Common definitely still loves hip-hop – so much so that he now exhibits characteristics he said he disliked about his genre of choice on his 1994 song “I Used to Love H.E.R.”
About 15 years ago, the wide-eyed, idealist Chicago emcee personified his relationship with hip-hop, referring to the music as a romantic interest. He first met “her” as a child on the playground and learned black history from “her” as a teenager, but became disillusioned when “she” gave into demands from the mainstream to make money.
That year, Common promised “he’d take her back, hoping that the shit stop,” on the track. But on his latest and eighth studio album, Universal Mind Control, he’s following pop culture trends to keep up with his girlfriend.
The 36-year-old is known for his socially conscious raps over traditional jazzy, boom-bap beats produced by J Dilla, DJ Premier or Kanye West. However, on his new album, Common employs crossover superstar production team The Neptunes for an eclectic mix of hyped-up, club-ready tracks he laces with accessible party lyrics. Common already has a few gold albums, but this more pop-sounding release may make him a platinum celebrity.
But Common sacrifices his potential and skill at making deep, meaningful music to fulfill these desires.
Sure-fired hit songs make Common and his significant other sexy. The electronica-style title track is an homage to Afrika Bambaataa’s 1982 classic “Planet Rock,” equipped with vocal distortion and crowd-rocking scat, courtesy of Pharrell. Common sets the carefree tone of the album by spitting “movie watching, booty dropping, body moving, show and proving, styling and being fly.” The old-school flow is entertaining, but it may sound odd to Common fans, who know him for rhyming more about hanging on the corner than hitting up discos.
Other slick sounds and rhymes populate “Make My Day,” which features Cee-Lo singing a Gnarls Barkley-esque hook. Common’s acting career probably influenced his lyrics, for he raps about “California dreaming” and “Californication.” His wordplay is clever but, like so many rappers before him, he has definitely gone Hollywood.
Common’s superficial content is especially strange because he used to be considered a sensitive, dirty backpack rapper in the same niche as Talib Kweli and Mos Def. In a little more than a year, he went from lamenting about a misguided and vain stripper on “Drivin’ Me Wild” to grinding up on a stripper on “Sex 4 Sugar.” His lustful lyrics and Kurtis Blow-style flow complement the seductive House beat – but it’s just so un-Common.
This sharp, sleek persona may be permanent, for Common falters on his one attempt at an inspirational track. “Changes” has a whimsical beat with a light-hearted R&B chorus, but Common’s flow lacks passion and his lyrics aren’t detailed enough. He only briefly mentions Obama’s victory and skirts over his own plan to influence the youth, which used to be one of his signature, best-addressed subjects. This track can’t stack up to “It’s Your World” on 2005’s Be.
On “What a World,” Common seems to admit he has embraced hip-hop’s new world order for global domination. He spits “Then the game, it start to change/ They say music ain’t the same,” followed by “Now the whole world is singing his song/ From Chicago, a star is born.” The high-energy, guitar-tinged tune blends new wave and funk as Common recalls how his boyhood dreams became reality.
Even though hip-hop takes Common out on the town to mingle with the rich and famous, she still gets some good tongue lashings. On “Gladiator,” a grimy, head-nodding beat, Common shows he can wow a stadium-sized audience with lines such as “You frail on the mic like you might break a nail/ I might smoke a joint but won’t take an L.” Common has the precision of a swordsman: He starts off with quick jabs and then pounces on the beat to slay it with a ridiculous punch line.
Universal Mind Control is enjoyable throughout, but Common’s loss of innocence is a bit disheartening. In 1994, he looked up to and respected hip-hop, but on “Announcement,” he raps, “I still love her, she be needing the dick/ But when it come to hip-hop, it’s just me and my bitch.”
Common may still love the music, but hip-hop’s chart-topping aspirations have him by the balls.
arush@umd.edu
RATING: 3 out of 5 stars
