Over the past few years, some of the stars of hip-hop’s Golden Era have experienced career resurgences by getting back to their roots and teaming up with producers whose energy matches their own. For instance, Nas hooked up with Hit-Boy to release a string of albums that many fans called his best in years.
Common is the latest ’90s mainstay to mine his youth for inspiration, teaming up with Pete Rock for “Wise Up,” a new single that evokes the spirit of gritty, sample-driven battle rap.
“‘Wise Up’ represents the coming together of a New York Producer and a Chicago MC doing the hip-hop we love,” the near-EGOT winner explained in the press release for the single. “It feels like the spirit of where we come from, the boom bap, the basement, but it also feels forward and new. We wanted this to be the first joint because this record captures a new sound and is a new light but speaks directly to our hip-hop family.”
The song is Common’s first new track since the 2021 release of his fourteenth album, A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2. However, his profile still looms large over hip-hop; Com’s fellow Chicagoan also teamed up with a New York boom-bap producer, DJ Premier, on his new single, “Together,” which samples Premier’s prior collab with Common, “The Sixth Sense.”
Watch Common and Pete Rock’s “Wise Up” video above.