Be

‘Be’ is notable for being my first real sustained look (and listen) to Kanye West in any capacity, as he handles most of the production duties here, whilst also appearing on several tracks. As for the actual album itself, there’s nothing really ground-breaking on it in my opinion. ‘Be’ is just a solid album and a mercifully concise one at that which never overstays its welcome the way a lot of rap albums tend to.

liked this more than I thought I would

Not what I was expecting, a lot more listenable and enjoyable. Not something I would listen to frequently but still better than other albums of this genre

3.5

Decent Album, features Ye. Easy listen

Reminds me of Kanye

Wasn't what I thought it would be.

Maybe if Common had chosen the name Unique or Special his music would stand out more. Instead it’s kind of common. Which isn’t bad, it just doesn’t stand out enough amongst his contemporaries. It was fine until Kanye showed up, and though this is pre-problematic Kanye it seemed like Ye’s voice and style overtook what little Common had going for him at that point.

*Faithful A lot more Kanye than I was expecting. Don’t know anything about this but always thought about Lupe Fiasco.

Смесь довольно ненавязчивого речитатива с фоновым мягким фанком. Вася В слямзил свой Царский Альбом с некоторых треков Коммона

I'm already very familiar with Common circa late 90s through the aughts. Back in my college days I used to love conscious backpack rap. I saw many greats at the First Unitarian Church in Philly - Murs, Atmosphere, Aesop, Blackalicious, etc. IMO Like Water for Chocolate is Common's magnum opus. It's the perfect hip hop album. Be is still pretty good. The production is peak Kanye. GO! is so god damn infectious. Lyrically the album seems a little lighter in tone, more laid back. The middle section flounders, don't love Faithful > Testify > Love Is... The chorus in Testify is grating - aggressive, out of place and distracting from the story. Taking a live cut straight off Chappelle is classic, love it. Album finishes strong. 7.5/10

Enjoyed this far more than I expected. Not my bag, but the guy's got skills.

Surprised me, not a big common guy

Not come across Common before. really enjoyed a lot of this album. Definitely worth another listen.

First hip hop album…not bad like the underlying beats…lyrics are beyond me

Not a massive rap/hip hop fan, so I am not familiar with Common or this album. I am familiar with Kanye West though and can hear his great production on this album. I enjoyed the album, not sure if it’s an all time great album or one I would go back to though.

Good shit.

I can understand why people might like Be. It's remarkably consistent and competent. The raps are never dumb or ugly, but neither are they particularly expressive or pointed. Common's rhythms fall comfortably within the mainstream of rap--he does this kind of thing as well as anyone, but that isn't saying much. Considering that the artistic raison d'etre of rap is clever phrasing, pointed commentary and rhythmic innovation, most artists aim pretty low. Sonically, producer Kanye West provides layered samples based on old-school R&B, and it's pleasant enough. There are no jarring samples or icky synths to stink the joint up. The transitions between tracks are seamless. On the other hand, there is little here that is innovative or exciting. Be is the equivalent of hip-hop comfort food. It's business as usual, but you could do a lot worse. The one deviation from the norm is the closing track, a spoken word benediction for the next generation, accompanied by the NuJazz piano stylings of James Poyser. It's both moving and soothing, a fitting end to the album.

Definitely some lovely things in this album. A few things I didn't love. I'm glad I spent some time with it.

Glad to see some rap finally showing up 53 albums in. And we got two days in a row! After Nas’ Illmatic yesterday, I was excited to listen to Common. But this didn’t appeal to me. I don’t particularly like Common’s rapping style. To me it felt disconnected from the music for the most part --- it's not that I want him to sing or anything but it almost felt like the lyrics and music were recorded independently so I had a hard time finding a groove. I definitely want to be exposed to more rap and hip-hop with this project but this just wasn’t my thing.

Don't like this production. He is v.good though.

This really isn't my genre. That said, this sounds pretty good. Fave Songs: The Corner, Food, Real People, They Say

I can listen to this. Didn't set my world aflame.

I'm guilty of profiling this one. I saw the parental advisory and immediately concluded it was rap. OK,  I was right, but I'm still guilty.  This rap is soulful and much easier to listen to than the gangster rap we were inundated with a couple of weeks ago. There are lots of ebbs and flows and sweet  melodies sampled into the tracks. If I were a big fan of the genre I can imagine having this on regular rotation. 

This was a more accessible hip hop album for me because the rapping is relatively subdued and the instrumental music is more melodic. I think if I could read the lyrics to follow along I would appreciate this record much more though because Common has a lot to say thru his musical poetry, although it does get a bit preachy at times.

