Common Under The Influence Of A Tribe Called Quest

03/10/2000 12:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(3/10/00, 12 p.m. ET) - Common draws from a variety of sources in his witty, politically fueled raps, but the Chicago rapper says A Tribe Called Quest is among his chief hip-hop influences. The critically acclaimed artist -- who has released three albums and recorded with the Roots, Sadat X, and others - tells LAUNCH why he respects A Tribe Called Quest.

"One group that influenced me a lot, in hip-hop, it would be Tribe Called Quest," he says. "They were progressive, like, with their music. They were, they was changing too and evolving as artists and they just [were] coming from a different angle, man, coming from a different place, which was dope. And I felt that jazz, like I said -- I started getting into the jazz and they're one of the groups that influenced that."

The cover art for Common's forthcoming Like Water For Chocolate album is a recreation of a famous Gordon Parks photo from the separatists era that features "colored only" and "white only" water fountains. The album was named after the critically acclaimed, award winning foreign book and film of the same name.

D'Angelo, Mos Def, and Slum Village are among the guests appearing on the album, which features production from the Roots, DJ Premier, A Tribe Called Quest affiliate Jay Dee, and others.

The former Common Sense appeared on Rawkus Records's Soundbombing II compilation and the Wild Wild West soundtrack in 1999 and has toured with and appeared on the last two studio albums from the Roots. The 27-year-old artist's new collection, his fourth, is scheduled for a March 28 release.

-- Soren Baker, Los Angeles

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