Common Reveals Original Version of “The People” (Listen & Download)

First the facts. One, today the original version of Common's ill "Finding Forever" joint "The People" got released out the vault, with the only substantial difference being that instead of Dwele, Common sings the hook. Which brings us to fact two: Common can't sing. At all. The man sounds like me trying to sing along to this song, which, believe me, is not a good thing. Third, Kanye's beat work on this, when he was in the grips of his "I'm the new DJ Premier" phase, is absolutely insane. God this best is amazing.

So why am I posting a song that's significantly worse than the original? Because it's a fascinating look into a hip-hop parallel universe. Now we can see, or more aptly hear, a world in which Common sings the hook on this song? What would be the historical repercussions? Are we looking at a hi-hop "Back to the Future" situation, where changing one event in the past sets off a chain reaction, completely changing the future? Probably not, but these are the things I think about.

For comparison purposed, here's the album version. Download links are underneath the video.

Download "The People (Original)" via MediaFire
Download "The People (Original)" via UserShare

To travel back in time with Common right now, check out the track below.