Of course not! "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a turd, and the forthcoming Graduation could jump sharks, but don't hold me to that. If Late Registration (2005) taught us anything, it's to rule nothing out for Kanye. Even a soul-crushingly absurd live record.

Because, I mean, let's talk about playing to strengths. "The People" is the type of hotness Common's buttery voice was made to melt on, a thrilling and unlikely conversion of rounded synths, cooing and babbling vocal snips, deft half-bar whirlpools of drums. "The Game" bangs, but "The People" is something to really get excited about, the best Common track since at least "Invocation." And, most rewardingly, no false scowl crosses our path: over this blissful bed Mr. Sense feels free to namedrop India.Arie, Barack Obama and, yes, of course, his goddamn daughter. As in, "my daughter found Nemo." It's the corniest dude in rap grabbing the mic and spitting all the soft shit he loves, and the only reason this big sonic cuddle session works is Kanye West's production, which both enables Common's gushiness and gives it a sense of purpose, a vibrant, organic home. With more music like this, Finding Forever, despite sounding like a Mary Steenburgen movie, could be the late-game mission statement Be wasn't.

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