Solid but unspectacular album. Go and The Food are the highlights. Interesting to hear all the Kayne production from early in his career. 3/5

decent album. interesting that The Food is on the album, because it was originally on the Chapelle Show but then didn't make the DVD due to rights issues.

It turns out I like hip hop "OK." It's still not my favorite, but this is an album I would listen to again (despite it having strong Kanye influences). 3 stars.

Cool.

Ihan letkeet biitit. Lyriikat jäi kuuntelematta joten hovissa saattaisi tuomio vielä muuttua....

Hyvällä maulla varustettu laadukas ja tyylikäs rap-albumi, mut motään ihmeellistä tunnetta ei saanut aikaan

Неплохо

No frame of reference going into this one. Which is refreshing. There probably isn't a popular American genre of music that I have less experience with than hip hop/rap. I've been listening to most of these records on days that I have time to listen while working (outside of meetings). Not sure it's a good way to pick up all the things happening here. Since the lyrics are everything. All I'm left with are the samples and rhythm. Still, those aspects of this sound great. I liked this more than I thought I could. I just don't feel qualified to evaluate this. But I enjoyed the record so I'm giving it 3/5. Just above average among the other records on the list. Highlight: GO! This had to be a single, right?

Common's sixth album that happened to be produced by Kanye West. It's a hip hop album from the mid 2000's that charted really well. The beats and lyrics are both well produced, so they come together to make a well rounded album. I enjoyed listening to it, but I probably wouldn't seek out this album again.

Fine. It's Your World is a defonitive highlight of the album. The rest ranges from meh to fine.

Gotta love an opening with a double bass solo!

in terms of prominent early 2000s hip hop i think it's pretty average. some of the tracks were dope and the whole "be" theme was kinda neat. i thought a lot of the word play was tacky. beats were tight enough.

Common over some Kanye and J. Dilla beats, it couldn't be bad honestly. I think it's a very stand out album, but it isn't super my speed. The whole Sort of R&b mixed with gospel sound is cool, but it isn't my taste. This isn't my first time listening to this one, I've heard it in the past. The experience more or less stayed the same. It's good, but it isn't something that is going to get put into the weekly rotation.

Started off so we'll, but dived a bit after that and as someone who identifies as a white male some of theyrical content got a bit awkward.

Классные биты. Love Is кайфовый ванильный рэп.

Not bad

Good, need to listen again

Enjoyed it but didn't stand out so much

Very tight, solid, jazzy hip-hop album that hits the spot very well but doesn't do anything particularly special. Definitely worth checking out if you just wanna chill to some 90s/early 2000s style hip-hop.

Solid hip-hop album. Feels like I'm watching Chappelle's show :) Very 2000's

Seems very well-made, but thematically didn't love chunks of it. I liked "The Corner".

I am not a huge rap fan. Overall had good beats, but it all ran together to me.

Not my type but ok to have in background

First time listening: 8/11 sings liked Very conscious album. It's no wonder Common is a "common" name in hip hop, pun intended. While I do like them for their lyrical content, I'm a beat lover first. Some of these bits can feel stale real fast. Not the best of Kanye production FOR SURE. 4 songs saved

Blah

I haven't listened to a full Common album before, and this is not bad with a lot of soulful and funky beats and interesting topics. However, the slam poetry-esque delivery on many of the tracks is not very pleasing to me, and as a result I liked this much less than other tracks I've heard. Favorite Track: The Corner

I was excited about this. Had it on in the background on a couple of occasions so didn’t give it its full deserved listen but I enjoyed what I heard. Though his rapping didn’t get me up off my seat at any point if ya know what I mean.

another example of my need for half ratings. I liked this better than 2Pac's yesterday, but not enough for a 4... Definitely like the more musical tone that parts of this has.

Good tunes and enjoyable. Will check out his other stuff.

-Good old fashion rap -Cool jazzy beats -Holds up

not bad but not really my style

Kanye features were solid, definitely a mid 2000s funk type album, bit includes a few solid verses and beats.

Rapero y actor. Yo lo conocía por lo segundo, nunca por lo primero. El álbum está chulo, aunque sigue sin ser el rap americano mi fuerte.

Liked this album more than I expected. Funny how dates the rap seems.

Tunes. Lyrics. Flow.

A competent album with some nice production. Nothing standout.

I like this a lot, but would need to be in the right mood. It has a nice chill vibe.

A couple of catchy rap tracks.

