On the heels of his lead single, "HER Love," from forthcoming album, Let Love, Common has dropped off a new track and music video from the project, titled "Hercules" featuring Swizz Beatz. Vince Staples makes a cameo in the spot as a cashier in a corner store and finds himself teaming up with the rapper by the end of it all in order to stop a robbery.
Common’s usual conscious wordplay is in full effect, touching on hot topics of today including the amount of photoshop work that gets done to images and even nodding to Virgil Abloh’s rise in the fashion industry. Swizz Beatz’s background vocals add a smooth touch throughout the video (directed by Carrick Moore Gerety) before it all culminates in a herculean moment as the duo save the day. Watch it go down above.
Along with the song’s release, the musician also shared details around the creative process behind Let Love, which was inspired by his New York Times Best Seller, Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir. "It forced me to go deeper and because I opened up about so many things in the book, I was charged to go to raw, personal and spiritual places in the music," he said.
“Production-wise, I knew that the music had to have depth, soul and dimension to it. I wanted the musicianship and the spirit of what live music brings, but it also had to have something raw and basement about it. When my team said, ‘You should do some music revolving around the book,’ I just took that energy and went running into my artistry without focusing on anything else. No movies, no commercials, no parties (well, I don’t do that too much anyway) and I just worked on music. So this album is the culmination of this journey, this passion and this Divine Love that I have for one of GOD’s greatest gifts — MUSIC.”
Let Love will include features from Leikeli47, BJ The Chicago Kid, Jill Scott and more, and is slated to release on August 30. Common kicks off a tour of the same name tonight in Denver, with the 34-stop series hitting cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Dallas, as well as several spots in Europe. It wraps up on September 19 in Belgium.
For music news, check out Rick Ross and Swizz Beatz’s new single "Big Tyme."