Common

Common is short for Common Sense, the clunky moniker that Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. took back before he had a sense for how words sound together. These days, he flows effortlessly, but that's not why you spin him. Rather, he's a vibe man, layering electro-jazz and '70s soul over Kanye beats. The sound is so relaxed that it's less likely to be bumped at the club or in the ride than in hippie sandwich shops. It's still worth your ear time for its warmth and some gorgeous production, and there are worse ways to pass 40 minutes than contemplating the plight of the conscious rapper toiling for a major. He's neither indie nor pop, neither hard nor a puss, and even though some of his women are bitches, he's unafraid of a title like Beor of letting his daddy tell us over congas how we should, uh, be. And then there's "Love Is," the kind of "positive" track he promised to give up -- were it about the warm puppy the song's title evokes, it would actually be less saccharine. If he'd only rhyme about his contradictions, he'd have a classic in no time.