Who ripped the Nina Simmone sample better, Common or Lil Wayne?

The act of being misunderstood is accordingly not being understood or interpreted. Its a denied acceptance of brilliance. Nina Simone originally the concept in her song Misunderstood.


There are not enough samples for rappers to sample. There are certain conflicts that are universal when placed in positions, whether it is president of the chess club, or president of the United States (we hope that being US President is harder, but you never know, Bush made it look easy). Being an artist is no exception. So Common and Lil Wayne took the concept of being misunderstood from Nina Simone and adapted it to their own interpretation.



Lil Wayne took the literal interpretation of the song and made his own version. He placed himself in the forefront of being misunderstood. The beat followed the original song and came out okay. This song is most famous for his seven minute rant at the end. Although he brought up several points on unfair practices on black people in urban communities, the part of his relation to it was not executed as clearly. Lil Wayne's points in his songs do not always come out clear, and there are not supposed to, but his rant was not directed at any specific target.

Common took the idea of being misunderstood and applied his creativity to it. He took the act and placed stories into the song. The beat was flipped and sped up with the echo of misunderstood in the hook. The beat and tempo of the song enhanced the hook, and the end of the song is powerful. The production of the song came out great.

As a whole, I feel Common ripped the sample. The stories he used were intricate, the resolutions to the dilemmas the characters had were heartfelt. Lil Wayne's first verse on his song was the best rap verse between the two songs. The image of the ashes blowing from the bible to the gun is amazing. His second verse was weak though. The song climaxed early and the rant did not help him. Addressing as the person who provided you the information as "the white man" is interesting but counter-productive.

The power of the original Nina Simone song is still more heartfelt then both songs. My favorite Nina Simone cover is when Talib Kweli flipped the idea of four women song idea.