Like Water For Chocolate
Common
2000
Album Summary
Like Water for Chocolate is the fourth studio album by American rapper Common, released on March 28, 2000, through MCA Records. It was Common's first major label album and was both a critical and commercial breakthrough, receiving widespread acclaim from major magazine publications and selling 70,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified Gold on August 11, 2000, by the Recording Industry Association of America. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 748,000 copies by March 2005. The video for "The Light" was frequently shown on MTV, adding to Common's exposure. The album also formally marked the formation of the Soulquarians, a collective composed of Questlove (of The Roots), Jay Dee (formerly of Slum Village), keyboardist James Poyser, soul artist D'Angelo and bassist Pino Palladino, among numerous other collaborators. This group of musicians would also be featured on Common's next album, Electric Circus. The album's cover photo, 1956 Alabama by Gordon Parks, is a photo of a young black woman in Alabama, dressed for church, and drinking from a "Colored Only" drinking fountain.
WikipediaThis album has a few issues, particularly in length and pacing. It’s a bit bloated, both in overall length and in a few songs that really could have been edited down a bit. But all that falls by the wayside with just how good of a vibe it puts out. Equal parts passionate and relaxed. I feel like I’ve been snatched away and placed into Common’s living room, and he is making some tea while telling me about some social issues he is passionate about. That is a feeling I can’t help but love.
some good beats, but god damn common is an ass rapper and some of the content does not age well, some homphobic themes.
So the thing about Common, is the he is an excellent lyricist with a special sound. I feel uplifted, and yet, grounded when listening to him. He absolutely captures a cup of coffee in the middle of the city on a Thursday morning for me. Sometimes it is cheesy, I'll just say that is a little cream cheese on a bagel with my coffee. I can't always put this on, but I can for sure put it on every morning.
Very enjoyable, I haven't listened to any common before. I like the jazz influence, the whole thing works well
Another great hip-hop album. Common has great flow and the beats are funky.
Liked it much more than I thought I would, since Common generally doesn't do much for me. Overlong, but saved by great production.
Can't believe I've never heard Common before. The production is brilliant in this album, with phased vocals, tasteful use of synths, keys, trumpets and strings, a bass tone that's compressed to a satin chocolate finish, and rich, measured backing vocals. Common's flow is great and the tribute he pays to african american music from the past 50 years is dense as hell. Through Jazz, blues, disco, funk, RnB (especially on the keys), soul, and others, Common elevates the music of black artists onto his own personal pedestal, and then takes inspiration from it to create something really exciting and original. It drags a bit in the middle for me maybe, but that's the only complaint I have - and Common's reluctance to fall into patterns of singing about the same tropes that a lot of 90s hip-hop singers did is not only refreshing, but it also allows him to touch on some really emotional and personal points of interest. "Save the war stories for Private Ryan"
The sound blends a bunch of genres together, including funk and afrobeat, but also electronic to create a product that sounds very much like a product of its time, yet excels in its endeavors with each track. Maintained momentum all throughout, with tracks blending into each other. Only exception is that I found the clarity in its pop track "The Light" to be a sore thumb. Despite this, I found the length to be a huge weakness, starting to lose focus near the middle. Had to drop and come back to the second half later, but it's still full of good tracks. Use of spoken word works well for covering political topics, like "The Questions" to make it super easy for audience to follow along on first listen. Favorite tracks: Time Travelin, Heat, Dooinit, Funky for You
Thought I wouldn't enjoy this as much as I used to due to seeing through the 'conscious' part of 'conscious rap' now (which I did), but the flow and production is lovely. However, ain't no-one falling for the 'I would rather have a meaningful conversation than sex with all these fine ladies" stuff, that's defo just another way to try and get laid. Also, I'm not homophobic, I just don't want them to bring it around me is not exactly conscious rap! However, I don't judge rap albums by their morals.
