Common lyrically wasn’t as great as he was on BE, but he still gave us some amazing music on this album. There are songs here that I could do without, like “Drivin Me Wild” and “Start The Show” but overall, when it first dropped, I loved the album. It’s a really good album, but feels a bit too similar to BE, and doesn’t sound AS good as it. I debated putting this album lower, but couldn’t do it.

While there are some songs here that are completely off the mark, overall I think is a good project, just an acquired taste. Tracks like “Aquarius”, “Soul Power”, “The Hustle”, “Star 69 (PS With Love)”, and “Between Me, You, and Liberation” are highlights for me, and the final track “Heaven Somewhere” is amazing. Influenced by his inspiration from Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Pink Floyd, and others, Common showed us a different side musically and the result was something abstract. It was literally everything all rolled into one album and that would definitely rub some listeners the wrong way. Spiritual but underlying sexual in a way. I personally like this album and do not agree with the slander against it, but I do understand how it may have rubbed some fans of Common the wrong way. He’s due a misstep every decade or so, and this apparently is his first one overall. This is here because it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t a misstep for Common, much like UMC.

It takes a big hit however due to the lyricism having a small decline compared to his usual. Overall, this is Common’s worst, but it still has some decent moments. Those songs were very enjoyable listens, and I just wish Common had focused a bit more and cut down on some of the sexual content in favor of just overall dope songs, because a few of the songs, like “Sex 4 Suga” and “Punch Drunk Love” sound forced. His lyrics take a hit here, and get reduced to being middle of the road, but I did enjoy three songs here, “Make My Day”, “Inhale”, and “Changes”. The production is interesting, as there’s electro and techno elements within it, but it doesn’t mesh well with Common at all. He warned that the album was more of a feel-good album, rooted more so in a party element, sexually tinged, and more fun than his usual heavy topic albums, but this one just misses the mark completely. I wanted to hear Common at his best, but knew from the jump that this album would be a tough sell. I remember hearing this album and being severely disappointed.

Common be album download