We’ve talked at length about this song and video already and after getting a preview a few weeks back, we now the full version for Common‘s “Universal Mind Control” featuring Pharrell. The video was directed by Hype Williams and is equipped with video game type scenery, a dancing Robot, and a few other images I can’t wrap my brain around. Common’s LP Universal Mind Control is in stores November 11th.
Related:
• Audio: Common “Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)” ft Pharrell
• Video: Common “Announcement” feat. Pharrell
Good to see new stuff from Com Sense. I can definitely rock to this,
Beat and chorus remind me of Soul Sonic Force. This track will blow up a dance floor.
This ish is fresh
This is bad; the track is too simplistic, the rhymes are inaudible and too old school, and it seems as if P hit Common up with some warmed up leftovers. Damn, and I’m a Common fan.
I love it!!! I’m glad he ventured out and tried it
pharrell is the robot idiot lol
its like run dmc spitting over some robot ish. fresh
I’m sorry, what the #$%& was THAT?!?!?!
Note to Common:
So far, that’s 2 new joints produced by Pharell…listen very carefully. Never EVER EVER leave Kanye’s side. NEVER. I expect every other track on this album to be a Kanye track. You KNOW better, man! Pharell’s nice, but it’s just not for you. Go back to ‘Ye immediately.
Its cool, kinda oldscool sound, but i like him better on Kanye beats indeed. It is P in the video though, check the tattoo
That’s the JAM, dope vid, but (I don’t know about Com, I hope he don’t go too far to where it becomes a pop album) These two new joints scare me. It’s like once cats start acting, the music suffers (c) LL, Mos, etc. I hope the same doesn’t happen with him.
I cried … C’mon, what the fuck are you doing ?????
open mind shit! thats what tha world need!! peace & 1 luv!!!
com looks seriously confused about what he is meant to be doing in the video…
I do like the track though…
Not thrilled with the song. Video.. is I don’t know.. Eh?
The track is dope. Hmmm……well uh….the track is dope.
Hmmmm….maybe this is supposed to be the Gap commecial part deux? I guess, since he finally embraced the classic that is ELECTRIC CIRCUS, he [Common] figures going to “the left” isn’t that bad after all.
The track is dope.
It’s a funky beat, but I don’t think it suit’s Common’s style of flowing. Experimenting is cool, but just know your limitations. The beat is minimal and could probably do with more work, but I don’t make beats for a living so I can’t really judge.
Honestly it just barely a 3 out of 5 stars because it has potential. As for the video it was not impressive. After the
Anybody that starts judging my man on this was probably in the same crowd that hated on him for EC and then fronted like they never hated on him when he dropped BE and FF. I just saw him perform this in Toronto and i grew a HUGE respect for this track. This track was meant for him to rock on stage and get hype to. unlock the doors on your minds people!
this is what the track was meant for
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=99SRG7Qvp3A
Its something different for the time being shit man look around everything is so mundane!
love the song. video was pretty cool. i liked the preview better for some reason. i like pharrell’s robot face. even better than Daft Punk’s robot faces.
common did look confused though. like he was receiving some weird off-screen directions to pose or something. he looked like a deer in headlights.
shoulda been doing some more hype shit in the vid, cuz this song is bananas.
I love the song. The video is nice but it feels like it’s lacking the energy that this song has naturally. Common is a lil to chill in the video. He should’ve let loose a little more.
uhm…don’t know about this…beat is def and we need this type of music from concious mcs now and again….something to bang in the club so we are not always forced to justify wack mcs by saying well that is for the club…well wayne is wack but his beats well t-pain is trash but he bangs in the club …keep innovating com…not sure about this have to hear the whole cd could be innovation or him going more mainstream…interesting how that works….above all the video is fire and common is a legendary superlyrical mc lets not doubt him
vid sucked big time.
