Universal Mind Control [PA]

Performer: Common
Artist: Kanye West; Cee-Lo; Pharrell Williams; Muhsinah; Martina Topley-Bird
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Common has done this sort of thing before--namely, coming up with a record so different in tone and musical style it confounds fans and critics alike. The unchecked experimentation on ELECTRIC CIRCUS had his public polarized and left some wondering if Common's future work would be anything like hip-hop. This time around, on his eighth LP, the Chi-town lyricist once again bucks expectations, with 10 tracks of Bambaataa-esque electro courtesy of the Neptunes and Mr. DJ. This is original hip-hop--as Pharrell's "Planet Rock"-inspired hook on the opening title cut should proclaim loud and clear for those old enough to remember. On the lyrical front, Common is as captivating as ever. In between the lusty club-bangers and throw-your-hands-up anthems, he comes correct with a lofty, extended-metaphor take on the Obama era ("Changes") and an inspired homage to Biggie ("Announcement (Sped Up)"), where he and Pharrell rework some of the notorious one's most memorable lines. The eighth Common album was originally titled "Invincible Summer," but delays slid its release back to December. Though Mortal Winter might've been more apt, Universal Mind Control does correctly point toward a lighter, less cerebral set relative to the MC's discography from The Resurrection onward. The glinting "Change" is a track filled with hope and optimism about younger generations and the rise of Obama, and "Inhale," another standout, carries a surplus of uplift and urgency. Otherwise, Common's here to have a good time, no strings attached, with uneven results. Occasionally adopting a casual old-school flow, best heard on the neo-Bambaataa electro throwback title track, he spends most of his time boasting about his prowess, whether he's referring to being on the mike or in the bedroom. At the album's lowest, he sounds uncomfortably out of character, as on "Announcement"; its stern beat, one of the seven provided by the Neptunes, resembles a Clipse cast-off, pushing Common into ill-suited thuggishness. The sluggish, mindless "Punch Drunk Love" ("My ungh is in your body/My ungh is in your mind") and "Sex 4 Suga" ("Girl, ooh, you look ungh") are nearly as dire, likewise sacrificing cleverness for bluntness. The album's last two tracks, production-wise, depart from hip-hop and will hopefully send some listeners back to the flawed greatness of Electric Circus. "What a World" features some of Common's most enjoyable, if simplistic, old-school rhymes, but the song is impaired by its dance-rock/Rapture-knockoff backdrop; and even with some of Common's most energized lines appearing as late as midway through the much more effective "Everywhere," the Dungeon Family's Mr. DJ (who produced two other tracks) drops some low-slung sci-fi synth-funk for Martina Topley-Bird's spaced vocal feature. ~ Andy Kellman

Rolling Stone (p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[R]ap's deep thinker wanted to make club bangers. So he got the Neptunes to shape this sexed-up set." Spin (p.102) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Common dazzles with the back-to-the-future motif 'What a World'....UNIVERSAL MIND is primarily a a rhythmic celebration, paying tribute to Afrika Bambaataa and Jonzun Crew jams." Billboard (p.45) - "'Announcement' benefits from a slinky beat that lets the MC breathe....'Gladiator' is a great old-school brag rhyme..." XXL (Magazine) (p.105) - "Promptly starting the party, Common spaces out to futuristic synths on the lively title track, a frantic, genre-blurring adrenaline rush..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Cee-Lo collaboration 'Make My Day' is winningly dreamy, and both mixes of Kanye-duet 'Punch Drunk Love' 'make for fine, treacly bedroom music."

Born Lonnie Rashied Lynn in Chicago, the rapper who would become an integral part of the 1990s underground hip-hop scene started out as Common Sense. His 1992 debut CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? showcased a politically conscious, musically eclectic artist interested in expanding the boundaries of hip-hop. Though forced to shorten his handle to Common after a legal dispute, he pursued his vision, incorporating jazz, rock, R&B and more into his sound, and collaborating with everyone from jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove to up-and-coming rapper Cee-Lo and R&B diva Erykah Badu.

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