Electric Circus

Common

MCA Records

Electric…

Electric Circus

Common

MCA Records

Electric Circus starts out like the soundtrack to an underwater ferris wheel, accompanied by the Africana-tinged vocals of Zap Mama. Suddenly, a tribal beat sample splurges into the mix and the “Ferris Wheel” emerges from the water, revealing a fired-up Common, rhyming over two-step beats and video game-ish synth lines.

From then on in, each and every song blends into one another so artfully that the transitions are barely noticeable. Tribal beats reenter with electric pianos and serene guitars for the ethereal “Aquarius,” while a full choir backs the dark rock orchestra that follows on “Electric Wire Hustle Flower.”

Joining Common on his fifth album are hip-hop’s elite. The Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and multi-instrumentalist James Poyser share the songwriting and production credits. Erykah Badu, Bilal and Cee-Lo appear on multiple songs, while Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, and Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier drop in for vocal support. Hell, Prince is even on this album. With the cast of musical all-stars enlisted for Electric Circus, there’s no way it could have come out sounding anything but good.

A handful of these songs were recorded at Jimi Hendrix’s famed Electric Lady Studios, which surely contributed to the musical and conceptual vibrancy of this album. Hendrix’s influence is certainly apparent, and most obviously seen in the epic noise experimentation of “Jimi Was a Rock Star,” in which Erykah Badu leads a chanting chorus who asks “Jimi to come back and set [them] free.”

Oddly enough, Common is probably the least intriguing thing about this album, being as his words take a clear backseat to the record’s musical drive. Fortunately for Common, this speaks more for the audacity of Circus‘s music, than for the inferiority of his lyricism.

Amid a scene of mainstream rappers whom he dubs “better off with a clothing line,” Common has put together a record that’s brimming with talent and eclecticism. Electric Circus succeeds brilliantly in its artistic ambition and poses a fine argument for the future of hip-hop.