Electric Circus
label: mca

producers: ahmir "?uestlove" thompson, james poyser, j. dilla, pina palladino, karriem riggins, the neptunes, jeff lee johnson.

guests: vinia mojica, bilal, sonny of p.o.d., omar, mary j. blige, pharell williams, cee-lo, jill scott, erykah badu, others.
year of release: 2002
website: okayplayer.com
 
On some level, you kinda know what to expect from a Common album, right? Conscious lyrics, cooled out flow, and ideas to get you thinking. That's one aspect of it. But then, there's something else. The original production, a sense of tradition in the background instrumentals, and at the same time a gesture toward something beyond the conventional sounds as well. Common's "Electric Circus" will moves right along in the thought-provoking, creative sound that has gained him respect over the years.
The album begins with "Ferris Wheel," a short interlude track that blends futuristics with a sense of the past. We hear the electronic soundings of a guitar, drum machine, and keys, but over those we hear these sister singing an indistinguishable language (for outsiders), which sounds distinctively 'African.' This mixing of black musics takes us back and forth and sets paves the way for the tracks to come. Common doesn't disappoint. Overall, in his rhymes throughout the album, he voices a commitment to struggles of black communities, consciousness in hip hop, and his own trials and tribulations making it in the world.

tracklisting
1. Ferris Wheel feat. Vinia Mojica, Marie Daulne of Zap Mama
2. Soul Power
3. Aquarius feat. Bilal
4. Electric Wire Hustler Flower feat. Sonny of P.O.D.
5. The Hustle feat. Omar, Dart Chillz
6. Come Close feat. Mary J. Blige
7. New Wave feat. Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab
8. Star *69 (PS With Love) feat. Bilal
9. I Got A Right Ta feat. Pharrel Williams
10. Between Me, You & Liberation feat. Cee-Lo
11. I Am Music
12. Jimi Was A Rock Star feat. Erykah Badu
13. Heaven Somewhere feat. Omar, Cee-Lo, Bilal, Jill Sctott, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and Lonnie "Pops" Lynn
Now don't get it twisted. Just cause Common's on the knowledge-tip, doesn't mean he can't throw bows with the best of 'em. Laced between the thoughtfulness, Common dropping cats off in some ill way, demonstrating that he's well-versed in the battle tradition as well. Like on "Aquarius," peep the lyrics: Common goes, "You ain't supposed to rhyme/ better off with a clothing line/ in this business of pimps, many hoes get signed." Yeah, you know the deal, he dicing fake cats up like that throughout.
On the rock-like, funkadelic track "Electric Wire Hustler Flower," Common's lyrics have a harder intensity to them. That is, he's hitting his words as hard as the beats, guitar, and chorus are hitting. At one point, he goes "I used to write shit to please niggas, now I write shit to freeze niggas." The intensity of this track, similar to the feel of the track "I Got A Right Ta" provides occasions for Common's rhymes to move along at a harder, more forceful flow than usual. It goes down well. To flip it a bit, he brings a couple of slow joints as well. On "Come Close," for instance, with Mary J. Blige holding down the backgrounds and then on "Between Me, You, & Liberation" with Cee-Lo representing on the hook, Common provides some slow thoughtful pieces regarding love, relationships, and sexuality. The track "I Am Music," which has Jill Scott on chorus and an old-school upbeat jazz feel to it (along with trumpets and trombone) allows Common to push his notion of paying homage to the idea of music. Rather than taking the course of those well-known raps where the lyricists imagine being a 'gun,' Common speaks from the perspective of 'music.'
Of course, if the lyrics were the only highlights of Common's work, it probably wouldn't get the album far. I mean, we know that lyrics alone ain't enough these days. So, two background, upfront elements that make Common's album more meaningful have to be the contributions provided by ?uestlove and James Poyser on the production tips. With ?uestlove on drums and Poyser on keys both providing the rhythmic design of several tracks on the album, we get more and more reasons to listen closely to the instrumentalists that provide the backdrop for the lyricist. These production cats offer some creative concepts that energies the music.
Now, the beats ain't so head-banging throughout. But we've learned from ?uestlove's work on the Roots' albums, at least, that he's after something other than the simply the kind of music that folks can dance to. Also, the strong electric rock sounds that appear often on Common's album might not appeal to most rap fans, as that doesn't seem to be the dominant style of the music out today. As a result, it might take a while for this kind of sounding album to take hold of folks, if it does. No doubt, Common offers thoughtful and conscious rhymes, but without stronger senses of hard-hitting transformative flows and feelings within the work, he'll maintain the positions he's been in for some time in the game. Maybe this has positives and negatives to it. To really know, we'll just have to keep listening.
review: j cross
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