Nobody's Smiling
by Common
  • Record Label: Def Jam
  • Release Date: Jul 22, 2014
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. HipHopDX
    Jul 22, 2014
    90
    Nobody’s Smiling is defiant, as full of commanding musicality as it is of Common’s own provocation.
  2. The Wire
    Dec 2, 2014
    80
    He's nowhere near as agile as he once was, but that slack is picked up on a handful of collaborations with sharp young rappers like Lil Herb and Vince Staples. [Sep 2014, p.65]
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  3. Q Magazine
    Aug 28, 2014
    80
    Sounds dangerously like a genuine hip-hop album. [Sep 2014, p.114]
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  5. Mojo
    Aug 20, 2014
    80
    In all, a deep treat almost on a par with Common's mid-'90s prime. [Sep 2014, p.88]
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  6. Slant Magazine
    Aug 8, 2014
    80
    Common's latest, Nobody's Smiling, centers on the war-torn streets of South Side, Chicago that Common left nearly two decades ago, a setting the 42-year-old rapper navigates like a hardened local. The album's best moments explore this tension, proving that despite Common's age and commercial success, he can figuratively inhabit Chiraq better than most of the city's rising stars.
  7. NOW Magazine
    Jul 31, 2014
    80
    His latest--entirely produced by long-time collaborator No I.D.--reveals an enlivened emcee, the same forceful voice who gave us classic albums such as Be and Like Water For Chocolate.
  8. RapReviews.com
    Jul 29, 2014
    80
    When Common is feeling himself few can do it better, but one of the best things he does on "Nobody's Smiling" is spread the love around.
  9. XXL
    Jul 25, 2014
    80
    Artistically, it’s a new and deeply concentrated side of the veteran MC we haven’t seen and, as a result, it comes off as one of his best albums yet.
  10. DJ Booth
    Jul 23, 2014
    80
    For the most part, Common's been an almost staggeringly consistent presence in music for years, and then fittingly, his new album Nobody's Smiling, is as good as anything he's done.
  11. Exclaim
    Jul 22, 2014
    80
    While not flawlessly executed, Common arguably regains some of the relevance he may have lost from his last couple of albums with the focus of Nobody's Smiling.
  12. AllMusic
    Jul 21, 2014
    80
    The second half, where he traces his friendship with J Dilla, involves some brilliant storytelling, and perhaps the only moments during the album's sessions when Common cracked a smile while recording. It's a touching finish to the rapper's best album since Be.
  13. Boston Globe
    Jul 21, 2014
    80
    With electrifying cameos from Chicago’s Vince Staples and song-stealing Dreezy, these vital, relevant tracks remind how good Common can be when he’s focused.
  14. The Guardian
    Jul 21, 2014
    80
    Common has crafted one of the best hip-hop albums of the year so far.
  15. Pitchfork
    Jul 25, 2014
    77
    The album's most convincing when tackling the push-and-pull conflict between the individual and his hometown, as Common's good intentions are buoyed by memory, generosity, and attentiveness to his craft.
  16. Consequence
    Jul 24, 2014
    75
    Nobody’s Smiling is a well-rounded discourse on gang violence and inner city plight in Chicago that translates to almost every urban city in America.
  17. Under The Radar
    Sep 5, 2014
    70
    Edgy songs whose No I.D.-driven production fits adeptly in conversation with the beats dominating contemporary hip-hop. [Sep/Oct 2014, p.100]
  18. Rolling Stone
    Jul 25, 2014
    70
    It has some of Com's tightest storytelling in years.
  19. The New York Times
    Jul 21, 2014
    70
    The rapping is muscular, self-assured and occasionally even startling, as in the offbeat accents during a stretch of “Hustle Harder.” Which makes the missteps all the more vexing, none more so than “Diamonds,” with a hook and verse by Big Sean and a premise already picked clean by Kanye West.

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 49
  3. Negative: 2 out of 49
  1. NazAw
    Jul 23, 2014
    6
    From stardom rises on "Be" to weaker shines on "Universal Mind Control", the Chicago state of mind themes falls in-between sonically, butFrom stardom rises on "Be" to weaker shines on "Universal Mind Control", the Chicago state of mind themes falls in-between sonically, but lyrically Common's 10th full length is one of Hip Hop's better to be released this year!

