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You're listening to Sound Opinions and this week we're doing a classic album

dissection of common socially conscious hip-hop masterpiece like Water for Chocolate.

I'm Jim D. Wurgatus and I'm Greg Kahn. We'll revisit an interview we did with

common back in 2000 around this album's release. Plus we'll talk about the production and tracks

in detail. Let's jump in. You know before we begin Greg why don't we talk a little bit about why

we wanted to do a classic album dissection of this record. We've been covering common since the

beginning of his career and there are various signpost albums or you can say there was a big leap

in his ambition and his ability to pull off those ambitions and I think this is one of those records

where everybody really started to pay attention to this guy. There have been tracks here and there

the albums up to then have been pretty good. This album put them on sort of a bigger international

radar and there's been no turning back since then really. And you know the work he'd done and

everything he stood for is suddenly inspiring these other great artists like Members of the Roots

and DeAngelo and Macy Gray. I mean you know common his rare kind of charisma. It's he walks into

a room and it's just like wow. Well exactly and you know we did a show basically an entire show

devoted to the great producer, the late great producer Jay Dilla a few months ago and you know

common connecting those worlds. Jay Dilla's world in Detroit with what was going on in Chicago you

know soon to be Kanye West, soon to be Lupe Fiasco. With the sole aquariums and the filly thing with

the roots and quest love comes kind of the common denominator you know with with all of those

scenes. No kidding. Without any further ado let's dive into like water for chocolate.

All right so who is common Mr. Cot? Lonnie Rashid Lynn born in 1972 you know he's an icon

...