Common’s "Electric Circus":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++276488&a_id=R+++619583&PersonID=P%20%20%20276488&prodid=MCA113114.2&si=rhino begins serenely enough with an instrumental soul chant called “Ferris Wheel” featuring vocal sweeps by Vinia Mojica and Marie Dauline (of Zapp Mama) which folds evenly into the cut “Soul Power.” Common sallies forth on the latter with verve by making short shrift of the “usual suspects” that currently clog the audio/ video airwaves. This joint’s lyrics are augmented by freaky-deaky loop beats while Common spits verses like “Nigga breath, (I) can tell by how you rap you don’t believe, (you) ain’t hungry no more – so off me you feed. I hustle by the speed between greed and need…My rap’s a portal for the blue collar, you made a hit and came up on a few dollars. I’d rather listen to silence than you holler” - it becomes clear early that the rapper has something to get off his chest in light of his past few years in the rap game.On “Aquarius”, featuring vocals from Bilal, Mr. Lynn continues to chastise the poolside poseurs in the biz with rhymes that run the topical gamut between Mary McLeod Bethune and Prince (this is not a typo). As I checked this piece, I imagined that this is what the Isley Brothers (circa the late 70’s) would’ve sounded like if they were a rap crew – see for yourself but “listen first.”Sonny Boy of P.O.D. teams up with Lonnie Lynn for the next piece, “Electric Wire Hustler Flower” which is bangin’ from the word go. The protagonist speaks on fighting the good fight in a “profit driven” artistic medium (if there is such a thing), check it: “Mercury in retrograde, I try to get Niggas in the ghetto paid while they watch porno in Escalades…I try to walk but I stumble on the humble path. (It’s) the story of a pimp stick that became a staff...” (wait there’s a little more) “I used to write shit to please Niggas. Now I write shit to freeze Niggas. Whether iced-out or American pie sliced-out…whether diced-out or with their hair spiked-out. I sit in the room with the lights out screamin’…E.W.H.F.” Both of these quotes are great examples of the emcee’s word playing skills and the fuzzed-over outro is tight as a drum.Common still walks it like he talks it on the 5th track called “The Hustle,” This gritty little number is about doing what you got to do in the (all together now) music business – the refrain adds: “just move and shake and grind and hustle…” It would be a trifle pat to say this cut is solely about stackin’ chips on the paper cha$e but it is. C-Dog wraps this one together in a 7-degrees of Kevin Bacon stylee that links street vendors, evangelists and white collar “work ethics” in one fell swoop. It’s not the strongest piece (in comparison to the tunes in front of it) but it ain’t bad either – don’t blame my man for trying to expand his range a bit.Next up is “Come Close” which is an ode to “that special lady” that sands down the LP’s rough edges. On this one Common takes a detour onto the expressway of love to cruise on down “it’s better than ever street.” I’m quite sure this piece will be used as background music for many a booty call to speak on behalf of those less effusive than Mr. Lynn but back to the song. The lyrics and the music hearken back to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebaum” - keyboard vamps and all (sans the sitar). The rapper shouldn’t worry about getting airplay with this one (gotta pay the light bills somehow) and despite its pop-radio friendliness it’s an alright jam - Mary J. Blige’s vocal contribution doesn’t hurt it either.The first word that came to mind when I heard “New Wave” was a deep and resounding DIFFERENT! Common joins forces with Laetitia Sadler (from Stereolab) and starts this one out with a feel that’s from Beyond Thunderdome. Arms akimbo (lyrically) Common continues to rally against the status quo and the darkness therein. As the musical shroud continues to weave itself, the song’s chorus cuts through like (forgive me) a ray of hope. At first it seems incongruous to what’s going on but ultimately settles snugly into the whole scheme of things. Producer ?uestlove was definitely on the case with this one and we all know from his works with The Roots that he couldn’t fake the funk if he tried. The beats on this track are not hard per se but the message is. Hardcore heads might want to skip this one altogether but I suggest otherwise. Stay along for the ride because (again) Common comes “in through the out door” stylistically while lyrically managing to retain the crack-and-pop of a straight-edged wordsmith. Check this one with a fine-toothed comb, I’m sure you’ll find nuggets of hip hop gold when you look.