ROBOT IS THE FUTURE!!!!
kinda gay
white people will love it though
I get it. Futuristic shit is actually the past. Worm holes. Time travel. Wrap your mind around a J you’ll get it.
Robots going “Baw Wit da Baw….” I get it LOL.
Get high you’ll get by
This shit is fuckin ill…common is jus showin off his versatility…i love the video its different nd its showin the futuristic effect of the song..thanx hype williams for another great video…pharrel put it down on the beat…VA stand up!! common keep puttin it down wit the ill lyrics…yall stop hatin on my man…no homo…
I am suprised that he did a video with Hype after dogging him out on “I Love Hip-Hop”. Then Com comes with this. Now I love me some Common music but he didn’t come hard enough or strong enough. Actually never him nor Hype did. I hope they go back in and do some more. Lil X woulda gave him something fresh.
its alright, I like his use of the Gil Scott Heron in the lyrics, other than that it aint really doing it for me, *goes back to listening to elzhi’s the preface*
the vid is lame! no plot behind it. looks like some cheap animation work to me. and I’m missing the breakdancers…
good song though
G.O.O.D. Can’t wait for the album.
I mean the beat is sick, but the chorus and common trying to rap for the masses is lame…
vid’s ok, but I really like the tune. Nice to see he’s working with Pharell again, I always like his productions.
Did a couple cats just compare this to Electric Circus??? Hoooollllld everything! This ain’t no Electric Circus, just because it’s weird. Electric Circus was a Dilla masterpiece; this is a Pharell produced attempt to enter the CLUBS, and nothing more.
Yo this joint is hot. Common is always switching things up. Im really glad he teamed up with pharrell(one of the dopest producers out). This feels like a cross between the club bangers of 2008 and Bambata’s “Planet Rock”. You have to keep your mind open people. Now. I am super xcited about Commons new record and the state of Hip Hop.
Peace and One Love
THIS IS A NIGHTMARE. THIS CAN’T BE TRUE!!!
Why do I get the feeling this album is going to be a big cringe moment in Hip Hop history?
Stuck up people said “Planet Rock” was garbage when it came out too. Now we consider it innovative and a true hip-hop classic.
Wake up people from your prisons of redundancy!
1) This ain’t Planet Rock
2) Polio is historic, that don’t mean I want to be seeing that shit in 2008
3) This is the type of bullshit that leads to a rapper falling the fuck off, make some contrived track for MTV, it’s not for them and it sells one record cause you alienated your fan base
4) If you go to Pharell, chip in the extra 20k and get a dope beat; i could make this nonsense sliding my ass on a keyboard.
This shit’s fresh man. It’s nice to see common in different light. Artist grow and try different things and fans need to grow with them. And stop hating
I just know…there’s alot goin’ on in the world right now…In lookin’ back at hip-hop, ain’t no way we’re gonna be able to tell what’s goin’ on in the world. Regardless as to what you think about the current/former state of hip-hop, one would HAVE to at least acknowledge the fact that it’s always been about storytellin’.
But now, nobody’s tellin’ good stories! And don’t go into that “they’re trynna get paid” bit, ’cause if they were really trynna get paid, they would’ve have become artists. They’d have become managers, execs, or somethin’ on the business side of things.
That ain’t mind control…’s just…common sense…
I’m usually not like this but FUCK ALL YOU FUTHAMUCKIN HATERS!!! COMMON IS THE SHIT AND THAT NIGGA CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANT. This shit is so dope ya’ll dying from D.O.P.E overdoses. Common fans stand up! When this cd drop RUN OUT AND GET IT. Dig? And if ya got a problem wit me holla niggas damn. Dope emcee + Dope producer = TIGHT ASS SHIT A.K.A COMMON + PHARRELL
http://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ILLPROPHETIC
Yo, anybody who says this aint dope to death is tripping the fuck out.
Some people get mad when someone gets a hit destined to get played out on the radio, but I aint mad at the man. He struck dynamite with Pharell, and dropped a bunch of cash on the video because he knew he had a Certified Banger on his hands.