Voor dit soort muziek die mij eigenlijk nooit echt kan raken, was het goed te pruimen.

In z'n soort best te pruimen.

The intro made me thing I was listening to an old 64 bit game soundtrack for a second. IT's catchy but hard for me to concentrate on the words while working. It's not bad but just not my thing. I am very picky about what kind of HipHop i like. Testify is kind of catchy with that hook

Pretty smooth album. Love the rhythm and bass intro and soul sampling and the hopeful messaging. I will definitely listen to more.

Good

No lo conocía, no está mal

Schöner warmer Conscious-HipHop aus einer vielleicht besseren und für eine hoffentlich wirklich besseren Zeit.

Great production

It was okay

Common

Solid album

Decent beats on a hip hop album. Felt like a slower more raw kanye album

Ok. Hip hop, similar to Jazzmatazz in some ways

This... was not as bad as I expected... it even has melody. I might look into rap more.

Not bad. Apparently a big switch back to his "roots" after he previous album dabbled in other genres. I think I am more curious on that one! I like the samples on this, the drums especially.

Ich müsste mir wohl die Texte genau durchlesen, um wirklich urteilen zu können. Musikalisch macht es Spaß. The last poets waren gesampled, und die haben direkt eine sehr starke Präsenz in ihren Texten.

Solid album. Testify was my favorite skit song.

Common's real good but I can't see myself listening to this frequently. That being said, it's well made, definitely enjoyed.

Eh...

Was fine

Faithful and Go and The Corner are the only songs yu need to know. cuz of the sampling obviousllyyytyyy

I liked it, but it wasn't groundbreaking. A few songs stood out, though.

2005. Key Songs: Be(Intro), They Say

Almost as good as a rap album can be without Eminem.

I’m no mathematician, but the reviews on this album were a bit depressing. Specifically, the review stating that they always thought of Common as a rap Dementor who was there to suck the joy out of a song by balancing the bragging and naughtiness and that worst of all he was open and empathetic towards people who aren’t the same as him. I’m starting to get a better sense about why I don’t like a lot of modern hip hop; seriously, how are empathy and humbleness seen as bad things? That said, even with Common’s “dad like” empathy and humbleness, I still didn’t overly enjoy this album. It was fine, but not something I have any desire to hear again.

Obvious talent, not for me.

Loved Common in Hell on Wheels and John Wick. Should stick to acting.

Not my vibe.

Not my style at all. And the rhythm feels off to me. ★★

Yeah it’s alright, I would give and extra half if I could, but this feels right relevant to other albums of the same genres that either should, or will be on this list.

First song really does set you up for something unique and interesting and then the rest of the album is... ok? Like it's pleasant to listen to but that's it. I need my rap to have a bit of a kick to it.

Nah... Can't put my finger on why, but nah.

The rhymes are fire, but the production is ass. A good voice with smart lyrics is backed by annoying high pitched repetitive noises, washed out synthetic keyboard, and dull drum tracks. Turns out that's Kanye, up to his bullshit. Turns out I like Common enough but fucking hate everything that pretentious bigoted dipshit Kanye does. His ass production overwhelms this album. He pulls it down from a high four stars to a low two.

I can see why someone might like this. I don't care for the production, the lyrics, the genre. So it's not for me, but I'm docking a point for Kanye.

The 8-bit sounding synth in the intro track is neat. I can see the Kanye production. I don't connect with this stuff that much The 2nd half of the closing track that emphasized the overall "Be" theme (album title too) was neat. I dig that part Also this is indeed a funny review: > "They say because of the fame and stardom > I'm somewhere in between the church and insane asylum > I guess it's messin' with my health then > And this verse so crazy when I finish > I'm just gon' check myself in" > If only Kanye would've listened to himself in 2005

Didn't really enjoy it

One or 2 tracks save it from a 1

rap blanco, para escuchar en el shopping y no sentirse vacío por dentro. common es rap pop.

It's not annoying but it's not for me.

