I Bathe In Basslines, Rinse In Riffs, Dry In Drums

However trivial the reason, the history of hip-hop always seems to contain some connection or coincidence that allows an amatuer writer, such as myself, to link things in a way that could make Seinfeld or Kevin Bacon jealous. The strange connections between Large Professor and Common Sense's seminal Resurrection are of the more trivial, "cute" significance. Most notable is the fact that Resurrection's title track was brilliantly remixed by Large Pro. Less obvious was the fact that the unheralded "In My Own World" sampled Professor's "Yeah, Yeah, now check the method" from his guest appearance on A Tribe Called Quest's "Keep It Rollin."

"Resurrection" is easily my favorite Large Professor remix. Amazingly, the remix might better the near-perfect original. Far less somber than the original beatwise and lyrically, Extra P hooks Common with the laid back, melodic style beat that superbly suits any top notch lyricist but would expose a less-gifted rapper. This remix is also the rare type that strays from the original in both beats and rhymes. After Com wishes "that Madelline was back on video LP," verse one is unfamiliar to those only in tune to the original. The remix's verse two is also new while the original verse two becomes the remix's verse three. All in all, the "Resurrection (Remix)" embodies the "playful aggressiveness"** that would draw much of Common's dedicated, and at times frustrated, fan base to his side.

This remix also features two of my favorite alcohol related quotes. Don't sleep on:

"I wonder can I walk a righteous path drinkin' a beer."
"I had to halt with the...malt liquor. Cause of the malt liquor, I fought niggas."

Common (Sense): Resurrection (Extra P Remix) MP3

**I read this characterization of Common's flow recently and can't place the source of it. I don't want to take credit for it but the term is too perfect. If it sounds familar to anyone, let me know so I can properly credit the author.