Watching rapper/actor Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. (Common) on the Academy Awards red carpet dressed in a navy velvet Prada tuxedo, I rewound back to the first time I met him back in 2002. Standing in the lounge of famed recording studios Electric Lady on 8th Street in New York City, he shook my hand. “What’s up?” Cool as an intergalactic mack b-boy, Common was dressed in lime green vintage Pro-Keds sneakers, Adidas sweat pants and a knit orange hat. Moments later, I followed him down the long hallway to Studio B where he and the production crew, the Soulquarians, recorded his then-upcoming psychedelic free jazz mau mau of the moment Electric Circus.

The Soulquarians were a rotating collective spearheaded by Questlove that included late beat master J. Dilla, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, rapper/producer Mos Def, singer/producerErykah Badu, multi-instrumentalist D’Angelo, keyboardist James Poyser, rapper Talib Kweli, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, and rap/producer Q-Tip, whose Native Tongues group A Tribe Called Quest had inspired them all. A crew of aural avengers, they were sonic experimenters on a mission to launch the next generation of black bohemians.

After the gold-selling success of Like Water for Chocolate in 2000, which, like Electric Circus, was executive produced by Questlove, their mutual record label MCA expected crossover greatness. Yet, having heard the first single, a wack Neptunes-produced Mary J. Blige duet called “Come Close,” I had no expectations at all.

The record Common ultimately delivered, was a sprawling, messy disc crammed with electro distortion, Astro dub machine drones, turntable scratches, screaming guitars, Joni Mitchell-inspired lyricism, African chants and aesthetics, pimpin’ politics, sample science and spacey spirituality. Like jazz critics struck deaf by Miles Davis’ breaking glass bop bizzaro On the Corner or rock reviewers retching to Lou Reed’s abrasive Metal Machine Music, Electric Circus was called self indulgent, over-produced and crazy. In Questlove’s autobiography Mo Meta Blues, he said, Common had, “…an appetite for experimentation. He was interested in experimenting in a way I had never heard before, from him or anyone.”

http://www.redbullmusicac...d=13089303

That was a good piece of work.

I'm not sure Rash is doing himself any favors with the recent comments that he has made.

I'm trying to figure out what is thought process is these days.

Dude seems like he is going through some changes lately.

I wonder if it will have an impact on his art.

Electric Circus unfairly got a bad rap. I thought it was a good followup yo
LWFC. I think Common is still dedicated to his craft but he is dedicating himself to acting. He never wanted to get into producing. He preferred to act as his second love.

be clear though...Common is a HORRIBLE actor

Just Wright

Date Night

smoking aces

terminator: salvation

Selma

any movie he has been in, he was AWFUL

and im a major fan of his music...Son just better make sure he doesnt quit his day job, because acting clearly isnt his calling

[Edited 3/24/15 14:38pm]

Graycap23 said:

That was a good piece of work.

I'm not sure Rash is doing himself any favors with the recent comments that he has made.

I'm trying to figure out what is thought process is these days.

Dude seems like he is going through some changes lately.

I wonder if it will have an impact on his art.

Agreed. EC is not Common's best album by my estimation, but it will be appreciated more over time, and probably is in the top tier of his albums (which IMO include Resurrection (still his definitive album) and Like Water for Chocolate).

[Edited 3/25/15 17:14pm]