Common

To paraphrase Jay-Z–he was all good two albums ago. Common, for good reason, is recognized as one of the best emcees of his generation–with two exceptions, Common has had a nearly unbroken streak of good-to-great albums, with his sophomore album Resurrection standing out as his lone classic. It was with great anticipation, then, that fans awaited Universal Mind Control, knowing that he followed up his last blunder, 2002's Electric Circus, with 2005's near-classic, Be.

Wow. Undoubtedly one of the biggest misfires of the year, Universal Mind Control is a disappointment in almost every facet imaginable. It's a lump of flaccid insipidity that should spark concerns that Common, flush with acting roles and Gap and Microsoft Zune (?!) commercials, has lost it. I was willing to consider last year's plodding Finding Forever merely a bump in Common's career: its lame, saccharine lyrics more a result of his current situation (whatever that was) than an indicator of long-term artistic malaise. No longer.

The point of UMC, I think, was to create a dance record, and Common enlisted The Neptunes to produce the bulk of the album to further that goal. And what the production may lack in quality, it certainly makes up in consistency. All of the tracks are electro-tinged danceable numbers that range from the enjoyable–lead single "Universal Mind Control" channels "Planet Rock" to great effect–to the mediocrity of the unfortunately-named "Sex 4 Suga." And the production's quality variability here is far from the most glaring problem.

While the production merits of each track may diverge, the work as a whole at the very least provides a sonic backdrop that a different emcee–dare I say a better emcee–would tear up were he or she engaged with the material. And Common, who has dazzled the hip hop world with his lyrical prowess throughout most of his career, should be that guy. Unfortunately he comes up far, far short, flittering between cloying, earnest-to-a-fault message tracks like "Changes" to eye-rolling loverman tracks like "Sex 4 Suga," all keeping the listener's finger glued to the skip button. And then there's his battle track, "Gladiator," which while better than most of the album, features some somewhat limpid wordplay by Common and has a ferocity immediately undercut by the rest of the album's lyrical listlessness.

At 39 minutes, UMC is just a shade over a half-hour too long, and you get the sense that Common knows it, phoning in his performance on track after track. While there is an undercurrent of funkiness to the entire proceedings–album closer "Everywhere," produced by Mr. DJ, follows the template nicely–the lyrical anemia on display is just too much, especially from a (until recently) gifted emcee like Common. I don't know what to expect from his next album, but I would hope Common begins re-honing the skills that made him so well respected in the first place. While Gap and Zune ads may thicken the bank account for now, they are doing little for his legacy.

—Matthew Mundy
12.12.08

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, All Music Guide