A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 is the fourteenth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released on September 10, 2021 through Loma Vista Recordings, making it his third project released for the label. It serves as a sequel to his 2020 album A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 1. Production was handled by Karriem Riggins.
| A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 10, 2021 | |||
| Genre | Conscious hip hop | |||
| Length | 38:23 | |||
| Label | Loma Vista | |||
| Producer | Karriem Riggins | |||
| Common chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Clash | 8/10[3] |
| DIY | [4] |
| The Independent | [5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| musicOMH | [7] |
| NME | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 6/10[10] |
| Tom Hull | B+( )[11] |
A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70, based on nine reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews".[1]
Robin Murray of Clash wrote that the album "stares down the traumas that proliferate our lives, offering hope, creativity, and soul filtered through Common's profound hip-hop vision".[3] Joe Goggins of DIY found the album "a sweet paean to music's mood-boosting properties, as well as it capacity to effect meaningful change".[4] Ben Devlin of musicOMH wrote: "Common raps with the calm contentment of a man who's reached his destination, and it certainly sounds satisfying".[7] Will Lavin of NME wrote: "it's rich with Afro-centric grooves and dusty drum breaks, the spirit of James Brown weaving in and out of the pro-Black messaging, which emphasises hope and progress but still acknowledges the pain and suffering endured along the way".[8]
In mixed reviews, Mojo writer resumed "an improvement on 2020's lightweight Pt. 1".[6] Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone wrote: "there's enough evidence on A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2 to suggest that he still cares about music, but it may take more than mellow bromides and Obama shout-outs to truly convince us".[9] The Line of Best Fit reviewer wrote: "by catering to everyone in an effort to uplift, Common doesn't connect with the listener as much as he could–and as much as he has in the past. Common's big tent might be too spacious for its own good".[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Push Out the Noise" (Intro; featuring Jessica Care Moore) |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:00 |
| 2. | "A Beautiful Chicago Kid" (with PJ) |
| Karriem Riggins | 2:38 |
| 3. | "When We Move" (featuring Black Thought and Seun Kuti) |
| Karriem Riggins | 4:11 |
| 4. | "Set It Free" (with PJ) |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Majesty (Where We Gonna Take It)" (with PJ) |
| Karriem Riggins | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Poetry" (featuring Marcus King and Isaiah Sharkey) |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:16 |
| 7. | "Saving Grace" (featuring Brittany Howard) |
| Karriem Riggins | 4:13 |
| 8. | "Star of the Gang" (with PJ) |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Imagine" (with PJ) |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:41 |
| 10. | "Get It Right" |
| Karriem Riggins | 3:08 |
| 11. | "Exclamation Point" (Outro; featuring Morgan Parker) |
| Karriem Riggins | 2:42 |
| Total length: | 38:23 | |||
Charts
edit| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK R&B and Hip-Hop Albums (OCC)[12] | 25 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for A Beautiful Revolution, Vol. 2 - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Common - A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ a b Murray, Robin (September 10, 2021). "Common - A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2". Clash. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Goggins, Joe. "Common - A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2". DIY. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Aubrey, Elizabeth (9 September 2021). "Album reviews: The Metallica Blacklist and Common – A Beautiful Revolution Pt 2". The Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Mojo - October 2021". Mojo. October 2021. p. 99. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Devlin, Ben (September 10, 2021). "Common - A Beautiful Revolution Pt 2 | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Lavin, Will (September 9, 2021). "Common – 'A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2' review: hope and progress from rap's renaissance man". NME. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Reeves, Mosi (September 14, 2021). "Common is a Righteous Respectable Adult on 'A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Common's A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 2) lacks its predecessor's indelible hooks". The Line of Best Fit. September 7, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Hull, Tom (February 8, 2022). "Tom Hull: Grade List: Common". tomhull.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ^ "Common (A Beautiful Revolution - PT 2)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2024.