If any MC had the right to remix Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky,” Common would be one of the few best suited for it. Alongside Phonte, Com’s one of the few rappers who has proven he can craft mature lyrics, or rap for people who pay mortgages as I like to call it. The original from A Seat at the Table was beautiful on the surface yet pain-filled once the lyrics were properly digested. Matching Solange’s take is no easy task since it requires being open and honest. Again, that’s why it takes a MC the caliber of Common to even take on the track.
“I felt the death of what it is to be alone
Everlasting love, money can’t buy
Can’t hide from the truth even when I pop the lock
Can’t work it away, can’t drink it away
Can’t laugh it away, can’t think it away
That pain come up on you like a thief in the day
Searching for the sun, I found my Issa Rae”
Common told Fader Solange’s version was love at first note for him and that love is what sparked his decision to pen a verse. “Every once and a few years, there are certain songs that come out and have the sound of forever,” he explained. “‘Cranes in the Sky’ is that song for me.” He indicated he play the song repeatedly and each listen made him want to pen rhymes to it. “I started mumbling some words to it and then decided I want to write a verse.”
The end product is a nice tune-up for Common as prepares to release his next album, Black America Again, on November 4. Listen to this unofficial remix below.
