Common & Pete Rock : The Auditorium Vol. 1
How the elder statesmen of hip-hop have been putting out quality records, either hitting age 50 or older, proves that living a long life still translates to the best set of possibilities for an ever-enduring career. Listen, I’ve written about two exemplary Black Thought records, different but top-tier in their particular manner, over the past two years, one produced by Danger Mouse and the other by El Michels Affair. Snoop Dogg, before jetting to Paris to cover the Olympics (because France loves g-funk in their music and the Seine too), and DJ Premier recently linked up for some “smoke in the air” goodness on “Can U Dig That?” Even LL Cool J has a new sure-to-be-banging album coming produced by none other than Q-Tip. Stick around long enough, you can work with people that maybe your access didn’t reach while coming up wearing that narrow gold chain and scraping up couch change to go see the first Jurassic Park.
Common and Pete Rock, architects in their respective lanes, have circled one another for decades: From starting as a DJ on WBLS at age 15, and moving into producing jazz-inspired beats that could boom and create sound baths, Rock had the brains and heart to pick out a throwaway sax line from Tom Scott’s hippified ballad “Today” and flip it into forever hip-hop DNA. Inspiring an entire Boondocks episode two decades after, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” still garners quickly wiped away tears, raised black fists, and Bic lighters in the air when Scott’s horn shouts out those escalating notes. I’ve seen the most hard-knock cats drop them salty ones when that horn hits. Hat tip to the producers who understand it’s never the technology—always the ear.
Rock’s late career discography beat records on BBE are ridiculous. No really—somebody give him a tenure-track job like 9th Wonder at North Carolina Central University/Duke University. His 2019 work with Skyzoo indicates he’s a lifer, still building his craft, and mentoring the next generations of Emcees. Common has been national news ever since the early-’90s as well. He too had early hip-hop classic talent on the album Resurrection, produced by NO ID, that repped Chicago before other folks took the national spotlight. Other veteran stats include a variety of feats: working with De La Soul, “Tha Bizness” (which is also perceived as yet another hip-hop classic), The Roots, Dilla, Ye, being a member of the Soulquarians, becoming a film star while maintaining his activism, working with the Obamas, and fulfilling many other occupations.
After 30-plus years in hip-hop, both Common and Pete Rock may have had bumps and blips in those LeBron wingspan decades of visibility, but hear me—they never fell off. The Auditorium, Vol 1 is a peculiar bouillabaisse of ideas and sounds that reference the past and give wisdom about the future, extending its vibe to everyone who wants to hear.
Hip-hop is shifty. Sometimes they don’t want records from old heads; it is a young man’s sport. See Drake (whatever you think of him) and KDot. But as the median age of the genre gets closer to 50, older fans, who still do the “Not Like Us” dance, seek out those other voices that reflect a maturation in life. Rock and Common are not out here on some silver foxes’ tour of duty either. In any of their appearances on Hot 97, Sway’s Universe, CBS Morning News and Drink Champs, while they talk about crazy stories coming up in the game, Common is still freestyling with that “dog” in him—serrated focus.
From the top of “Dreamin’,” looping up Aretha’s “Day Dreaming,” Rock is gliding us through those cascading horns, real easy-like, walking and talking, while Common calls on the spirit of J Dilla, Kool G Rap, Prince, Sheila E, Biggie, Latifah, Chaka, Dave from De La Soul—he’s giving an updated Senior Love Daddy culture call (from Do The Right Thing) of the Black musical canon, instructing how we got to this moment in 2024. “So Many People (feat. Bilal)” references “I Used To Love Her” for another chapter about inspiration, which is cool.
But the business shows up in “All Kind of Ideas” where Pete Rock gets back on the mic at the intro: “I’m soul brother uno, Black from the future / Make Beats on the table if I break my computer,” with that Mecca and The Soul Brother intent. All the while, Rakim’s voice is chopped and diced purposely for accent within muted horn accompaniment and deep jazz-influenced basslines. Oh, we’re back in that Mt. Vernon basement. Cookin’, serving Common’s best lines: “I murder MCs, some say that it’s senseless / Bomber like a winter coat, though I’ve been in the trenches / Known to go for it like fourth and inches / Move the chains, I maneuver through the game / My thought? / Grab the mic like I’m on Soul Train.”
These architects of rap and pillars of hip-hop connect and push each other, making that noise, raising the bar, and letting young cats know—don’t settle for the quick money. Longevity pays in respect.
Label: Loma Vista
Year: 2024
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Common & Pete Rock : The Auditorium Vol. 1
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