Universal Mind Control - Dark Publications

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Album Description
Explicit Version. Grammy Award winning artist Common returns with his unique brand of cutting edge Hip Hop on his 8th album Universal Mind Control. The 2008 album on the G.O.O.D. Music /Geffen label is executive produced by multi-platinum producers The Neptunes & Kanye West and features the Neptunes on the bulk of the production. The lead single, 'Universal Mind Control' is a club hit and a radio add for Urban & Rhythmic Crossover. Common has been an actor on the big screen for the last two years in critically acclaimned films, Wanted, American Gangster & Smoking Aces, plus a co-starring role in the 2009 blockbuster Terminator 4.

Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

There is some heat but then there is some....... (3.5 stars) December 9, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

WACK ISH on this album. Common comes with a fairly short album of ten tracks. Stand out tracks that i immediately go to are PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, ANNOUNCEMENT, and GLADIATOR. The songs I absolutely hate are MAKE MY DAY, EVERYWHERE, SEX 4 SUGAR, and CHANGES. Common got a little too experimental again on this one similar to how he got on Electric circus. So with me the album is 50/50. Half dope, half experimental/WACK. Half the beats/songs are dope, the other half are weird and WACK. Its really gonna come down to how experimental you are in your taste of music if you will accept the weird half of this album. if you are looking for the effort of the last two Common albums in this album, you will be disappointed.

2 out of 5 stars

I never thought I'd see the day... December 9, 2008
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

There always needs to be some sort of balance in music, especially when it comes to the hip hop industry. The fun stuff (Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, etc.) is all fine and good if that's your thing, but there also needs to be some serious material that focuses on actual craft and quality that will entertain outside of a party setting. Common has always been the perfect emcee to add weight to the latter side of the scale; he has always provided skillful and thought-provoking rhymes to his steady and faithful fan-base. Until now, that is. It seems like he has been taken over by a mid-life crisis and decided to take a trip to the club along with John Legend, leaving his talent in a bag outside to pick up later in case this sad little excursion is not a success. Well, it's not. I'm all for artists taking chances, but only if they are progressive changes. This little experiment does nothing but push Common back, while robbing quite a bit of my respect for the man. Universal Mind Control is a bland collection of mindless party jams full of half-hearted and horny pick-up lines ("I'll touch you where the sun don't shine," "I'll be philosophical on top of ya," etc.) from the thirty-something year-old man backed by production from The Neptunes--whose work has become less and less entertaining and creative throughout the years. "Gladiator" would be an okay track without the awkward chorus interrupting Common. The "Announcement" contains Common's best verses from the album, even though that isn't saying much. And the title track is admittedly catchy. But that's pretty much all this incredibly short (10 tracks, 38 minutes) set has to offer. On "Changes," a little girl says "Gandhi is change, Martin Luther King is change... and of course Common is change!" This claim is more disgusting and pretentious than any of the other vulgar proclamations on this record and Common has no reason to be confident about Universal Mind Control. It may be a change, but he's pedaling backwards and this disc is plain trash. Don't waste your money.

1 out of 5 stars

Sell Out December 11, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

This album is wack. Common is a poet, a great lyrists. One of my favorite MCs of all time and last I'd expect to sell out. This album goes against everything he is good at. He tries to make club hits on this album. His single entitled "Universal Mind Control" feat Pharell is annoying..he says he "stays fresh like hes wrapped in plastic" and continues by saying how hes "fresh and gettin paid". only song I can enjoy is "Make My Day" feat Cee-Lo. This song is 1 of 3 not produced by the Neptunes. On the "Annoucement" feat Pharell he calls hip hop his bitch. What ever happened to "I Used to Love H.E.R"? Sorry Common, but after this album I kinda wish you just stuck to acting. For true hip-hop heads go cop "The Pre-face" by Elzhi or "Tronic" by Black Milk.

2 out of 5 stars

Stuck in a Creative Rut December 9, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

I never thought I'd say that an album from one of the best emcees in the history of Hip-Hop is only worth buying for the production. That's something you say about the latest rapper of the week, backed by big budget producers, pushed on image by label execs, not expected to matter after one or two albums. I listened to this album on repeat just to be sure, even though it basically smacked me in the face on the first listen. The only reason to buy this is for the inspired Neptunes production. Shades of Bambaataa, techno/electro overtures, some interesting synth sounding work, that's what is interesting here.

What is completely boring, trite, hackneyed, uninspired, and a thousand other similar descriptors, is Common's performance. It's not entirely surprising, Finding Forever struck me as uninspired as well, it was "safe" Common, paint by numbers style. Throw in some cliched black pride, boasting of emcee skills, some sex, pop references, big budget beats, mix and serve. Here it's much of the same, just throw in more sex, talked about without the vulgarity of much pop-rap out there, but with the same unoriginal and shallow attitude. There are shades of the old Common here, on songs like "Changes", but even then it's more of the paint by number throwback style of Finding Forever, than the inspired work of "G.O.D.", "The 6th Sense", etc.

Too be clear, as I can already foresee the claims about naysayers of this album trying to keep Common trapped in a box, it is not the change I have a problem with. I was a fan of Electric Circus, and if anyone finds this interesting, but hasn't heard that album, pick it up immediately. This is not Electric Circus, there's no creative force and inspiration behind what Common is doing, no interesting writing or styles of delivery. As evidence by the reaction to Electric Circus, some people are allergic to change, they will just not give it a chance. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are people who will throw "change" around like it is an excuse for whatever crap an artist wants to put out. "Change" isn't a positive or negative term, the material which is the product of change must be judged on it's own right, and by my judgment, Common's direction on this album is an abysmal failure, with only the work of the Neptunes (and the other producers) even keeping it afloat.

3 out of 5 stars

I Have It But Trust Me I Did Not Spend My Money December 21, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Those are definitely words I thought I would never say about Common Sense who is one of the greatest to ever do it. But man oh man, I guess when you've been around this long that you'll have one or two of these misses. This is not the first time he's done the short track list deal but "BE" was not like this. Universal Mind Control has some heavy songs on here and a couple of my favs being "Punch Drunk Love" and "Make My Day". Now here's where the problems come in and I'm sure plenty of others have said this. Half this album is as weak as the Detroit Lions season this year and the other half is on a much much higher level.

The production with the corny tracks start you off in a bad mood and you don't even want to listen to the song after that. "Changes" doesn't even really sound like a Common track, honestly a few of em don't. Then of course you got the hot "Universal Mind Control" which was a nice first release and "What A World" is pretty good also. Lyrically the album is not one of his strongest. Common almost seems to be loosing himself a bit over the past year or two.

Really I got this album for "Universal Mind Control" and "Punch Drunk Love", there were more mediocre and bad tracks on here than I've ever heard from the man that was thought to have more sense than any rapper in the game. So get it if you want the few songs but my advice is find a way to get it without paying full price.

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