Common GO! THE BEST OF (EX)

Recording information: Derrty Studios, St. Louis, MO; Electric Lady, New York, NY; Encore Studios, Burbank, CA; Right Track Recording Studios, New York, NY; Roundhead Studios, Auckland, New Zealand; Sing Sing Recording Studios, Melbourne, Australia; Sony Studios, New York, NY; South Beach Studios, Miami, FL; Studio A, Dearborn Heights, MI; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographers: Greg Scaffidi; Nabil .
The bulk of this 50-minute compilation is somewhere between a sampler and an imperfect best-of covering Common's albums from 2000 through 2008. Like Water for Chocolate (2000), Electric Circus (2002), and Universal Mind Control (2008) are represented with one song each, while songs off Be (2005) and Finding Forever (2007) combine to make up over half the content. The material not pulled from Common's albums amounts to "The Bitch in Yoo" (the Pete Rock-produced dis track shot at Ice Cube), "Love of My Life" (Erykah Badu featuring Common, from the Brown Sugar soundtrack), and "Next Time (Just Right Version)" (a new laid-back cut produced by James Poyser that features background vocals from Queen Latifah). ~ Andy Kellman

• Format: CD
• Genre: R&B