Unsigned Hype: Common

The Source's Unsigned Hype made three truly great discoveries in 1991: their first was DMX, their second was Mobb Deep, and their third was Common, who, at the time of his October 1991 appearance, was a nineteen-year-old rapping under the name of Common Sense. His "Avant Garde School approach" is praised, as he portrays "different characters and altered egos" in his lyrics due to his rhymes "display[ing] a melting pot of personalities". For anyone familiar with Common's 1992 debut Can I Borrow a Dollar? and the sound of his voice at the time, he definitely displayed it the same way on his demo as the writer notes his "distinct, squeeky but likeable voice". His production work, "by Sense's homeboys the 3 Wise Men" (almost certainly consisting of No I.D., Ynot and Common himself), works with Common's vocals to "create a package with the potential to attract a wide variety of audiences from al regions without losing the hardcore crowd".

Common's write-up was a lot more indepth and detailed than the artists' that appeared before him, and it was perhaps a result of this that he signed to Relativity Records in December of that same year. Of course, another factor in his quick signing was his easily marketable sound, which was probably the reason he was signed by a label that only had two hip hop acts on its roster before him (2 Black 2 Strong MMG and Chi-Ali). Common's five years on Relativity turned out three albums, eight singles and some of the best songs amongst his extensive and solid discography. In 1999, he signed to MCA Records, released Like Water for Chocolate and rose to a huge prominence with that and his following albums.

Common's demo is the first Unsigned Hype tape I could find available on the Internet, and it is no wonder he was chosen as the featured artist. It plays more like an actual album than just a demo and is a perfect demonstration of his potential. Of the seven tracks, only "Take It EZ" made it onto Can I Borrow a Dollar?, which comes at no surprise because it stands far above all of the other songs on what is a very good tape. I'm glad Common got that chance to shine because he definitely had his value readily apparent on his very first release.

Discography (pre-1992)
UnAmerican Caravan (1991 - The Demo) - Common Sense (1991)
1. "First Days of the New School"
2. "Take It EZ"
3. "2 the Temple"
4. "Who Stole the Clippers"
5. "The Caravan Train"
6. "Divide & Conquer"
7. "A = For Effort"