Back in 1992, hip-hop was a genre that was heavily dominated by New York and Los Angeles, and if you came from anywhere else, no matter how skilled at rhyming or great at making catchy hooks, then you would probably be almost immediately given the boot by the ever malicious music industry. As was the case for a young chap with the rather ridiculous name "Lonnie Lynn", who, despite hailing from Chi-Town in the Midwest, dreamed all his life of being a famous rapper. Unfortunately, his debut album released on Relativity Records did not get very much promotion at all, and was pretty much lost behind the releases competing from either side of his home base, and he would have to wait two more years before getting any kind of recognition outside of his area code.
I am, of course, talking about Common, who back then was going by his full name Common Sense, in the days before he was sued by an LA reggae outfit no-one had ever fucking heard of, and had to regrettably chop his old name in half, something slyly alluded to on the title of Lonnie's third album One Day It'll All Make Sense (a nice move, I must say). Nowadays, Common is looked at as one of the wise men of the hip hop genre, constantly spouting poetic and food-for-thought lyrics over jazzy and smooth production, and I must say that he has constantly maintained one of the most consistent discographies of any rapper out there. Back in 1992, however, he was, to put it nicely, a bit of a silly twat, and this is something made evident on this debut LP Can I Borrow A Dollar ? (yes, there is a space before the question mark in the title) through his alarmingly strong mysogyny and decidedly non-threatening tough talk. Who really wanted to hear some guy named Lonnie talk about how you'll "get bucked if you fuck with him"? Hence, this album is pretty much considered to be a weak debut to this day, and fans of Be would probably be quite shocked to hear some of this album's lyrical content from the man who let them know their present was a gift, and to just be (some incredible advice, by the way). But, to the average hip hop fan who is used to a bit of swearing now and then, does this album hold up at all? Let's have a look
1. A Penny For My Thoughts (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
After an extended intro that features quite a lot of different movie samples, a beautiful piano beat from No I.D. (or Immenslope, as he was known back then) kicks in, and allows for Common to spit some actually rather nice lyrics, albeit in a strangely disjointed fashion that makes it sound as if he's having to battle some form of Tourette's during his verses, or perhaps a severe stutter of some sort. Also, this sounds half thought out and half freestyled. This track is still dope though, and could have been one of the man's best if he just sounded a little more in control of what he was saying.
2. Charms Alarm (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
Once again, very well produced, and Common sounds good for the most part, but what the hell is up with that squeaking? It sounds as if, every once in a while, Common is being prodded for a laugh by some guy in the recording studio with a large drawing pin. The track is overall good, but that nitpick just really takes me out of the experience. This squeaking will be a recurring theme on here as well, so watch out.
3. Take It EZ (prod. 2pc. DRK)
4. Heidi Hoe (prod. The Beatnuts)
Ahh, nothing like a nice bit of woman bashing to liven things up. This song is terrible, Common sounding completely without an ounce of decency, and the production being simply annoying and overly loud. Common fans would be appalled at this, as should anyone with a heart. Who the hell thought this was a good idea? Oh yeah, pretty much every rapper alive at the time...
5. Breaker 1/9 (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
6. Two Scoops Of Raisins (feat. Immenslope) (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
Pretty boring if I'm honest with you. The rapping on here seems to be about pretty much nothing worth actually talking about, and the beat drags along without an ounce of interesting substance to be found anywhere. Also, after having droned on for 5 and a half minutes, the song randomly cuts out, leaving the whole exercise to seem even more pointless than it was before. To put it simply, this song was weak.
7. No Defense (prod. Twilite Tone)
Scratched interlude that doesn't sound too bad, but didn't need to go past the 20 second mark, let alone the full minute.
8. Blows To the Temple (prod. Twilite Tone)
The drums on this track are nice, but this song is once again way too long for its own good. Some of these lines are pretty hilarious though, albeit unintentionally, especially the part where Common talks about a man who "floated like a waterfly and stung like a C", which I think was meant to be clever, but is actually the goofiest thing anyone has ever let pass their lips. This song could have been worse I suppose.
9. Just In the Nick Of Rhyme (prod. 2pc. DRK)
Even though it's uses a fairly obvious pun, I actually like this title a lot. The beat on here is nice too, and thank god this one is short, in fact running less than 3 minutes. Some of the wordplay is a bit embarrassing, but otherwise I found this to be enjoyable enough.
10. Tricks Up My Sleeve (feat. Rayshel) (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
Common recruits his then-girlfriend for a reasonably unaggressive battle of the sexes that actually sounds really good. The production on here is bangin', and easily the best work since the opening track, and the rapping is actually pretty intriguing, as opposed to the generic boasting we've seen on a lot of these previous songs. One thing to note is that Common's girlfriend ALSO utilises some weird-ass squeaks during her verse here, so maybe that was just the thing in Chicago at the time.
11. Puppy Chow (prod. Twilite Tone)
At first, when I heard the singing sample at the beginning, I thought this was going to be dreadful, but when the intense and catchy beat started up for the verses, I was instantly hooked. This track is really good, and actually has quite a bit of replay value outside of the sung hook from Tarsha Jones, who is only credited for background vocals here. Common sounds nice as hell on this beat too.
12. Soul By the Pound (prod. Immenslope (aka No I.D.))
13. Pitchin' Pennies (prod. Twilite Tone)
Ending the album with the sound of urinating was a strange move, but at least Common found it in him to spit some verses before this grotesque idea floated out of his head. Pretty good track.
Overall, Can I Borrow a Dollar ? is not a particularly good debut album at all, but it still sounds fairly solid for the most part. This sounds more like a demo tape than a proper studio album, with a lot of this project sounding very much like it was freestyled, and a large portion of the beats seeming like they were bought from the local charity shop (read - the beats sound generic as hell for the most part). The middle section of this album is bloody godawful, and for Common to pull himself back up with the last four or five tracks was quite an incredible feat, I must admit. However, those incredible songs that appear towards the end of this LP aren't enough to save it entirely. A lot of this album is pretty boring, despite Common's frequently goofy bars keeping me mildly entertained, and it has also aged like a block of cheese if I'm honest. This album almost sounds as if Common tried to make a Redman album, but simply failed miserably, which isn't too far from the truth - Red was one of Common's biggest influences at the time, and this shows. Common would return in 1994 for a second go at the spotlight, with much better results, but as for this, I can say that it is easily one of the weaker debut albums from a rapper that could easily slide into my top 10 of all time. Not a bad album, but certainly not a great one either.
Best Tracks: A Penny For My Thoughts, Charms Alarm, Tricks Up My Sleeve, Puppy Chow, Soul By the Pound
Worst Tracks: Heidi Hoe, Two Scoops Of Raisins
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