A lot of this album comes from a place of pain, but it is a thing of beauty. Not as good as Pimp a Butterfly, but still quite remarkable. I, weirdly, mostly know Common as an actor. To hear him in his original environment is a real treat. Not sure that this is my favorite thing ever, but I'm curious to check out the rest of his work.
Eine Platte, die sich nicht so gut eignet um Sonntagmorgens noch im Bett liegend aus dem Nebenzimmer gehört zu werden. Dann klingt sie hektisch und unausgewogen und man möchte lieber Jazz anmachen und eine schöne Tasse frisch gebrühten Bohnenkaffee serviert. Hört man sie aber dann per Kopfhörer zB in der Bahn oder später auf dem Sofa im Wohnzimmer, dann wirkt sie viel ausgewogener einerseits, und edgier/kantiger und geschliffener als die andere Common neulich andererseits. Gefällt mir dann auch gut und bekommt verdiente 3,5 Sterne.
It's..okay. Song for Assata is great, but most of the album is a bit of a slog, about 20 minutes too long. Marred by homophobia and misogyny in spite of Common calling his girl his equal multiple times
I'm not a big rap guy so getting rap albums is always tough for me here. So far all the rap albums mostly come from the US and represent a culture I did not grow up in and have never experienced. This makes it tough to judge these albums given how reflective they are of the society the respective rappers grew up in. However, compared to some of the previous rap albums I've gotten, this is more in my style. The beats are more jazzy and the flow is a bit more my style. Still the lyrics are a bit homophobic, which Common has admitted to saying he doesn't want to use any more which is always good to hear.
I heard he was an antidote to the popular violence and misogyny of the era. I guess homophobia sounds so groovy we don’t mind?
Very boring, nothing here that I enjoyed at all. And to top it off, it's too long.
An excellent blend of global sounds that feels as important in the 2020 climate as it likely did in the 2000 climate.
Production: 15/20 Songwriting: 14/20 Innovation: 15/20 Bangers: 20/20 Emotional response: 16/20 =80 Banging stuff
2 - "Freaky like Marv Albert in outfits" 7 - The Questions é MUITO boa 8, 9, 10, 11 - sequencia absurda de batidas PIKA Depois de pesquisar eu entendi o pq eu gostei tanto desse álbum: ele é todo produzido pelo J Dilla. Conceitualmente é muito muito bem feito, liricamente também, as batidas também. Se esse álbum fosse um jogador de basquete ele seria o Anthony Davis. O que que ele não consegue fazer? Você examina a habilidade defensiva, muito bom. Beleza, então ele deve ser um passador ruim? Não. Então ele é um zelador: defende, rebote, assistência? Também não. Ele faz tudo que precisa e faz muito bem. A imersão que esse álbum causa na história que ele conta é absurda. Ele é balanceado, pega fogo no miolo e termina muito bem.
Che bellissima production! Il beat e` super soft e raffinato e i momenti jazz e funk si fondono benissimo. Hip hop jazz funky super elegante e coinvolgente.
Awesome album. Lyricism is top notch, and the beats are immaculate. Questlove and J Dilla on production is such a dream team and they really show out. The feature list is great too with Slum Village, Mos Def, MC Lyte, Bilal, etc. It's one of those albums that you have to keep coming back to in order to really dive into all of its nook and crannies of both lyrical meaning and musicality. Also my neck is sore from nodding my head for over an hour straight.
Great album, I’m surprised I didn’t listen to this when it was out 20 years ago, it was exactly the kind of thing I was into. Awesome production, nice tone and flow but I was surprised by the amounts of niggers, hoes, gats and fags included: not quite as conscious I was expecting.
Not even halfway through this and I've already added it to my library. Don't know how I've never heard this before but some absolute heat is on this record.
4.5. Superb album, great mix of excellent music with incisive lyrics. Standouts: Cold Blooded, The Light, Funky For You, The 6th Sense. Thelonius, Geto Heaven Part Two, A Song For Assata, Pops Rap III...All My Children.
