"Not heard much of Common Sense? Apart from having the same name as a brand of breakfast cereal that is supposed to do you good, this Chicago rapper gets on where Ahmad left things in his exaltations of true values. This isn't a hip-hop working of that old Tory back-to-basics bollocks, but a call from the shadows to let the blunts and beer bandwagon career by, and choose an older vehicle. The opening title of this, Common's second album, will introduce the first-timer to a real talent. Vocally, Common Sense treads common ground with the likes of CL Smooth and Souls of Mischief's Tajai; a freestyle flavor cantering along easily punctuated by the odd burst of pace. The single, " I Used to Love H.E.R.," highlights the individual nature of Common's lyrics. The rap takes a woman as an analogy for hip-hop, a woman that Common looked-up to when he was a kid, but now sees adulterated by pastimes...."She's just not the same with all these goofs doing her..." Cont'd...
"Throughout the lyrical subjects waver from the norm. Could you ever imagine a straight-up hip-hop track called 'Communism'? Common's done it and it works, while the beats of deejays No ID and YNOT keep everything in check, tight and phat, as if making sure Common doesn't stray too far off the hip-hop highway. There really is so much on this album that even an English lecturer would applaud - the plethora of metaphors, similes and allegories employed in particular. It just goes to show a little bit of Common Sense can go a long way." - Hip-Hop Connection, October 1994.
