Nobody's Smiling
Nobody's Smiling | ||||
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ARTium | ||||
Producer | ||||
Common chronology | ||||
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Singles from Nobody's Smiling | ||||
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Nobody's Smiling is the tenth
The title and
Background
In 2012, Common announced that he would release an extended play (EP) in January 2013, and his first mixtape in April.[2] In February 2013, Common announced his tenth solo studio album would be released in September 2013 and will feature Kanye West, as well as production from West and No I.D.[2] Later on September 8, 2013, he gave an update to his projects saying the previously announced EP would be released soon, and would feature a song with new Def Jam signee Vince Staples. He also told HipHopDX, his tenth solo studio album would now be released in early 2014.[3]
On January 6, 2014, Common announced the title of his tenth studio album to be Nobody Smiling and revealed it would be produced entirely by his longtime collaborator No I.D.. Common also revealed the album would feature Vince Staples, James Fauntleroy and "some new artists from Chicago." The concept of the album was inspired by his troubled hometown of Chicago: "We came up with this concept 'nobody's smiling.' It was really a thought that came about because of all the violence in Chicago," he says. "It happens in Chicago, but it's happening around the world in many ways." He continues, "We was talking about the conditions of what's happening, when I say 'nobody's smiling.' But it's really a call to action."[4][5][6] On June 4, 2014, it was announced Common signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and No I.D.'s ARTium Records.[1] It was also announced that Nobody Smiling would be released July 22, 2014.[1]
On June 25, 2014, the concept behind the album was revealed along with two
Release and promotion
In April 2013, Common released a song, titled "Congratulations" featuring
Singles
The album's first
The second single, titled "Speak My Piece", was released via digital distribution on June 30, 2014.[28] On July 8, 2014, "Diamonds", featuring Common's former GOOD Music label-mate Big Sean, was released as the album's third single.[29]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Consequence of Sound | B[33] |
Exclaim! | 8/10[34] |
The Guardian | [35] |
HipHopDX | [36] |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[37] |
PopMatters | 6/10[38] |
Rolling Stone | [39] |
XXL | [40] |
Nobody's Smiling was met with generally positive reviews from
Simon Vozick-Levinson of
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, selling 24,000 copies in its opening week giving Common his third top ten on the chart and his highest-charting album since Finding Forever debuted at number one in 2007.[43] In its second week, the album dropped to number 29, selling 8,000 copies.[44] In its third week, the album dropped to number 56, selling 4,978 copies, bringing its total album sales to 37,581 copies.[45] The album has sold 64,000 copies in the United States as of November 2016.[46]
Track listing
All tracks produced by
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Neighborhood" (featuring Alexander Izquierdo | 3:58 | |
7. | "Nobody’s Smiling" (featuring Malik Yusef) |
| 4:16 |
8. | "Real" (featuring Elijah Blake) |
| 3:22 |
9. | "Kingdom" (featuring Vince Staples) |
| 6:22 |
10. | "Rewind That" |
| 5:21 |
Total length: | 41:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Out on Bond" (featuring Vince Staples) |
| 3:25 |
12. | "7 Deadly Sins" |
| 3:08 |
13. | "Young Hearts Run Free" (featuring Cocaine 80s) |
| 4:33 |
Total length: | 52:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "City to City" |
| 2:27 |
Total length: | 55:05 |
- Sample credits
- "The Neighborhood" contains a sample of "The Other Side of Town" performed by Curtis Mayfield.
- "Kingdom" contains a sample of "O Yes My Lord" performed by Voices of Conquest, and "Is There Any Love" performed by Trevor Dandy.
- "Hustle Harder" contains a sample of "Nightbird" performed by The Fabulous Three.
- "Speak My Piece" contains a sample of "The Notorious B.I.G.
- "Real" contains an interpolation of "Yearning For Your Love", written by Oliver Scott and Ronald Wilson.
- "Rewind That" contains a sample of "Telegram" performed by Eleanore Mills, and contains sample of "Still Shining" from J Dilla's Documentary, and J Dilla's vocal sample courtesy of Madukes.
- "Out on Bond" contains a sample of "Turn Down the Sound" performed by Adrian Younge.
- "7 Deadly Sins" contains a sample of "It's Me" performed by Adrian Younge.
- "City to City" contains a sample from "Fever" performed by Jingo
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ a b c "Grammy Winner COMMON Signs to No I.D.'s Artium/Def Jam Recordings - BWWMusicWorld". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J.Common To Release An EP, Album & Mixtape In 2013 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales Archived 2014-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2013-02-13.
- ^ Smith, Bruce (September 8, 2013). "Common Promises EP & Details Vince Staples Collaboration | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ "Common Announces New Album 'Nobody Smiling'". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ Kennedy, John (January 7, 2014). "Watch: Common Reveals Guests On 'Nobody Smiling' LP". Vibe.
- ^ Ortiz, Edwin (January 6, 2014). "Common to Release New Album "Nobody Smiling" In 2014, Entirely Produced by No I.D. | Complex | Making Culture Pop". Complex. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ "Common Explains The Concept Behind "Nobody's Smiling" Album Covers". Defjam.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ "Common Recruits Lil Herb, King Louie for 'Nobody's Smiling' Cover Art". Rap-Up.com. June 25, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ Harling, Danielle. "Common Explains Lil Herb & Lil Bibby's Appearance On "Nobody's Smiling" Cover Art | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "New Music: Common f/ Cocaine 80s – 'Congratulations'". Rap-Up.com. April 14, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Drops 'Game Of Thrones' Inspired Track "The Ladder" Okayplayer". Okayplayer.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Video: Common ft. Vince Staples – Kingdom (Trailer)". Nah Right. May 29, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common f. Vince Staples - "Kingdom" (Video Trailer) | Watch Hip Hop Music Videos & New Rap Videos". HipHop DX. May 29, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Signs to No I.D.'s Artium/Def Jam Label". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Signs To Def Jam, Announces "Nobody's Smiling" Release Date". Slumz.boxden.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ Norton, Jacquie. "Common Shows Love To Chicago Rappers on "Nobody's Smiling" Album Covers (Plus Tracklist)". The Source. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Reveals 'Nobody's Smiling' Tracklist, Cover Art". Vibe. June 29, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Gives Young Chicago Rappers A Big Look On Nobody's Smiling Cover Art". MTV. June 25, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common Talks Obama, Fox News, Racism, New Book + Blue Sky - BTS". YouTube.
- ^ Meara, Paul (July 5, 2014). "Common Remembers Maya Angelou's Life, Stories She Told Him About Tupac | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ Legend (October 24, 2011). "Common Interview With HardknockTV (Part 2) | OnSMASH". Freeonsmash.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Common "Combat Jack Show" Interview". Complex. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ Walsh, Peter. "Common Explains The Power Of Erykah Badu's "Box" On The Combat Jack Show - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Kingdom (feat. Vince Staples) – Single – iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ^ MTV.com (June 21, 2014). "Common Tells A Cautionary Tale In 'Kingdom' Video". MTV. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ YouTube (June 18, 2014). "Common – Kingdom (Explicit) ft. Vince Staples – YouTube". YouTube; Vevo. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ "Common f. Vince Staples & Jay Electronica - "Kingdom (Remix)"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ "Speak My Piece [Explicit]: Common: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. June 30, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Diamonds [feat. Big Sean] [Explicit]: Common: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. May 20, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Nobody's Smiling by Common". Metacritic. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Andy Kellman. "Nobody's Smiling - Common | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Thurm, Eric (July 22, 2014). "Common fails to solve Chicago's gun violence problem with his music". Avclub.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Cosores, Philip (July 22, 2014). "Common – Nobody's Smiling". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Cowie, Del F. "Common - Nobody's Smiling". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Lanre Bakare (July 17, 2014). "Common: Nobody's Smiling review – a rousing state-of-Chicago address | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Balfour, Jay. "Common - Nobody's Smiling | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
- ^ Aspray, Benjamin. "Common: Nobody's Smiling". PopMatters. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Simon Vozick-Levinson (May 17, 2014). "Common 'Nobody's Smiling' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Jackson, Reed. "Common Sheds More Light On Chicago With 'Nobody's Smiling'". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Andy Kellman. "Nobody's Smiling - Common". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Kearse, Stephen F. "Common: Nobody's Smiling Review". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ Tardio, Andres. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Common, Trey Songz, Iggy Azalea". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (March 8, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: PARTYNEXTDOOR, Iggy Azalea, Common". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (August 13, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Iggy Azalea, Trey Songz, Ces Cru". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016.
- ^ "Common - Nobody's Smiling (Deluxe Edition)". Target. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "02.08.2014 (wk30) : CHART LOG UK: NEW ENTRIES UPDATE". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "Common Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "Common Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2021.