# Album Name: Be # Artist: Common # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Honestly, not for me # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

No está mal, interesante

Gohja

Was fine, nothing special. Liked the intro the most

hiphop, säkert bra om man lyssnar på texterna med, gött flow

Not for me

Be (Intro) - Chiptunes into horns/trumpets, ayo? Neat. The Corner - classic moody philosophical corner stuff ya dig? I dig. GO! - unusual, a bit more funk or w/e, not quite my jam.. Faithful - appropriately enough, gives a soul and gospel vibe, decent rap but it's not really banging for me. Testify - interesting composition for the theme/subject matter and female vocal. Not fan of it outside of the storytelling. The QUEENPIN lol. Love is... - too mellow for my tastes, didn't really manage to capture my attention. Chi-City - now this is nice classic hip-hop. "so many raps about rims surprised people don't become tires" is funny. The Food - solid track. Real People - kinda felt like filler. They Say - needs to be harder hittin and all that, for my taste. It's Your World - well rap part was fine but rest is just like melancholic and moody talk, the kids and the old man and all... This whole thing is kinda lacking in songs to be honest. It just needs more songs, a bit more consistent and straightforward, less experimental, just to have more meat on the bones. As it is, it was a big jumble of a lot of things. Trying to do messaging, storytelling, funk-y stuff with experimental tunes and beats - I just like grounded, hard-hitting rap, so I find this lacking. Could easily be rated higher if it was handled differently or if it simply landed for my personal taste.

Another hip hop album. I do try but I struggle with these as they seem so repetitive. This and soul / funk music just fails to land for me. "Real People" has a funky soul hip hop feel. Basically a mish mash of my least favourite styles all in one so that doesnt help! To my dumb ear it sounded a littles 90's with a slight modern lift. I even almost heard Gorillaz at one point ("The Corner") and thought for a second I might actually enjoy this. It has a more vocal hook that draws you in unlike the rest. I wont slam this as clearly has value to someone just not me. Its fine.

One thing I internalized from my one day attending Kiese Laymon’s class before I dropped it for fear of being one of the white girls rapping… is that Common is a mfin poet. Excited to listen! // 2004. What a time. Kanye’s presence is distracting me. Closing out with his dad’s spoken word on the last track is perfect.

I get it but it’s not for me

My ears aren't offended but I find this boring

This album is fine. It's got a message but I just don't really feel the album itself stands out in any way.

idgaf about this sorry

I mean its aight

Not bad but not feeling it

Again I didn’t hate it but it was not all that good. I did not find myself liking any particular song

Sorry, don't like rap.

A frustratingly mediocre album, capped off by a pretentious closing track

Common rarity? Shit

Eh

This was a nice vibe. I still struggle with rap, as lyrics are much less important to me than the music underneath. This had some nice moments, though. 5/10 Decent

Pretty standard hip hop album. Nothing really jumped out at me. Nice easy listening, a little boring. If the whole album blends together for me, it's a 2. I just listened and already can't remember any of it. Not bad, just not... anything.

Då var vi där igen, i den där sörjan mellan neo-soul och hiphop och naturligtvvis har mr. West ett finger med i smeten. Ni kan läsa recensionen från College dropout, det här är precis vad jag menade med att kommersiell hiphop gick vilse i den sörjan. Enstaka gånger hittar Common tillbaka till nåt som kan betecknas som renodlad hiphop, då blir det genast lite bättre och det är det som gör att han klarar tvåan med ett nödrop.

Tiresome and bland at the same time.

I don’t like rap, hip hop and all that stuff. Regardless the jazzy and rithm&blues parts, it’s so bored and repetitive.

2 1/2 stars

not for me

Música de negros. 5/10

I don't really like rap... I liked some of the backing tracks, but got bored of, and couldn't relate to, what he was rapping about.

Another fairly boring one for me

Meh

An album I had no prior familiarity with, in a genre that is a blind spot for me. Can’t say that I loved this one, although that certainly more on my taste than the quality of the album itself. The Intro is memorably great.

Любопытные треки, оч интересное и разнообразное звучание, but не мое

I scraped a maths A-Level and didn't pursue the subject any further. I still think I'd rather spend an hour doing a pure maths exam than listen to this snoozefest again.

Didn’t realize common had the beats

Not my style

Awesome story teller but not for me

It's great hip hop music. Makes me think of like dance battles on the streets. It's nothing special, but it's not bad.

