Common

With America in the doldrums, you might expect one of hip-hop's most thoughtful emcees to make a somber album. Instead, Common decides to uplift us by making us move our feet. The Neptunes set the tone with electro sounds that give the Afrika Bambaataa-influenced title track and "Announcement" a futuristic feel. Even when Common gets off the dancefloor to wax poetic on the presidential race on "Changes," the tone is very optimistic. Common's artistic exploration hasn't been well received in the past (Electric Circus, anyone?), but fans will be pleased to break a sweat with UMC.

Huh? A Common album without a soul-jazz opener? Well, rap's deep thinker wanted to
make club bangers. So he got the Neptunes to shape this sexed-up set. He's still
history-minded; the title track is textbook Eighties electro. Elsewhere, he name-checks
Fiona Apple (the bouncy "Make My Day," with Cee-Lo) and dubs himself "rap's Ziggy
Stardust" ("Gladiator"). On the Biggie-style "Announcement," he calls hip-hop his "... More >