Slow jamming.... altogether nice album for a low key vibe, productive.
Very much in my "like" territory as far as hip goes, an artist I haven't listened to enough. Especially effective deployment of guest artists.
Not what I usually listen to, but I appreciated the complexity of the sound
Good compilation of well known songs. But seems like cheeting to call it an album
Had some good flooooow. Didn't listen closely, but I liked it and will probably re-listen.
Still not the biggest fan of Common, but super funky beats. Good for driving.
A surprise find here - Really enjoyed it throughout and will go back and listen again
Classic, smooth hip-hop. Conscious ideas. Favorite song(s): Questions, 6th Sense
Como Agua Para Chocolate. Más allá de las atractivas influencias jazzeras y de neo soul de este álbum, el lirismo y la producción son los protagonistas indiscutidos. Sin duda de los mejores trabajos de Common. Para mí un sólido 7/10
Jazzy, a la Guru, vocal flow I can’t diagram. Really good instrumentals. J Dilla on production for most tracks.
Definitely a record that deserves a deeper dig… what was happening socially, politically, and around the world in the late 90s? Quite a bit of variety and his voice is top
Tres bon album de new york rap. Dj premiere, une belle decouverte j’ai hate d’en entendre plus. 4.65
pretty cool album, I love old-school hip-hop it does sound a little dated tho, I feel like for a rap album from 2000, he could’ve been doing something a little newer overall 7/10
I really like the groove this album cultivates. Smooth, jazzy, bass lines that are lyrical as fuck. Definitely one of the better rap / hip hop albums I've heard so far. Aside from the groove the raps seem interesting and intelligent, at least at first blush. Bears further investigation to get the full feel of this very good album 4.25 🌟
At first the production is a bit rough and distorted, so it is hard to enjoy, but then it really picks up and some great tunes come out of it. Common is remarkable and technically proficient rapper that can rap about anything and sound great. That should be the focus of the album.
I will be listening to this album again. Loved the meaningful lyrics with the slow groove. Favourite songs: The Light, The 6th Sense Payback is a Grandmother, Pops Rap III
This was an incredibly enjoyable album. The beats were strong and I could hear influences ranging from Latin music to funk and nineties R&B. Common is also a very gifted lyricist and rapper. My only complaint is the 77 minutes runtime.
Hadn't listened to Common before. Liked it, not my favorite rap but told some interesting stories in some songs.
Probably a better party album than anything. Common does some of the best story songs
In genere mi fa schifo l'hip hop, ma qua mi devo ricredere, mi è piaciuto.
I more recently started listening to Common, with his 2021 release and really enjoyed it. Silly me, I didn't realize how long he had been around. Some fantastic grooves, great collaborations.
I've been a rap fan forever, but never listened to much Common. After hearing this album, I'm thinking that may have been a mistake. Above average album for sure.
The usual Common mix of conscious preaching, brag-rap, love songs and storytelling. The Jaydee (pbuh) production gives the album it’s edge over his preceding albums
Common doesn’t excite me as a rapper. I can’t quite pinpoint why. J Dilla is the real star here. It’s his stellar beats and production that elevate ‘Like Water For Chocolate’ to classic status.
This is good. I like the instrumentals, and I like the guys voice. The lyrics are also pretty solid.
There’s enough cringy stuff on here to cause it to fall short of a five for me, but there’s just as much inspirational stuff and the music is darn good. I enjoyed this!
The beats on this album are so chill and funky and smooth. I love it. Common's vocals complement them amazingly with conscientious lyrics. I need to listen to him more.
Good stuff! Certain parts reminded me of Buckshot LeFonque (a Branford Marsalis side project). Enjoyed this one - 4/5.
Good, raw hip hop. Common's beats are great, his flow is on point and his message in each piece is clear. This reminds me I need to listen to more Common. 4/5.
Very enjoyable rap album from a time where I know almost no music from.