2/11

So far, this album leads the way for most eyes rolls

Variety: 1 Adequacy: 4 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 2.0 "Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)" I know next to nothing about Common's music career and am only slightly more familiar with him as an actor and personality. Wide open on this one so let's get to it. THE TRACKS "Be (Intro)" - Pleasant enough, short little thing with an interesting mix of electronic beep boops and what I assume is a sample. Think I always assumed Common was an actor-turned-rapper, and not the other way around, so surprised he has a decent enough flow. A little slow, a little stuttering, but fine. "The Corner" (featuring Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets) - Nice beat here. Can't say I was impressed with the vocal performances on this. "Go!" (featuring John Mayer and Kanye West) - More interesting stuff here with the catchier repetition over top the airy keyboards. Goes on far too long though with no variation. Did this warrant bringing the big guns on for it? "Faithful" - I enjoy a bit of pitch shifted vocals. And Common, while not being too adventurous, sounds way more comfortable here. Great instrumentation underneath. The background vocalists here add some texture as well. Solid stuff. "Testify" - Another good beat. I still am not digging Common's delivery though. He's ... competent is the best I can say about him. Nothing makes him stand out and can easily imagine him reading off a lyric sheet while performing this. "Love Is…" - This starts off well. I think I might like to hear Common sing a bit more. His flow works much better with this beat as well. Kind of a lazy, off/in between the beat sort of thing. Still no flashiness, but it works here with all the background stuff going on. "Chi-City" - Best instrumentation so far, with what sounds like a classic soul sample underneath. Common's energy is up here as well, and he brings a bit more attitude to the proceedings. Where has this guy been? "The Food" (live) - Decent live performance, just wondering why no studio track ( went and found the studio version). Ok, after listening I can see it. Live version is unsurprisingly more, uh.. full of life? I get it. Still doesn't wow me or anything. "Real People" - Some heavy soul vibes here. But Common is back to his somewhat stiff delivery. Is there a backing track only version of this available? "They Say" (featuring Kanye West and John Legend) - Have never been much of a Kanye or Legend fan, and they don't really make this stand out more than anything else on the album. "It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)" (featuring "the Kids") - Maybe the beat, but this sounds like a throwback 90s track to me. Common's energy is WAY back up, and he ends strong. If this is more what Common's previous stuff sounded like, I might be interested in checking more out. I also found a live tv performance of this and liked it even more. Maybe Common is a betetr live act? HIGHLIGHTS - "Faithful" - "Love Is…" - "Chi-City" - "It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)" MIDLIGHTS - "Be (Intro)" - "The Food" (live) LOWLIGHTS - "The Corner" - "Go!" - "Testify" - "Real People" - "They Say" FINAL THOUGHTS As competent and professional as this sounds, I can't say that much of any of it worked all that well for me. Have just heard so much similar stuff done much better by others. The live version of "It's Your World" I looked up had me much more intrigued than anything I heard here. Glad I finally heard some of his music though, and have some context to the man's career. Also worth noting, this had some of the least effective guest spots I can recall on any hip hop album I can think of though. Still I guess that's better than modern albums where it seems like 90% of the content is from guests? PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Maybe cobble together an all live version of this ( with no guest spots).

Mjao

It’s fine for what it is, but I don’t see what makes it special enough to be on the 1,001 albums to hear before you down list. I like the collaborations with Kanye, and some of the messaging is pretty introspective. It has that underground positivity vibe (think Talib Kweli).

* So I thought this was interesting from "The Corner": "We write songs about wrong 'cause it's hard to see right"- Seeing the earthly "struggle" and "greed", and looking for hope in Christianity. Like the whole album feels like he's trying to highlight the culture of the both? I can appreciate this. I think "It's Your World" rounds the album out nicely considering the name of the album, I just wish it had more of those themes. * I Do think this albym has heavy Kanye influeces. I like the incorporation of soul, but some of the sounds are slightly chaotic and felt loosely thrown in sometimes. Some bars in here but not really my teacup.

I understand why people like this, but I don't

One of the better rap albums I've allowed myself to listen to.

Not into rap

No lo conocía. No me enganchó. Es como reggae con hiphop

Solid record. Honestly, I preferred his other music that autoplayed once this album ended.

inte min typ av hiphop

I found it kinda average. It's good, but nothing out of this world

560/1001

I liked more than I usually like rap.

Sloprap

Veryy close to liking this but I just need More from the instrumentals - I guess lofi hip-hop/neo soul is not for me. Chi-City and Real People almost did it for me.

Not my genre at all but I didn't care much for this. I liked the intro track and Real People, and that was about it. The closing track was pretty obnoxious and inauthentic, and a lot in the middle was forgettable. Outside of the two tracks I liked, I definitely won't be revisiting this.

Stronger than the typical rap release, I’ll give it that. Still not my kind of thing though. I’m clearly not the target demographic.

I don't like rap music. Not that I absolutely hated this but it does not deserve a good score in my books. Disliked the lyrics from a big part of the album, even though I rarely even focus on them on the first listen. Also I do side with the math guy.

