Review / 200 Words Or Less
Common Market
Tobacco Road

Common Market is an alternative hip-hop duo from the Pacific Northwest. The group also has another LP and an EP prior to Tobacco Road. This eighteen-track effort is backed by smooth production of Sabiz (also of Blue Scholars). The beats hit perfectly and the production also makes use of a tasteful keys, guitars, and well-selected samples; it's not overproduced, but polished enough to give a nice bump. RA Scion rhymes with ease, his voice a nice compliment to the relaxed mood set forth by the production - together they remind of Sage Francis. One thing I especially like is that the songs don't rely on the crutch of auto-tune that much of the hip-hop world is stuck on. Tobacco Road is a good disc, one of the better underground releases put forth this year. Unfortunately it'll be overshadowed by the likes of Lil' Wayne and Kanye West.