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Critic Reviews
100
Electric Circus feels like an epochal blueprint for what hip-hop can be: it is visceral, genuinely experimental and fascinatingly odd while remaining, essentially, a pop record.
8y
100
Although he can be self-righteous, scattered, and grim, a team of truly youthful-minded producers is there to color the gray.
10y
80
Electric Circus does suffer from that which ails many contemporary hip-hop albums -- too many guests and a generally lengthy program drag this one down a tad. Nonetheless, Electric Circus is a brave and ruthless statement wrapped in sincerity.
11y
80
Common has just gone way, way off the hip-hop map.
11y
80
Common channels the ghosts of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison to achieve a post-gangsta rap hybrid unlike anything else out today.
11y
80
Even the psychedelic overreach shows a most uncommon artist at work.
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3y
80
To be filed alongside the Root's recent Phrenology.
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3y
80
It's unlike anything else out there, and when it works, it's astonishing. Unlike, say, the Roots, though, Common often sounds too smart and eclectic for his own good, like he's just experimenting for the sake of it.
9y
80
If you like conscious rap mixed with a fresh, original sound, you should dig this.
5y
80
It works ... stretching rap into weird new shapes.
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3y
70
He needs to go the fuck back to Chicago and get with his old crew again; cause this shit ain’t working.
1y
65
This time out, Com comes off as alternately uncomfortable and downright lazy, half-speaking-- or worse, singing-- new-age revelations to the masses.
11y
60
The storytelling here isn't as sharp as on Common's previous albums.
11y
60
Somehow, Common makes it all fly, breaking hip-hop rules with a freewheeling fearlessness worthy of his guitar-god muse.
11y
We really need a chapter in hip hop that goes over all the potential other outcomes that would've been present had Erykah Badu not pussy whipped all the top tier MC's that she did. How the hell do you go from Like Water For Chocolate to this *without* losing Dilla or Questlove?
Common's previous project, Like Water For Chocolate, is considered by many people (including myself) to be one of hip hop's all time greatest albums. It got lots of critical acclaim, and is still loved by so many nearly 23 years since it's released. Common could’ve easily replicated this sound and made LWFC 2, but decided to take a risk and make his most unique, experimental project to date. The outcome: one of the most forward thinking rap albums of the 2000s. Even just the album cover ... read more
This is Common's Phrenology. His first 4 albums had a clear progression in sound and content, and this album really threw that off. There are a lot of good moments, and I acknowledge the talent and creativity behind this, but unfortunately this album falls too far from my taste in music to give it anything higher than this.
Great work, it's common at the end of the day, but he didn't go all the way with it though.
Contributions By
patton, royalflush, Alejandro González, Gringoamericano, erik, MarkyC, OPENblinds, asianboyian, LazersBecome a Subscriber
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Track List
| 1 | Ferris Wheel 2:48 feat. Vinia Mojica, Marie Daulne | 74 |
| 2 | Soul Power 4:12 | 78 |
| 3 | Aquarius 4:54 feat. Bilal | 91 |
| 4 | Electric Wire Hustle Flower 5:28 feat. Sonny Sandoval | 72 |
| 5 | The Hustle 4:20 feat. Dart Chillz, Omar Lye-Fook | 73 |
| 6 | Come Close 4:35 feat. Mary J. Blige | 85 |
| 7 | New Wave 5:08 feat. Lætitia Sadier | 76 |
| 8 | Star * 69 (PS With Love) 5:30 feat. Bilal | 62 |
| 9 | I Got A Right Ta 4:54 feat. Pharrell Williams | 66 |
| 10 | Between Me, You & Liberation 6:23 feat. Cee-Lo Green | 73 |
| 11 | I Am Music 5:12 feat. Jill Scott | 80 |
| 12 | Jimi Was A Rock Star 8:32 feat. Erykah Badu | 44 |
| 13 | Heaven Somewhere 10:24 | 67 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 12 minutes
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