A few tracks in this really started to get a bit irritating, specifically "Testify" - a lot of the tracks use a repeating sample throughout, but this one just really grated. Overall pretty much all of the backing is ridiculously repetitive. I guess there's some variety in the sense that the backing of each track is quite different, but within a track there's just no new ideas beyond the first 10 seconds. Seems to be the same sort of theme lyrically as basically every other hip-hop album. Drugs, sex, money, guns. Though I will say this album sounds more grown-up both lyrically and musically. There's a lot of noticeable jazz/soul influence in the backing, particularly in "They Say" and "Real People"; both of these would be OK background listening. Plus "They Say" contained my favourite lyric of "it's quite okay for a gangsta to wear sandals" (though I think that was a Kanye line). "It's Your World" had some nice piano. Highlights: - "Real People" - "They Say" - "It's Your World" for the reasons above. Improved at the end, not awful, but not going to listen to it again.

Okay!

Would be great for a very low background music, but too explicit for me

Couldn't really get into it. The larger message of "be what you want and follow your dreams didn't feel like a through line in the album, rather it was tacked on at the end in the last track. Language matters as well, how you speak about others says a lot about you. 2/5 stars.

Rapp is not my music. Netherless some tracks were worth to listen.

Fake vibes, fakes wise.

Esse álbum tem o mesmo problema de muitos álbuns de rap, que acabam caindo na monotonia. Tem algumas ideias interessantes, mas que são mal aproveitadas pela falta de dinamismo das músicas. Melhor do álbum: "Be (Intro)". Pior do álbum: "GO!".

I didn’t really enjoy this initially but think it got better towards the end of the album. Not heard it before.

2/5

There are some things that just aren't off limits for rappers and I find it crass... "Like rain, when she came, it poured" Great, what a man you must be in bed. Keep it private or tell your closest mates, don't stick it on a bloody record. And the song about if God was a woman "might've got a little head, but it ain't cheating" well yes actually, that would be cheating. Cannot relate to this puerile nonsense, which is a shame as the music isn't bad.

Cute but not my thing

Kinda lame

Mr. Lynn and I have different values and perspectives. Also, mid. 1 - i have negative feelings *2* - i have no feelings 3 - glad i heard it 4 - "oh i like that album!" 5 - in the rotation

2000s hip-hop, not my vibe but not bad.

Decent. Not much for hip hop but not bad.

kanye and dilla production = instantly iconic but something about common's flow always ruins it for me...my girlfriend is going to be mad at me but there was a viral tweet that said something like "don't nobody ever say 'ay man, throw that new mgk record on'" and that is exactly how i feel about common.

The “intro” song was the best of the album. The music here isn’t bad but it’s just not very exciting rap.

A level 6 2000s rap common rarity build of an album

3/10

🙄

its aight

Lwk good

A good hip hop background album. Some of the lyrics were cringe but not all.

Not for me. I liked it marginally better than other rap stuff I’ve listened to.

Never knew hip-hop could be so boring, extra shocking since Kanye (f*ck 2025/26 Kanye) produced this. Dad hip hop

I listened 8 hours ago and have completely forgotten what I was going to say about it. So there's that... It was forgettable. Obviously. Not terrible.

Probably need to have a few more listens, but liked it on 1st play, couple of nice trax, will listen again.

Jeder Song für sich macht ungefähr einen Minute Spaß und wird dann nervig. 2005er US-Rap der ein wenig ungelenk versucht 90s mit 50cent zu verbinden. 2 Sterne dafür dass ich 3-4 mal mit dem Kopf geknickt habe.

Nope. I don't get him, maybe it's his voice or his delivery, or smart-man rap, not sure, but I don't get his groove. The album has a solid listening count with "Be" clocking in at 38M listens, "Go!" at 54M and "The Food" at 26M, nother other track has fewer than 5.5M. So while it doesn't float my boat at all, it's popular and appreciated by others. I think the cameo of a young Kanye West the entire album including "The Corner", "Go!" & "They Say" (with John Legend too) helped propel this album once Kanye hit it big. I got nothing from this, but I don't like Kanye either. I felt like they were preaching AT me the entire album, not entertaining. I don't listen to music for the message, so it's lost on me. 2.5 stars, I'm sure it's good, I just don't enjoy it.

Features kanye. Antisemite.

Aside from questioning why Common is on a list like this, it was fine. It sounded much like any other rap / R&B album from that era.

"It's your world" ... I fully agree ! but that's not the music I like listening to

Not really into his music. I would not know good rap from bad.

Обычный рэп, с уклоном в попсу

It was fine. Beats were ok (mostly Kanye, with two J Dilla tracks). For me it felt mostly the same. Same tempo, same flow, same attitude, same rehashed points from song to song. Was hoping for more and never really got there.

