Four years have passed since Common’s last album, and he has returned with a funky, melodic new album, “Electric Circus.”

The album is filled with a compilation of songs unexpected by Common fans. He has expanded his musical flavor in new directions including funk, R&B and even a techno-like sound. Common’s diversity of music types is evident while listening to this album.

-Many well-known artists collaborate with Common on the album, giving it a variety of unique jams – big-name artists such as Erykah Badu, Bilal, Sonny from P.O.D., Mary J. Blige, Cee-lo, Jill Scott and even a song with Prince. The first single, “Come Close,” featuring Blige, is described by Common as a “fly love song.” The song has extremely poetic lyrics and a soothing melodic flow making it one of the best tracks on the album. The single was produced by the well-known Neptunes.

Common, however, does something very unusual on this album on a track named “Soul Power.” The song is a diss on rapper Ja Rule.

Common speaks his mind about his feelings toward Ja by saying things such as, “My rap’s a portal for the blue collar/ you made a hit and came up on a few dollars/ I’d rather listen to silence than you ‘Holla’/ borrowed your persona from the late that made ‘Dear Mama.'”

Common reveals his ideas about his beliefs that the hip-hop world is being taken over by rappers who are defiling the music. Common has taken a step in a new direction on “Electric Circus.” He really proves that he can make any type of music sound good. He may have taken a different approach than expected on this album, but he did an excellent job.

No one could explain this album better than Common himself, “I didn’t just cross over; I made my own lane.”.