**I decided to bump this post back up to the top since the full album leaked over the long weekend and I didn't want y'all to miss the edit & skip over the post. Soooo check out the new & improved post complete with minty fresh links below**
I gotta admit, when I first heard that Common was preparing to drop a new album produced almost exclusively by The Neptunes and was looking to experiment with a more mainstream friendly, uptempo sound...I was more than a little skeptical. After the first track, "Universal Mind Control" dropped soon thereafter, I suddenly had nightmares of an "Electric Circus 2" coming up on the horizon. To make matters worse, it was soon announced that the album would be pushed back to September. And as we all know...when it comes to hip-hop albums...that usually that isn't a very good sign. But here we are several months later and I must admit, not only has "UMC" grown on me, but I'm actually digging every other track that has leaked from the project thus far.
I guess it's just that I am so used to Common being that quintessential emcee who has built his career and discography around that gritty, classic boom-bap production, when I suddenly heard him rock over some electronic Neptunes instrumentals...it was a tough pill to swallow. Although I'm sure a lot of his core fans aren't going to be happy with the project, I gotta applaud dude for taking a risk. Despite the multiple push-backs, "Universal Mind Control" will be released officially on December 9th and feature production primarily from Pharrell & Chad Hugo (The Neptunes), but will also feature contributions from No I.D., Kanye, Mr. DJ + more.
COMMON - UNIVERSAL MIND CONTROL (RETAIL)
01. Universal Mind Control
02. Punch Drunk Love (Feat. Kanye West)
03. Make My Day (Feat. Cee-Lo Green)
04. Sex 4 Sugar
05. Announcement (Feat. Pharrell)
06. Gladiator (Feat. Pharrell)
07. Changes
08. Inhale
09. What a World (Feat. Chester French)
10. Everywhere
Posted By: JV
