
Pitchfork
Kanye West, who once again produces the majority of the album, has tried making a tribute to Common's Jay Dee-fueled Soulquarian-era sound, and he doesn't fit it well at all, managing half of its vibe and none of its energy.
50
Sputnikmusic
The disc is hook laden but the hooks are bland. The rapping is heartfelt but forgettable and, 'So Far To Go,' easily the highlight of the album, is actually a track of J Dilla's posthumous "The Shining."
50
The Phoenix
There is a place in this world (Pottery Barn maybe, or a future Eddie Murphy romantic comedy) for the R(ap)&B cocktail party that is Finding Forever.
50
Austin Chronicle
Common falters where he once shined, and the waning lyrical creativity and constant references to pop culture have caused him to lose touch with the rapper once renowned for his humility and perspective.
42
Stylus Magazine
In the act of making himself more accessible, Common’s verbal skills have slid into disrepair.
35
cokemachineglow
The type of pretension that rears its fluffy manicured head on Finding Forever is one flatly insidious, lying in plush vibing harpsichord wait ("Intro"), in pattered bongo spoken word nobility ("Black Maybe"), and finally erupting in a 7½ minute crossharp-cooing, Crash-namedropping, butterfuck of pretension, exploding the boundaries of how fucking wack we ever, ever, ever thought Common could get.
The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 48 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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