Ya, this will be radio, this will be MTV, but every now and then, the mainstream public gets it right.
This shit is the jam!
Dope as hell, but honestly this feels more like a Will.I.Am joint.
This is what im talkin about…evolution…Common continues to evolve as an artist….he jus keeps gettin better..i luv it….
-Nadiyah
I think you should back to the like water for chocolate zeal and passion in your music, Common. It seems to me more fam is controling your music instead of you 100%. Though, we are proud of your sucess!!! It’s good but not great like “water for chocolate” and “be”. Party music is fine. But, I think you could do it better. Thanks for you being you.
Hype could have made a better lokking video (add more color)
Love the song, but the vid could’ve expanded more with some actual breaking (robot or human), a few more different looks from Common and a hard hitting visual for the bangtothebangthebang…vocal. Also Hype needs to calm down on the heavy self promotion, like dude WE know YOU did the vid w/out your name popping up extra big in 2-3 shots.
I just saw Common last week in Atlanta. I think he is trying to get a bigger peice of the pop crowd………hence the video with a beat worth getting busy to and nobody getting busy……the content is not what I am used to from Common….Just a thought
Wow. For a site that is supposed to be by and for music lovers, there are a lot of people here that are CRAZY close minded. I mean, you guys are supposed to KNOW music and be passionate about it and focus on it and then all you do is sit back and wait for somebody to call a sell-out. That is really sad and ya’ll need to do some serious reflection on how you came to fall in love with Hip-Hop and music in general. Sure, this isn’t traditional Common, but that isn’t a bad thing. He’s not going to make the same song over and over and over, and even if he did do ‘I love h.e.r. pt.800′ you would all trip, saying he’s not being creative enough. Seriously ya’ll? Open your minds and try to find the good in some stuff once in a while. Trust me, you’ll be a lot better off.
get it get it…. I don’t fucking get it. There is no sense to the common…. Ever since I saw him dance on stage live I puke every time I hear his stuff.
well, I love BE and before, just to make things clear
I am really liking this. It’s good to see people mixing up there music and making it refreshing.
2 words for you SELL OUT
It’s funny how we see folks tagging this as “sell out” and “mainstream”…When Afrika Bambaataa and others made songs just like this, we called them the foundation of Hip Hop.
Just because it has a computerized beat and an expensive video…doesn’t mean it is sell out music.
Music Lover said it best. Open your minds, kids. Being pretentious armchair music critics is not productive. If you had any talent you’d be making fresh tracks like this one and not hating on the internets. Rise up, hip hop lovers!
BTW – This track is dope. Keep it coming, Com!
Mr. “Fuck This Wack Shit,” we’re waiting for a track that’s better than this.
Dope. Good to hear a track from Common again. Would be dope if Talib was on this, but this is still fire!
As I reminesce…Common Sense was my favorite.
As I think about it more, every “sense” Common was the complete name, I have been just digging him too, even though Electric Circus (the 5th CD) where he experimented and grew as an overall artists/performers/entertainer/activist.
It is clear in this creative video that Common servicing the same general audience he has for over a decade. “Where much is given, much is required.” —and boy do hip-hop heads live by this proverb.
For the record, I am not crazy about the beat, though it is fly in its own way. I do see how the beat, production, lyrics, and images can reach a crossover market (which Common clearly has established through hard work and integrity in music, film, community, education, etc).
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Wow, I guess none of you guys change and evolve as you get older, this is hip hop at it’s finest. It’s old with the new. The video is clean and very high tech. When people down grade things like this I just don’t what to think. Trust me the Man knows what he’s doing far better than any of us do, let him do his thing, sit back and enloy. Stop HATING ON PEOPLE WHEN THEY GET FAMOUS, UNDER GROUND PEOPLE DON’T EAT FOOL
Wasn’t feeling it on first viewing- i give it to Com he’s stepping out of his comfort zone- or the zone we always associate him with by changing up the production style. I’d still say this is fresh as he keeps it B Boy with the rhymes, which I do like. It is a little “hyphy” but hell he’s better than 90% of rappers in the spotlight so i’d say more power to him.
