The Rundown: Common, Nobody's Smiling

A song-for-song breakdown of the Chicago MC's tenth album.

The Rundown: Common, Nobody's Smiling - Veteran Chicago emcee Common returns with his tenth album, Nobody's Smiling, which also marks his Def Jam Records debut. Reconnecting with his long-time producer No I.D. for the majority of the project, Common uses this album to bring light to the war zones and gang violence running rampant through his native city. Peep this track-by-track look as The Dreamer/The Believer details why Chiraq is so somber. — Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photo: ARTium, Def Jam)
"The Neighborhood" feat Lil Herb & Cocaine 80s - The more things change, the more they stay the same. Common and Lil Herb kick off the album trading verses of growing up in the Chi from two different generations, but the one thing that remains is Chicago's gang violence and the continuous loss of Black youth. "The Neighborhood" takes a look at the urban graveyard as Lil Herb spits realness like, "Where it ain't no conversation they just let them heats ride/Can't nobody stop the violence, why my city keep lying?/N----s throw up peace signs but everybody keep dying."(Photos from Left: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for OurTime.org, Rahav Segev/Getty Images)
"No Fear" - Common takes a look at the life of shorties growing up in the hood with "No Fear" and how the "I don't give a f--k" mentality came to be. "The fortune of a King, long live his reign/He do it for a son, he do it with a gun/Whatever he do, yo, he do it till it's done/A team full of hitters, so they hit and run/The priest even want none."(Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)"Diamonds" featuring Big Sean - Common and Big Sean keep their G.O.O.D. Music bond flowing as they remember the days of their come up in the industry and encourage you to live life to the fullest because tomorrow isn't promised. Repping for the homies who ain't here, Com shines as he rhymes, "I pour it out for my man who made his transition/Wars about paper, p---y, pride and ego/Born to fly, call me the bald eagle/Open shows at the Regal for Daddy Kane and Eazy-E, though."(Photo: John Ricard / BET)

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The Rundown: Common, Nobody's Smiling - Veteran Chicago emcee Common returns with his tenth album, Nobody's Smiling, which also marks his Def Jam Records debut. Reconnecting with his long-time producer No I.D. for the majority of the project, Common uses this album to bring light to the war zones and gang violence running rampant through his native city. Peep this track-by-track look as The Dreamer/The Believer details why Chiraq is so somber. — Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photo: ARTium, Def Jam)

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