After dropping last year's critically acclaimed "Finding Forever", Common had decided to take a short hiatus from music to continue to pursue his acting career. After taking small roles in "Smokin' Aces" & "American Gangster" he had been getting offers for larger roles in films like "Street Kings" & the upcoming "Wanted" & "Terminator 4". However, between shooting, Com got the itch to record some new music and in only 2 short months "Invincible Summer" was finished.

The album will be a definite change of pace for Common, as he decided to make some light, summertime music. He explained to Billboard that he felt his body of work was missing some "feel good" music so he called on friends Pharrell and Outkast's Mr. DJ to help create the sound for the entire LP. In the interview, Com described the sound as "electro-tinged" and even "techno-inspired" and explained that Kanye was too busy planning his "Glow In The Dark" tour during the recording sessions so he likely won't contribute any tracks. The album will also feature appearances from: Pharrell, Cee-Lo, and newcomers Santogold & Chester French with more to be confirmed shortly.

"Invincible Summer" is currently slated to drop in mid-July and you can check out the Pharrell produced and featured first single "U.M.C. (Universal Mind Control" below...

Common ft. Pharrell - U.M.C. (Universal Mind Control)

What do y'all think of this joint? I'm not sure what I think...It's so different from I'm used to hearing from Common it's hard to take it seriously. I really hope it's not another "Electric Circus" type of album...we all remember how that album went over...Do you think Com is making a mistake with this type of sound? Or is it a nice change of pace from the always serious emcee???