I just watched com’s performance on BET HIP HOP AWARDS….HE KILLED IT!!! NOW I LOVE THE SONG!!! LYRICS were different, old school, and dope all at the same time. PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER VIDEO!!!! this one could of been better.
nah nah it aint about the video or the style or nothin like that, its about the fact that the video starts with a zune and common signed a contract with microsoft in their quest to be coool!!
microsoft is one of the biggest if not nastiest coprporations out there and your boy common is now on their payroll
I stopped listening to Common after Dilla passed.
Common is a sell out, what next? Nelly and Common.
He’s wack! South African Boy With Karisma- Romz
Dope video…Dope track…I dont see nothing sell out about it..Props to the Bredren for trying a new flex!!!!
Love
Hate
Love
Hate
Yeah he sold out to Gap, and I probably won’t ever forgive him for that. But we all got bills. This collab btw NERD and Common is undeniably hot. The people who hate it are like cantankerous old men complaining about how much better things were back in the day, and yelling at the young whippersnappers to get off their lawn. Move on, people. Artists like Common change with time, and that’s a good thing.
I can’t wait for the album, from what I’ve heard so far…
I actually don’t like this at all…. this like some 80′s rave/techno music… this is not hot at all
Hype flopped on this video big time.
Quick response to all of this talk about “selling out”. That noise can fucking rest. Just cause he’s getting a little paper! Hiphop “sold out” back in ’96: Pete Rock and CL Smooth and Grand Puba sold out when they did that fucking Sprite commercial. Wu-Tang Clan sold out when they was fucking with St. Ides. But lemme guess you thought that was acceptable right? Let the man live his life.
I have an exercise for you: hold yourself by the standards that you hold these artists and reflect back to the last time that YOU may have “sold out”. Guilty, right?
If you having trouble with that one then ponder this: When was the last time that you wished that you were famous and have the OPPORTUNITY to “sell out”. It was probably the last time that you paid your rent.
GTFOH.
Lily Kane said”
“Yeah he sold out to Gap, and I probably won’t ever forgive him for that.”
Pssh, like he killed your moms and raped your sister.He did a clothing commercial. Sit down. Did Run-D.M.C. kill hip-hop when they did “My Adidas”?
people need to stop with the foolishness. Common cant be the same guy he was 5 albums ago…if he was everyone would be crying bloody murder saying things like “what happened to the innovator?” Well common is trying out some new things thats really the end of the story. He is a legend in the game he can do what he wants. If the Roots suddenly decided to do an album without alot of real instrumentation and ?uesto solos would you stop listening to them as a group?
bottom line…if you really love the music of the artist you stick by the artist even if they make decisions contrary to your taste…(they may be trying to show you something new that you might fall in love with)…thats the difference between a fan and some one who actually respects the artist and loves their music…..
i love this track. perfect for this years motto. “CHANGE!”
hiphop is dead this is shit it seems real hiphop died with YO!mtv raps
Common is the Dude….all he is doing is bringing it back old school ala Soulsonic Force , maybe some of yall are too young to hear it…you should have been there it was a beautiful time in hip hop…this is like some perfect breakin music…dont hate just listen to some old school, back in the day shit and you just might understand where this is coming from..pieces
I’m wishing he gave that beat to Lupe.
Okay song. Horrible video. Beat is dope. Lyrics wack. Overall, not feeling it. I’m disappointed by what Com’s offered up so far on this album.
He’s an artist, artist are always trying new things.
Its a hot song, something different and not the same old thing.
