Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(53/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau
Entertainment Weekly	C
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
Pitchfork Media	2.8/10
PopMatters	3/10
RapReviews	5.5/10
Rolling Stone
Sputnikmusic	(1.5/5)
Vibe
Yahoo! Music UK

Universal Mind Control is Common's eighth studio album. Originally scheduled to be released on June 24, 2008 under the name Invincible Summer, the release date was pushed back to September 30, 2008 due to Common filming Wanted. However, on September 10, 2008, it was announced that the title would be changed to Universal Mind Control and the release date was set for November 11, 2008. Later, the release was pushed back to December 9, 2008.

The album's first single, titled "Universal Mind Control", was officially released on July 1, 2008 via the US iTunes Store as part of the Announcement EP (sold as "Universal Mind Control-EP" in the UK). The song features Pharrell. The Announcement EP included an additional track titled "Announcement". The video for "Universal Mind Control" was filmed in September by director Hype Williams. The album was sold for 79 points (roughly $.99) on Zune Marketplace to help promote the album.

In 2010, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album but lost to the Eminem album Relapse.

Billboard magazine has described the sound as "electro-tinged" and "techno-inspired." The album has largely divided critics and fans, with Pitchfork awarding just 2.8 out of 10, yet The Guardian gave it 4 stars of out 5; USA Today gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars;Spin gave it seven out of ten; and XXL gave it three out of five stars.Metacritic, the score aggregator, calculated a score of 53 out of 100, indicating mixed to average reviews.

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Wikipedia