“Star 69 (PS I w/ Love)” is another love song (!) that features Bilal and Prince’s influence on Common can be clearly heard in the verbiage. This song’s sonic foundation leans heavily on the bass lines from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” (thanks to Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernie Edwards who worked on it) but all these things can’t push this song beyond “filler” status. When Common went to record the next piece, “I Got a Right Ta”, the muse was definitely sitting on his shoulders (or at least the mixing boards) in the studio. This song splices chitlin’-circuit blues (harmonica and all) to a groove that is also derived from the mother of rock-n-roll which is F-R-E-S-H. Conceptually it is another treatise on “keeping it real” via rhymes that are on point with a catchy refrain but the real star on this one is the supporting mix of acoustic textures. “Between Me, You & Liberation” deals with some heavy subject matter and Common, to his credit, delves right in. Here he cites the test of faith a bystander endures while watching a loved one slowly die from an incurable disease. Themes like this have become anathema to the performing masses in hip hop (hip pop?) because only a handful of artists are brave/ profound enough to even touch on it (Michael Franti, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill or Talib Kweli) in an involved manner. Common pulls it off without a hitch by broad stroking with gut-wrenching scenarios that are highlighted by poignant insights – “I stare with my eyes closed wondering when the body leaves does the mind go.” Common works his craft and takes you there which any artist worth his salt be able to do – there’s a beautiful flute outro too.In the wake of the previous track’s foreboding patina, Common perks it up by plumbing the depths of his musical roots, yet again. This time he reaches the heyday of Dixieland Jazz- keep reading, he goes somewhere with it. The song begins with a trumpet/ clarinet riff that Satchmo (Louis Armstrong) would be proud to hear. Jill Scott lends her vocal talents on the effort in a way that will pleasantly surprise the older heads. She sheds her “urban-street-queen” persona and revels in one reminiscent of Roberta Flack (a la “Feel Like Making Love”) which was a good call for this particular piece. Common and co. pay tribute to the trailblazers in music who paved the way for them. “I coulda got a mill and ran, but like Sly for the fam I still stand.” Word is bond and to keep things flowing at a proper pace this slice fittingly slides into “Jimi was a Rock Star.”I must admit, I read the title “Jimi Was a Rock Star” and held my breath. I really hoped that the rapper would really do Hendrix justice – you know it took a while for many of his people to catch on to what Hendrix was doing back in his day. The two minute long (re) “verbed-out” opening stays true to Jimi’s ever-experimental styling while retaining a hip hop context that sets the stage without giving everything away. Fabulous! As you might already have heard, Hendrix liked to vocally harmonize on sustained notes he struck on his axe which wasn’t lost on Common. He infuses that trademark aesthetic into this “shout out” with Eryka Badu’s help. The song’s guitar-based outro is phat - proper, hot and all that – done like “old long arms” might have and production even managed to sneak in Jimi’s trademark speaker switching mid-solo which Hendrix fans will instantly recognize. This was another well placed step for the rapper, I was not disappointed in the least and besides, my man puts it best – Jimi was God!The LP closes on an upful note whith the epic “Heaven Somewhere” featuring the vocals of Omar, Cee Lo, Bilal, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige and Jill Scott. This one’s starts out on the spoken word tip and then evolves into a gospel testifying of sorts – there’s a vocal breakdown in the middle that’s smoove and I liked hearing the older man’s view of “what Heaven is.” Just over ten minutes long, it’s a hip hop blues, poem and mission statement all rolled in one – I’m feeling that.Electric Circus shows that Common as a lot of sense when it comes to making meaningful hip hop. All in all, this entire album was a great listen both lyrically and musically. The emcee continues to expand his sonic palette – as well as that of the hip hop genre as a whole. His proclivity for trying new approaches shouldn’t be taken for granted as “just plain ole eclecticism” because it isn’t. Many of his contemporaries might listen to lot of stuff for ideas but very few of them are bold enough to straight out incorporate them into their releases but Common goes the other way and stitches a wide array of popular sounds into the tapestry of his work. While his brand of hip hop blatantly defies convention at some points or strictly adheres to the standard blueprint at others, it never does both simultaneously in either case (or through an entire song for that matter). Imagine that, contemporary hip hop that challenges the listener! Rare is the album that inspires the writer to “get mad and put it down on a pad to give ‘em something that they never had” and this is one of them. I think “Electric Circus” is a great listen and if it’s a sign of what’s around the corner, get ready fo’ tha shizz-nizzle. Still, in the meantime and in between time, get yourself a copy of this plate PDQ, ‘cause like my man said “Your time is a terrible thing to waste.”
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