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Can I Borrow a Dollar?
Is the 1992 debut album by Chicago rapper Common, then known as Common Sense. The album was entirely produced by No I.D then Immenslope, The Beatnuts and Twilite Tone. It contains guest vocals from Immenslope, Miss Jones and Common's then-girlfriend Rayshel. Entertainment Weekly's Neil Drumming describes it as "a clever but little-noticed first album."
Content
Characteristic of early 90s' hip hop, and released prior to the song that gave Common a solid underground following, 1994's "I Used to Love H.E.R.", Can I Borrow A Dollar? shows Common's earlier style of rapping; namely a sing-songy and inflection-heavy vocal delivery, as well as lyrics packed with wordplay and popular culture allusions.The album's production, utilizing samples, keyboards, and drum breaks prominently.
Background
In 1991, a feature was written about Common in the Unsigned Hype section of The Source. Relativity Records soon signed Common, and prepared to release three singles for his debut album. The first and best-charting single, 1992's "Take It EZ," boasted an upbeat 2 pc. DRK production. "Take It EZ" reached #5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart while his next two singles, "Breaker 1/9" and "Soul by the Pound," reached #10 and #7 respectively. All of these singles combined to give Common a strong underground reputation prior to the album's release. Characteristic of early 90s' hip hop, and released prior to the song that gave Common a solid underground following, 1994's "I Used to Love H.E.R.", Can I Borrow A Dollar? shows Common's earlier style of rapping; namely a sing-songy and inflection-heavy vocal delivery, as well as lyrics packed with wordplay and popular culture allusions.The album's production, utilizing samples, keyboards, and drum breaks prominently, tends to be minimalistic, jazzy and laid back.The Source called the production top notch. Although receiving a lukewarm reception, Stanton Swihart of All Music Guide considers it to have put Chicago hip hop on the map and to be an underrated debut album.