In the hip hop game, staying power is a feat that few have achieved. To be around in the music industry in general for as long as Chicago’s Common though, well that’s something else entirely. After penning his memoir Let Love Have The Last Word, his companion piece to the book is out and it’s a doozy. Where Let Love wins is in how the album constructs a blend of hip hop, jazz, soul and R&B together to form a bond like no one else.

Wit the opening piano that gets the record started, “Good Morning Love (Feat. Samora Pinderhughes)” immediately shows the shimmer of the album. Starting with a slow R&B touched vibe, the song picks up the pace and delivers the goods in its sultry delivery. While the album isn’t full of upbeat bangers, that’s not really the point to it either. “Hercules (Feat. Swizz Beatz)” definitely has plenty of up moments with snappy drums and rhymes that come out like a T-shirt cannon without overpowering the track. “Leaders (Crib Love) (Feat. A-Trak)” also offers up plenty of jam based vibes with a more jazz direction and show that the tracks aren’t all slow burners.

But with those slower tracks there’s an exceptional narrative that’s full of lush instrumentation and backing verse for days. “Fifth Story (Feat. Leikeli47)” not only has a strong rhyme flow, but the track just vibes with a minimalist approach to the music. “Show Me That You Love (Feat. Jill Scott & Samora Pinderhughes)” has such a sexy beat that you’ll pop out the champagne and dim the lights. But with those hot slower tunes, the biggest standout is the closer “God Is Love (Feat. Leon Bridges & Jonathan McReynolds).” With the hard rhyme that gets the track going, or perhaps the classic hip hop beat that follows, or even that the features come in as secondary voices-this track has all of the love and all of the fire. Common arranges a song much like the album with soul and R&B grace like no one else, and leaves you reeling in the end.

Let Love can be purchased on a limited edition vinyl directly from Loma Vista Recordings, it can be streamed on all platforms or purchased digitally from all online music stores. Common is on tour starting August 31 in Highland Park, IL at Ravinia Festival until September 20 in Lisbon, Portugal at Iminente Festival. His complete tour schedule can be accessed here. 

Image Credits: Photo by Durimel.