The church youth pastor’s favorite rapper. Never quite got the hype around Common. This is basic, clean unadorned rap. At least the Grammy Awards will always have a mainstream rap act to feature and honor without needing to dig too deeply below the surface.

Maybe one day I will enjoy a hip-hop album but, to be fair, the more I listen to this genre the more I think I won't. This album is a little bit better than other hip-hop albums I've listened to. But it feels bland and repetitive. The samples are very well put in this album, they merge really well with the other elements of the songs. But, well, I've tried this album, it's just not of my taste.

It was fine. I've heard better, I've heard worse. Not my typical style of music but I have to give it points for great production and instrumentation. Some cornball lyrics throughout, but "The Corner" was really good.

Common is a good way of describing it.

Common strikes me as a guy who thinks he's much better than he actually is.

Besser als ich gedacht hätte

Quiet and ominous guitar plucking at the start, speeding up to make a riff Sort of chill rap over the top Like calm lyrics but it fits well on the synth stuff and the continuous riff underneath Not a rap fan but this is musically sound and lyrically complex

Listenable but not my thing.

De fundal

i could smell the kanye on this album wayy before i heard him being mentioned. quite liked this, especially the bits with the female vocalists, but lowkey felt a bit too familiar (even though i have never heard this album before)

Not thrilled about the presence of Kanye West and Dave Chappelle on this album. Otherwise it's fine

Tedious and annoying.

Too much Kanye.

Good album.

i found this to be very uninteresting

Like a lot of hip hop, this would be better as an instrumental album.

I honestly really did not like this album. There were definitely times where I was vibing, but other times I wondered why this is rated highly. I don't necessarily dislike the album, but I wouldn't really come back to any of these songs.

Not my thing

With a handful of interesting backing track elements across the first half of the album, Be becomes less inventive and more lightweight the deeper you get. That said, it is still fairly solid hip-hop fare - nothing groundbreaking but more uplifting an experience than most 2000s rap tends to be, while I enjoyed it for the most part, but won't necessarily be returning to this album in a hurry.

2.5

2.5

Bro is speaking at me and I don’t like it most of the time. Great production, just not my thing.

I want to like this album but I just think it’s corny!!

Favorite tracks: Be I found most of this album to be a bit of a drag, which was a big disappointment with how much I enjoyed the instruments on Be. The only thing that set some of the songs apart from others are the featured guests, and having my ears perk up when someone else starts singing/rapping doesn't bode well for the album's artist itself. As far as the lyrics go it felt like he was trying to be deep but never really got there. My top example is Faithful, where he talks about his relationship with God only to come to the conclusion that maybe cheating is bad - this right on the heels of GO! which is basically soft porn. Overall not a bad album, but feels a bit generic.

Is this supposed to be some groundbreaking R&B album? I must be ignorant.

it was ok. I dont know what makes this stand out to put it on the list though. I won't remember this next week. 2.5 stars

Well here's another Common album. This is only the second record I've heard from him, the other being Like Water for Chocolate (which I hated), and I was expecting to hate this too. Honestly? A lot better than that one. This made a lot of sense when I realized Kanye was deeply involved with this record. Makes sense! Still not for me though.

Nice, I guess. A bit slick, but well produced.

Pas nul mais bon toujours un peu répétitif ce genre de musique et j'ai pas la motivation d'ecouter en profondeur les paroles pour juger de la qualité donc bon ça sort pas franchement du lot en termes de musicalité et j'aurai oublié d'ici 2 jours.

I'm really ready for this album to be over, but it isn't. Wait... oh, nope. Still isn't.

The makers of this list certainly love their hip-hop, it seems like it's half of the albums I am getting these days. This one starts really well with a great double bass groove (it's nicked, erm, sampled though). The second song is alright. Is this going to be a 4* hip-hop album? Unfortunately, it then goes downhill for me - GO! being too smooth "soul" like and there's more like that. Didn't enjoy apart from that bass groove so I'm going to listen to some 1970's jazz now, which has all that jazzy goodness but none of the annoying "yeah" talking over it.

I will never forget the mean tweet Common read on Jimmy Kimmel: “Common is the Pottery Barn of rappers.” It was hard not to bring that sentiment to my listening experience, as I’ve never listened to a full album by Common. I enjoyed the features and samples on the album much more than I enjoyed Common himself. It’s not that his flow is bad; it’s just bland. The lyrical content is actually great, but it’s entirely uninspiring to me due to Common’s flow. Looking back, I think I could’ve been the author of the aforementioned mean tweet, as I feel it’s the perfect description for Common.