I don’t know man I like it.. it ain’t classic but its catchy
Some of you clowns are hillarious….just because a brilliant artist like Common is starting to get the spotlight and shining hes all the sudden a sellout…this song is fresh and something way out of the element of today’s “cRap” music…and its not like Common has shyed away from experimental hip hop…did you guys forget Electric Circus!!! Breath of Fresh air from the Sense once again!
wao—————this klip..old school afrikaa bambaata style wars..common go go..supa dupa album……………
Yo,
While the beat to this song is fire and the whole old school concept is tight. The lyrics don’t go anywhere. Why is that the words have to be fluff because the concept is old school. Couldn’t he have just written that skillful ish we are hoping for from Common. Cats like Divine Styler rock over upbeat grooves like this and actually speak about universal mind control. The higher self coming into the light through meditation. Face it! Go listen to the CD. He made the wrong album for the right time. He could have made some powerful commentary on the state of things with a black president coming out of his town. Instead he is telling us to dance because he is out of touch. I want to dance! But right now I’d rather make sure folks can eat, the country is still here and that hip hop as a whole grows up and offers the world some intelligence in an era when it is sorely needed!
asalaam alkum,am chillin out in arica listenin 2 common sense.he’s bringin the future but i dnt believe in robotization
I know this album has been getting alot of negative reviews, but i think its really good.
this sucks. not because he sold out or anything like that. get money by all means. i think yall giving dude a pass because he’s common, and that aint a bad reason, coz dude is a legend.
but this just sucks because it sucks. i love bam like everyone else. but the planet rock record was HARD. this aint hard, not even on artpop or dance music standards.
pharrell just gave u a brick my dude. maybe not on purpose. maybe you just accepted one. maybe you handpicked that one. who knows?
listen to what that dude gives clipse. listen to that NERD shit. he got a fire ass song with jeezy right now. i know he got heatrocks. he just gave em to the cats thats willing to pay more.
and this should be in the step your rap game up hall of fame. i get what you are trying to do but leave the simple shit to the simple niggas.
yeah tribute to the 80′s blah blah blah. this is 2008. rap has evolved leaps and bounds. we don’t need the next run-dmc. we need someone to take us to the future and make shit the likes of which we never heard before. u got more to offer the world.
i was sayin to my boy the other day if common was a new artist that came out today i would think he was corny as fuck. i’m still a fan but i dunno how much longer if this is the new direction.
thats my opinion. i’ll leave it to the rest of you to get mad and act like yours is more important
uno
I came back to this board after I heard the album, just to say how much I HATE it. This album is so wack on that “I’m tryin’ to sound relevant” ish, that when he finally comes up with a semi-intelligent song towards the end of the album, in my head I’m like “yeah whateva nigga…you was just actin a FOOL for the past 10-plus tracks and now you want me to listen to someting you think is important?” Like, why would I give this guy any more credibility than I would with the next radio-hit artist? ‘Cause he’s Common? This was a wack attempt at trying to hit the mainstream…and sadly, it worked.
This is that old school Common Sense. That’s what’s up. What ya’ll know about the old Common Sense.
ugh, WHACK
My mom used to say to me:
“Keep yourself away from bad influences”
Com… Keep yourself away from Kanye
This is the beginning of the end of hip hop as we know it?
Please MTV rap, stop killing hip hop!
btw – this makes me ask my self 2 things:
1)What would think Mos about this? (could be interesting to know it)
2)Was the Dilla’s take over the end of real hip hop?
Thanks Q-tip for still being part of the “resistance”, great new shit.
@ D:
I disagree with what you said about ‘Ye…when he linked up with Common, they came up with some of Com’s best stuff. His ‘Be’ album is arguably his best album, top to bottom. But when he worked extensively with Pharrell, like this new album, his music tanked. But this is Com’s fault – listening to recent interviews, he sounds like this is exactly what he wanted, so…
MTV is RUNNIN this rap shit
and its doing a bad fuckin job…