Common, Testify | Rap BNGRZ 🔥

In the 9^th edition of Rap BNGRZ 🔥 (2023), we break down the banger status of “Testify,” performed by Common.

Bring on the braggadocio, drip, sex, and kickassery, WOO! You’ve entered Rap BNGRZ 🔥 territory! On Rap BNGRZ 🔥 (bangers being the proper spelling), the premise is simple. Rap BNGRZ provides background info and commentary on cocky, confident, ferocious hip-hop/rap songs. The bangers can be brand-spanking-new or certified classics. In the 9^th edition of Rap BNGRZ 🔥 (2023), we break down the banger status of 🎵 “Testify” performed by 🎙 Common.

“Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away / Please let me testify.” Once upon a time, when the name 🎛 Kanye West was mentioned, it was because of his innovative spirit, particularly as a producer.  West certainly helped 🏆 Grammy-winning rapper, 🎙 Common reclaim his mojo on his 2005 album, 💿 Be.  Among the best moments from Be is 🎵 “Testify”.  Here, Mr. West is at his best, sampling old-school soul (🎙 Honey Cone, 🎵 “Innocent ‘Til Proven Guilty”).  As for Common, he is also at his best dropping thoughtful rhymes with his superb flow.

“Her daddy was a hustla, so she love them / Looked at the jury how can they judge him, she screamed,” Common raps narratively in the first verse, providing some background on the wife of the accused man, who testifies in court.  He continues in the second, “Fear in her chest her face in tears / Had her man’s back he was facing years.” Given the sample and this trial-driven narrative, “Testify” ends up being truly a special gem from the Common discography.  The third and fourth verses continue this brief yet epic journey yet reveal some of the most alluring lines.  In the third verse, a bombshell is dropped: “They arrested him for murder and gun possession / As they read back her confession, she screamed…” In the fourth and final verse, her hubby is found guilty, yet there’s a damning revelation:

“A spin artist, she brought her face up laughing

That’s when the prosecutor realized what happened

All the speaking her mind, testifying and crying

When this bitch did the crime, the queen pin.”

Woo! 🎵 “Testify” is nothing short of EPIC.

🎙 Common • 💿 Be • 🏷 Geffen • 📅 2005

Common, “Testify”: Rap BNGRZ 🔥 No. 9 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Geffen; cottonbro studio via Pexels]