Common's "Universal Mind Control"

Common's new album Universal Mind Control will be released on December 9th. The album has undergone a few release date changes and it seems that the December date will be the last straw. Common seems to be embarking on a new, creative chapter in his music career, as witnessed with his current single, "Universal Mind Control." The track was produced by The Neptunes and has a techno, dance sound to it. This is not Common's first time experimenting, however, or working with The Neptunes. Remember 2002's Electric Circus album? That was probably Common's most experimental work to date. Back then, he was dating Erykah Badu, which some say influenced his sound on the album. The album sold under 300,000 copies, but it actually received a lot of positive views. On the album, he worked with longtime producer and friend, J Dilla (R.I.P), James Poyser, ?uestlove, and The Neptunes. I am glad to see that he is working with The Neptunes again on the Universal Mind Control album. They actually produced a major chunk of the album! Kanye West also put his magic touch on the album on about two songs, but needless to say, this album screams Neptunes production. Take a look at the tracklisting below:

1. "Announcement" - Featuring Pharrell
Produced by The Neptunes
2. "Universal Mind Control (UMC) - Featuring Pharrell
Produced by The Neptunes
3. "Runaway"-Featuring Santogold
4. "Make My Day"- Featuring Cee-Lo
Produced By Mr. DJ
5. "Punch Drunk Love"- Featuring Kanye West
Produced by Kanye West
6. "Gladiator" - Featuring Pharrell
Produced by The Neptunes
7. "What A World"- Featuring Chester French
Produced by The Neptunes
8. "The Eye"-Featuring Pharrell Williams
9. "Changes"
Produced By Mr. DJ
10. "Party Shit"
11. "Dreaming"
Produced by Alex Kresovich

Indeed, just judging from his current singles, "Announcement" and "Universal Mind Control," Common's sound is far different than the "Common Sense" of the past. Working primarily with the collective known as The Soulquarians, which consist of ?uestlove, Dilla (R.I.P), Q-Tip, Bilal, D-Angelo, James Poyser, Mos Def, etc., he is now toying with different elements now. Do you think this new album will have the outcome that Electric Circus did? Do you think that it will venture too far away from the foundation of Hip-Hop? I believe that the album will be just as good as Electric Circus, but I am undecided on how well it will sell. I definitely think that it will do better than Electric Circus, just judging from the everyone's comments about his single, "Universal Mind Control" even though most people aren't really feeling "Announcement." Honestly, I do not think it will sell that well, but, hey, I could be wrong.

Common's last two albums Be and Finding Forever featured mostly production from Kanye. On this new album, of course Kanye has much of a lesser role. Check out this in-depth interview with Common, which may make it clear to you why he worked with The Neptunes this time around. Common describes the inspiration for this album and talks about what things were like in the studio with The Neptunes. He states that he and Pharrell drew ideas from each other. Check it out though. It's a really good interview and I hope you enjoy it! The video was recorded a little before we found out the new release date for his album. Therefore, when he talks about the album being released in November, the album will actually be released in December now. Before I conclude, I have to say that I do miss Dilla and Common working together. I believe that if he was alive, Common probably would've had his production on this album too. They were actually really close friends and J Dilla loved to be different too and explore with his music production. Like Water For Chocolate is definitely my favorite Common album. R.I.P Dilla aka Jay Dee!!


Common on KUBE 93's Sound Session from DJ Hyphen on Vimeo.