Can I Borrow A Dollar?

Yesterday, I listened to Common’s first album, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?," for the first time in like five or six years. I forgot just how superb and underrated this album really is and felt compelled to write a little story about Common. (Note: the album cover pictured above is not the original.  The original cover reads "Common Sense."  In 1994, Common was forced to abbreviate his name to Common from Common Sense due to a lawsuit by an Orange County-based reggae group also called Common Sense.) 

Released in 1992 by Relativity Records, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?” is probably the most classic hip-hop album ever to come out of the Midwest, in my opinion. I remember buying the tape (yes, tape) from Musicland in the 8th grade and listening to it so many times that I could practically recite the entire album word for word from start to finish (and probably still can). Hands down, my favorite song off the album is “Just in the Nick of Rhyme.” The Bobby Humphrey “Harlem River Drive” sample in the first half of the song is straight hypnotizing. (“Harlem Rive Drive” is actually one of my all-time favorite songs. I’m not even going to front, back then I had no idea who Bobby Humphrey was. I didn’t discover her music until many years later.)

I was probably one of the first to buy Common’s second album, “Resurrection,” when it first hit stores in 1994. I found “Resurrection” to be quite good, but still preferred the grit, grime and rawness of his first album. Not even joking, I can’t name any other Common releases off the top after “Resurrection." I pretty much stopped paying attention to hip-hop all together in 1996.

I had the pleasure of seeing Common live back in 1995 at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He was on some college radio tour with The Beatnuts, Boogiemonsters and Artifacts. Actually, the Artifacts were listed on the bill, but never showed. There were probably 100-150 people in the crowd: G’s, dreads and skaters mostly. This show was particularly random because it was held on like a Tuesday or Wednesday night in the middle of dead winter. I remember it was snowing balls outside, like straight whiteout steeze. Tickets for the show were only $3. Can you believe that?

I’ll never forget the Boogiemonsters, who opened the show, coming out on stage waving this huge Rastafarian flag.  The crowd went nuts and straight bumrushed the stage.  Weed smoke was billowing all throughout the small venue, blunts and joints were being passed, and people were even throwing blunts and bags of weed up on the stage.  It was a straight takeover. The security knew better than to try and regulate. The mob was just too thick.

All three acts murdered it.  Common was the headline.  I’m not sure if that had anything to do with the fact that he was from Chicago or not, just south of Milwaukee, but the crowd went absolutely ballistic when he took the stage.  No joke, I seriously thought a goddamn riot was going to pop off.

Now I’ve been to hundreds of shows in my day, but this was by far the most memorable of them all. Definitely the best for the price, too.

True story: I was actually on a flight from New York to Milwaukee with Common back in late ‘96. He still wasn’t nearly as popular back then as he is today. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was the only person on the flight that even recognized him. He was riding coach, sitting just a few rows ahead of me. What’s more, I was actually bumping “Resurrection,” in my walkman, no lie. Random, huh?

I later found out that Common was headed to Milwaukee to judge a local MC battle that a handful of my friends were competing in at UWM (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee).

A very stylish and attractive white or Latin mixed female dressed in a short white miniskirt with matching knee-high white leather boots greeted Common at the gate. (This was back when anyone could roam the terminals.) I’m assuming she drove up from Chicago to meet him or something, ‘cause girls like that didn't exist in The Mil -- haha!

I didn’t get a chance to talk to Common, but I did get a "what up" nod from him at the baggage claim, probably 'cause my whole getup was practically screaming hip-hop: skateboard in hand (probably had a paint marker tag on the griptape), baggy jeans, hooded sweatshirt, a backwards baseball hat tilted slightly to the right, backpack, some wannabee facial hair, Nike running shoes (flossing skate kicks when you weren't skating was considered whack back then), and fatty Boss headphones around my neck. Shit, I probably even had a Beedie stashed behind my left ear, too.

I wish I would have said what’s up and showed him that I was bumping his tape in my walkman – I’m sure he would have been tripping. I’m still not sure why I didn’t, probably ‘cause I didn’t want to come off like I was sweating him too hard. You know, it was all about the attitude back then…

I have a crispy “Left-Handed Stories” book for the first person that can tell me the name of the video as well as the names of two skaters that used Common’s “Just in the Nick of Rhyme” song for their shared video part. Here’s a clue: Charlie Brown. I’ll seriously be stoked if anyone answers this question correctly. Email your answers to travis@travisjensensf.com. I’ll leave this one open until someone answers correctly.

On your side,

Travis

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