Like the former Common Sense before him, he has created a canon of morals and integrity that eschews sanctimony. As the scratched vocals of Common echo on the hook to “Steep Life:” “rappers and hoopers, we strive to be like.” Greene is all too aware of reality. With a roll of the dice you can receive death, prison, or a path out. A lifestyle of endemic poverty, opportunities denied and dreams deferred. The themes are nothing less than life and death. The place where he saw his first dead body in his early teens, where he lost his brother to the street violence only a few years later, and where he turned to the pad, pen and microphone as a refuge and way to share his hard-fought wisdom. It’s this noirish part of town that nourished Greene and gave him nightmares. These are songs that betray the scar tissue. How can one escape the systemic traps that have ensnared generations since time immemorial? What does it mean to make the right choices? And if you emerge from the chaos to live a beautiful life, how do you overcome the survivor’s guilt and lingering trauma?Ĭost of Living is an album full of authenticity that can’t be faked. It’s an inquiry that looms at the core of their elegiac and existential soundtrack to modern inner city life. What are the consequences of living in this f**ked up world? Within the first few seconds of their collaborative album, Cost of Living, rapper Philmore Greene and producer Apollo Brown articulate this question with unequivocal clarity. Apollo Brown & Philmore Greene - “ Cost of Living ”
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