The fifth album from The Artist Formerly Known As Sense will probably end up being the most widely criticized release of his career, although it may also prove to be his most defining moment as well. With each release Common has given to us, we have seen him change. He has evolved from a squeaky-voiced Chi-town upstart to a full-grown man, light years ahead of other rappers in levels of maturity. He has proven to be one of the only emcees powerful enough to change his style with each album, without alienating his fanbase. 

    Electric Circus is perhaps the most accurate title possible for Common’s latest release, as it certainly is “electric”, in the fact that these unique beats sound like they were concocted in a stereo-lab on Neptune; but it’s also a “circus”, as the sound of this album at first seems like a jumbled mess of styles, but actually plays incredibly well when the spotlight shines under the big top. 

    While this may seem like a wild curve ball at first, this is Common’s first truly musical album, and it may be the first release that graduates him from underground rapper status to a Things Fall Apart-like Grammy-nod. It’s not “I Used To Love H.E.R.” and it’s not “Soul By The Pound”, in fact, forget everything you know about Common, and listen to this as a piece of music first. After it hits you that this is different – so different – like a Black Sage Francis in a white sweatshirt different – then you must learn the patterns of the beats and let them soak in. Once that’s been accomplished, start listening to the lyrics, and you’ll remember what a dope emceed Common is. For some it will take three listens, for others it will happen all at once. 

    From the get-go, as “Soul Power”, Common seems just like the future b-boy we’ve grown to love, dissing puss emcees who’ve “borrowed (their) persona from the late that made Dear Mama” and those that got by on the strength of a dope track (“I guess opposites attract, in fact”), over ?uestlove’s kick-snare and a James Poyser’s moog synth-sounds. But Common takes us back to the future on each “Aquarius” and “New Wave”, two tracks with combined Com’s own living in video with breezy hooks seemingly adapted from the sounds of freedom rock. It’s love, peace, and nappiness at it’s finest.

    And speaking of love, the talk of Common’s heavy relationship with Erykah Badu having an effect on his music is definitely felt, but by no means does it damper the other lady he used to love. The Mary J. Blige featured, “Come Close” is like Com’s proposal to an adult Bonita Applebum – it’s as thoughtful and sensitive rhyme as it is a well written and clever hip-hop lyric, over The Neptunes’ lunch-table boom bap. Even more in tune with his feelings, is the late-night long-distance phone call to Erotic City on “Star 69″, which finds Common getting personal with his lady over distorted Kid-A basslines. And in his boldest moment, “Between Me, You, & Liberation”, Common Sensitive shares three personal stories, a sexually-abused girlfriend, his aunt losing battle with cancer, and (a first in hip-hop) a newly homosexual friend trying to adjust. 

   But despite the fact that the brother dresses different, and is nice to his girl, the classic raw Chicago attitude is still here, letting loose harder than the hardest hardcore can get on “Electric Wire Hustle Flower”, featuring Sonny (Of P.O.D.), one of the very few rock/rap collabos that actually works (if we dare even banish it to that bastard genre). Meanwhile, he plays Denzel in Training Day on “I Got A Right Ta”, boomin’ in ya jeep, with Pharell riding shotgun, smoking some shit.

   While heads may rebuke Electric Circus to hip-hop hell before it ever gets a chance, “art and opinions are made to clash”, as he says on one lyric. A deeper listen will reveal that Common and his producers (?uestlove, Dilla, James Poysner) have crafted an incredibly bold record that steps outside of hip-hop’s boundaries without fucking it up, much like The Neptunes’ N.E.R.D. It borrows influence from Frank Zappa to Fela Kuti to Prince to you name it. As the cover suggests, this album’s sound truly is a circus of influence from Common’s musical history up to this point. The only question that remains is, now where do we go from here?