dropping december 8th. quite unimaginative artwork though. but we’re alle exicted about the release and hope that each song is about five minutes or longer. if not, the album would be quite short. but perhaps that’s what common wants. half an hour of incredible hip hop.

Tracklist:

01 Universal Mind Control
02 Punch Drunk Love f. Kanye West
03 Make My Day f. Cee-Lo Green
04 Sex 4 Sugar
05 Announcement f. Pharrell
06 Gladiator
07 Changes
08 Inhale
09 What a World
10 Everywhere

this is the beginning. this is the very early common (sense).

Apparently, this is the demo that got Common’s placement in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source way back in ‘91-’92.¹

Tracklist:

1. First Days Of New School
2. Take It Easy (Demo Version)
3. 2 The Temple
4. Who Stole The Clippers
5. The Caravan Train
6. Divide And Conquer
7. A For Effort

enjoy!

free download

1. fake shore drive [↩]

i’m not so fond of the song itself. but i do respect its freshness. ah, know what? fuck it. it’s a great song. yeah, that’s how hip hop sounds in the 21st century. universal world mind control will be a dope album. video is more than fresh to death. it’s extraordinary.

It was feeling like an album to me. And unfortunately, we missed the summer release. So I was like, ‘It can’t be called Invincible Summer anymore.’ And Universal Mind Control is the name of one of the songs. I like that for an album title. It kind of describes the music too. [The song] sounds futuristic, but it has an Afrika Bambaataa feel to it.¹

1. mzee.com - Common ändert Album-Titel / Release im November [↩]

decent song and very interesting video concept. man that’s fresh. hell yeah.

Ein paar Tracknamen von Commons neuem Album Invincible Summer haben den Weg in die Öffentlichkeit geschafft:

Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)
Make My Day feat. Cee-Lo
Punch Love
What A World feat. Chester French
Changes
Party Shit
Dreaming
Runaway feat. Santogold

Common meint dazu:

I created this music for the summer time, it’s about feeling good. This is the type of music I felt was missing from my body of work.
[...]
Kanye was focusing on his ‘Glow in the Dark’ show, so he hasn’t been able to make it to the studio to weigh in. But it worked out well, organically. The Neptunes & Mr. DJ came up with a fresh sound for me.¹

1. Billboard - Common Previews ‘Invincible’ New Album [↩]

Common arbeitet an seinem neuen Album, The Believer, das im November erscheinen soll:

“I’m looking around November. I’m working on a new album called The Believer. I’m just getting in the mode. I been touring a lot and been working on verses here and there. Now, I’m starting to get focused on the album, letting it take its shape. And at the same time [I'll] be working on films, God willing.”

Daneben hat er auch ein Album mit Q-Tip in Planung:

“Q-Tip and I been planning the Standard album. We been conceptualizing, but we just gotta continue to work on it. We will. I look at it like two jazz musicians getting together, the way Charlie Parker and cats would get together and do work. I feel a lot more free with my music now that I’m doing films and stuff, because I don’t put as much pressure on the music. It ain’t my only source of income and way to make a living.”

mtv - Common Plans To Drop New Album In November — In Between Acting Gigs

Common lanciert einen Wettbewerb names “A Minute”, bei dem Fans, Lyricists und Poeten Gedichte oder Songtexte einsenden dürfen, die sich damit beschäftigen, wieso es so wichtig ist, sich auf HIV testen zu lassen.

Common dazu:

“It’s important to know your status by getting tested because HIV/AIDS is taking a lot of lives in our community and around the world. I had an uncle succumb to HIV, so I’ve personally felt the impact of the disease. Your lyrics can really have an affect on people’s lives and I’ve seen it happen.”

Ian Rowe von MTV, das den Wettbewerb mitvorganisiert, dazu.

“This contest offers our audience an amazing way to bring their words to life - through Common’s voice - and will serve as a powerful way to drive home the importance of getting tested. Aside from being a groundbreaking artist and notable actor, Common has proven to be a true leader in the fight to break the stigma associated with HIV testing, and we’re proud to partner with him on this cause.”

allhiphop - Common Offers Fans A Chance To Write Lyrics

Kostet diesen verfluchten Freitag aus und geniesst diesen Kurzfilm:

real talk ny - Common Testify (9 Minute Short Film)

Another Classic: