At the age of 20, he released his debut album Can I Borrow A Dollar (1992), which many believe did not get the appreciation it deserved. Common received real recognition after the release of his second album Resurrection, which many hip-hop fans put next to records like Ready To Die by The Notorious BIG and Illmatic by Nas. Commercial success failed to materialize, however, until Common (real name:
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr) in collaboration with Kanye West gave us one of the best albums of the year 2005. Finding Forever (2007) was not a spectacular aftershock, but a worthy successor nonetheless. Universal Mind Control shows a Common that is ready for renewal and would like some club hits to its name. For this he called in production team The Neptunes. In addition, Mr. DJ - known for his material for Outkast - signed a number of tracks. The nods to other genres and eras testify to guts and tracks like Changes, Inhale and Everywhere prove that it is good to explore unknown territory every now and then. (GL)more
