Chicago-born rapper common has a passion for creating conceptual suites of art rather than collections for commerce. With his fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate, he seems no closer to gaining platinum discs on his wall, but the listener might be all the better for it. Make no mistake: Dance jams like "The Light" and "Funky for You" bump like acne. But what might keep them from heavy club rotation is Com's need (quoting the Pharcyde) to kick something that means something. "I pray every day," he raps, "more than anything, friends we'll stay/As we begin to lay/This foundation for a family/Love ain't simple." Then there are numbers like "A Song for Assata," a Cliffs Notes version of Assata Shakur's struggle against the American government. Com also has fun with politics: On "A Film Called (Pimp)" — a duet with the sorely missed MC Lyte — he playfully wrestles with his own image by donning the mask of Cornbread Com, a vegan, bean-pie-pushing pimp. A hip-hop MC willing to actually examine himself through his art? There's nothing Common about that.

“My President”

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."