    The album opens up with features from Cocaine 80s, a James Fauntleroy whom beautifully goes toe-to-toe with a smokey sample of Curtis Mayfield. Common start things off, delivering top-notch verses about his hometown, Chicago, and it's gang life and morality, and the rapper Lil Herb who did not witness to see Common's first releases spits straightforward fire, quotables and being current with the raps of Herb's tough and hard street-life "I’ve been out there three days and I got shot at three times / Felt like every bullet hit me when they flew out each nine".
    The Jhené Aiko-assisted "Black Majik" tosses on mythical ideas, religiously and fantasized imageries over a creative and fresh No I.D. produced cut. Common does well, but Jhené Aiko with features-after-features keeps impressing and stealing the shows. While on that note, with Aiko the long TDE affiliated artist, it got me scratching my head asking "Where the hell did the absolutely fantastic Ab-Soul record go?" a track ("Made in Black America") who thus far was one the best tracks of the year with stunning verses from both MCs and one of No I.D.s better produced cuts in a while.

    Then there is, the Kanye West inspired "Diamonds" which sonically is solid. A muddy rage fest triumph, it is quite catchy and has one interesting bump to it's drums and instrumentals. But, only five seconds in who's hook rhymes "Campaign poppin" with "Champagne poppin’" and with it's elementary ad-libs "Aye, aye, aye, aye.." all over, the feature Big Sean managed making Common's at least listenable verses made into a song that is instead a un-listenable " 'G.O.O.D. Music' " song that should not seen a date. And to case worse, the awkwardly transition to Big Sean's terrible verse do not make it any better so to say. The track would work for Big Sean I guess, but for a wordsmith like Common we expect better from an album circled around Chi.

    And that's that, when Common is caught slipping away from the topic of Chicago is when it becomes uninteresting, as in "Speak My Piece" which is smooth with it's late 80's, mid 90's boom-bap feel with the Biggie-sample but at the end of the day, it's just lazily put-together with production, beat being too repetitive and un-original to be making any cut into an album. More than anything a mixtape track or a radio freestyle then, at it's finest. The "Yeezus" pre-board production on "Hustle Harder" is not much better either, and if not for the good verses by Common and Dreezy it would not had it's listens.

    Despite the weak moments on here, Common's "Nobody Smiling's" is not bad, it serves as an enjoyable ode and one emotional ride for a better future to his hometown Chicago. While the titel track, again has flaws on the production it at least is interesting, and tracks like the fantastic salvation of "Kingdom" and the lovely storytelling tribute to No I.D. and the late-J Dilla on "Rewind That" does enough for it to not fall flat as with the other highlights of Common's newest LP.
    If earlier released songs as the grimey and raw "Made In Black America" and the bonus on the deluxe album "7 Deadly Sins" traded places with the mediocrity of some tracks on this short 10 piece record, we would certainly come across a better packed album, a damn great one.    … Full Review »
  2. Urbanlistener
    Apr 28, 2015
    9
    Common makes a great return with this album, definitely his best since Be. Most of the beats are great, Common is as good as ever on hisCommon makes a great return with this album, definitely his best since Be. Most of the beats are great, Common is as good as ever on his storytelling ability and brings the Chicago hip-hop sound to your home with dark and touching themes.… Full Review »
  3. Spangle
    Aug 24, 2014
    7
    Overall, Nobody's Smiling is a solid album. It has some definite lows in the middle with tracks such as "Blak Majik", "Speak My Piece", andOverall, Nobody's Smiling is a solid album. It has some definite lows in the middle with tracks such as "Blak Majik", "Speak My Piece", and "Hustle Harder", but those are sandwiched by good ones such as "Diamonds", "Kingdom", and "Rewind That". It is easy to become disillusioned by those middle tracks, but the inclusion of great tracks at the end brings you back into thinking this is a good album. As a whole, Common has released better ones, but Nobody's Smiling is a solid entry into his discography that gets the job done.… Full Review »
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