With all the musical invention on display here, there is one notable flaw in the album--the lyrics. Common is an artist known for his lyrics, a "rapper's rapper" as they say. On this album, though, the lyrics took kind of a back seat to the sound. The lyrics aren't bad by any means, but they aren't exactly what many would expect to hear from Common. The man who once said "In a circle of faggots, your name is mentioned" in a song shows sympathy/empathy for homosexuals on a verse in "Between Me, You & Liberation." The man known for his battle with Ice Cube and for "I Used To Love H.E.R." is rapping on a song called "Aquarius." It probably left some fans wondering "What kind of stuff is this?"

Ultimately, hip-hop is not a genre that rewards artists for trying new things most of the time. Experimenting is considered a bad thing and normally doesn't yield high record sales. OutKast is the exception to the rule but as a duo, the two of them balance each other out. If Big Boi was as daring as Andre 3000, they would never have sold as many records as they have. I'm not trying to say that hip-hop isn't good if it isn't different. You can make great music without necessarily reinventing the wheel. You can even create new sounds without being radically different. Kanye West's key to success has been to primarily sample old soul songs and speed them up. Hip-hop has sampled old soul songs for years, but Kanye found a new, creative way to do it...and ended up creating a sound of his own.

I think Electric Circus will be remembered as a daring, creative, and underrated album. It isn't an album for everyone. No other hip-hop album sounds like it...literally. Instead of hurting Common, it really added to his legacy. It shows just how flexible, creative, and damn near brilliant he actually is. Few artists of any genre could produce an album such as this and even fewer artists could bounce back from the commercial disappointment and make a new album that is friendlier to the mainstream without compromising. Every Common album I've heard has been a joy to listen to and I hope that Common continues to make music for a long, long time.