While Hova was in Vegas with Kanye over the extended New Year’s Eve weekend, and countless other rappers hit parties in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles (seriously, check perezhilton.com or one of the other gossip blogs for the rundown, it’s too long to list here), one MC rang in ‘08 by getting right not with a bottle of Ace of Spades, but with with the man upstairs. According to a reader who wrote in to Chicagoist.com, rapper Common spent New Year’s Eve at Trinity United Church Of Christ, Barack Obama’s home church, which has one of the largest black congregations on Chicago’s South Side.
The reader, who posts under the name krs1 (not the real KRS), writes,
“….[W]e have a multi generational mass of Black people in front of the altar, all doing the Electric Slide (in perfect formation, may I add; some stereotypes are true). Pastor Wright in the meantime is addressing someone off to the right of the dais; we hear him say,”You wanna come up and freestyle?” Then in his best cool Don Cornelius mack, Pastor Wright says, “Now let’s hear from our member…COMMON!” Every congregant under the age of 30 simultaneously hollered at the top of their lungs, and bum-rushed the altar. Common, yes THE Common, also a Trinity member takes the mike from Wright, and launches into a 3-5 minute freestyle rap, blending in themes from the sermon Wright had just delivered, plus a bonus plug for fellow parishioner Barack Obama (which of course prompted a huge cheer from the congregation). Okay, picture it, y’all: Common is in the pulpit rapping; the choir and musicians are still jamming; Pastor Otis Moss and Associate Pastor Rev. Reggie Williams are on the dais jumping around in a circle with their legs hooked a la Kid & Play; the area in front of the altar and pulpit is packed with kids, teens and adults dancing and pumping their fists in time to the music like it’s a rap show at the Riviera or something. (I was still in my pew, but on my feet, pumping my fist, yelling YO! YO! YO!) When I finally checked my watch, it was 12:30, but the party was still going when I gathered my coat and finally eased out.”
Honestly, I can’t call myself a religious man, but that right there sounds like a helluva better way to have spent New Year’s Eve than doing what I did…. which was, ya’know, getting right with a bottle of Ace of Spades. I might have even gotten down with Electric Slide, and been the one dude who screwed it up (yes, some stereotypes are true).
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
He is “of the people.” Now you won’t see that in the news - rapper with sense and class spending new year’s in church. LOL wouldn’t sell enough for R. Murdoch. But glad you posted that here.
And I think you’d do a’ight on the electric slide. just keep it simple…LMAO
January 4th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
dude where’d u get the ace of spades from?!?