Critics are pretty much savaging Common's new album, Universal Mind Control. They don't like his new electro sound, and they especially don't like his attempt to get freaky deaky with it, abandoning the conscious BoHo rap that made him a favorite amongst coffee shops and universities. I've never been a fan of Common: Mostly I don't really like his style, and the few songs I've heard by him haven't rocked my world. So it's ironic that the first Common album that piques my interest is the album that everyone most everyone hates. I really love the first single off the album, "Universal Mind Control." Mostly I love the beat, which mines the same 80s electro vibe that Black Milk and Kanye West have been working with this past year. The Neptunes handle most of the production on the album, and from what I've heard, I like the sound they are exploring. It's almost as if hip hop has gone a little electroclash, only they are doing it in a more soulful, more effective, less annoying way than all of those groups and producers in the early 2000s. I may even end up buying the record. I'm not invested in Common, so the fact that he is doing booty rap doesn't offend me. Most of the critics that are taking umbrage with his new direction feel like Common has betrayed them. They count on Common to be an antidote to mindless booty rap, and now he's making it. Whatevs. It sounds good. And while I'm at it, I'm going to pick up his 2002 psychedelic weirdness Electric Circus, produced by the late great J Dilla.
Universal Mind Control - Common
Hype Williams did the video, which I kind of like. It's on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo7FpI8MmmE
Check out Black Milk's "The Matrix," which has the same electro sound. I'm a fan.
The Matrix (Feat. Sean Price & Pharoahe Monch) - Black Milk
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