On Universal Mind Control, Common tests himself with a batch of electronic-infused beats, as the conscious rapper calls upon The Neptunes to help push him out of his comfort zone. Pharrell and Chad channel Afrika Bambaataa’s pioneering electro-funk on the pulsating title track, and their funky licks and thumping percussion tease out a more barbed, boastful Common on “Announcement.” The more gleeful “Changes” finds the MC at his politically engaged best, as he celebrates the rise of his fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.