Kinda forgetful. Had some cool moments though.

Annoying

It's ok but not my bag

Not a fan of HipHop, but I like it. Wouldnt hear it on a regular basis. But I see it's very good

Clean sounding hip hop, could not get into it

I’m never going to be a fan of hip hop or rap in general. This is, however, pretty good. Common is good at what he does, and even though I really don’t like Kanye West as a person, he is very good at sampling and finding interesting musical bits to use in music. So overall, this is good, but not something I would actively put on again

2,5

Good rhythm and rhymes but didn't hook me in.

I had never heard of Common before and didn't recognize any of the songs but there were a few I really enjoyed. There were biblical themes and several songs showing this came out in 2005. Not my favorite, but glad I gave it a shot.

It's a pretty good album but nothing overwhelmingly amazing I'd ever feel the urge to listen again

Not special.

not for me

I wouldn't willingly listen to this again. It's not the worst thing I've heard though.

Not my vibe. Too old school, too soul/r&b, too Kanye-adjacent.

++: Go!, Faithful, The Food +: Be (Intro), The Corner, Love Is..., Real People, They Say +-: Chi-City, It's Your World (Part 1 & 2) -: Testify 5,5/10

Pretty boring. Ages poorly compared to other 2005 rap albums, which was a particularly dry time in music.

Mer rap. Mer mixerbordsmusicerande. Det blir rätt könlöst, tycker jag. Men Common är duktig på hantverket och det finns intressanta grepp.

Appreciate the introduction to an artist I didn’t know but the music didn’t do it for me like others from the same genre and era (50 cent, Eminem). Wouldn’t voluntarily give it a re-listen. C.

My only exposure to Common is his acting as Sims in Silo. Soulful but just not my bag.

Maybe I don’t get it. It I found this pretty dull.

Great vocal tone - I think reading lyrics along to the music would maximise the impact. Some good beats. Would need to revisit this album with lyrics to appreciate the poetry.

Didn't love it. Maybe I think Common is too cheesy?

Ikke så ille til å være hiphop

Musically has a nice feel, not getting into the themes of the songs.

A couple fun tracks, but lyrics feel too cheesy to love.

bof

Hip-hop mixed with soul? Started out solid but then eventually got bored. It does remind me solid of that 2000s sound.

I’ve never really found my way into hip hop. I think I’m getting close though.

Thought the other Common album on here was better. I was expecting more with Kanye's production but even it felt boring to me. Rating: 1.8

I don't know... I have heard worse hip-hop/rap records here. Maybe it's because it's produced by West, or because there was nothing really outstanding here, but this was kind of dull.

smooth jazz version of hip hop

OK, not my cup of tea. Uninspiring.

I know he's super popular, but his style doesn't jive with me.

Kanye west

Meh. Didn't really grab me and then lost me totally when Kanye showed up.

Probably one of the better albums of this genre I have listened to so far, but that still means 2 stars or D+.

Solid listen, it's good but there isn't anything that warrants a repeat listen. Production is solid and the Kanye features are fine. I don't dislike any of the tracks but none of them are staying with me either.

Eh - not my thing. Kind of mid.

Decent enough but not my scene. Mid 2s

I like the '70s vibe that's woven through a few songs. In general, though, it doesn't move the needle much for me.

This was an okay album. I was pleasantly surprised by the use of musical instruments and melodies. But in the end I can only give it two stars because I can't relate despite having failed Calculus in school ;-)

To start: hip-hop and rap isn’t my thing on the whole. I enjoyment moments of this album and is not a hard listen but doesn’t do much for me on any deep level. Can tell Kanye has had a hand in this but doesn’t have the some catchy-ness of some of his work from a similar time. Did blend together a touch for me so don’t think i’ve got a top 3 but i do really like the closing track ‘It’s Your World’ as really like the spoken word element and also enjoy ‘They Say’ and love the repeating line on the twinkly keys and some of the vocals! I get why people love this but it’s not super up my alley! 2.5

I like the warm and soulful production of the album, it's excellently made. I lack the cultural and language knowledge to understand what this album is really about, though the rapping itself flows well and it's fine. Although a lot of the songs sound samey to me and nothing stands out much. The production itself stands out. 2.5 stars.

It's alright

lets say 2/5

Meh

This is #day282 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… from 1963 yesterday to 2005 today. I'm not sure why this album made the list. The music's okayish, a kind of hip-hop that sounds very much of its time, though I'm not hyped on the soul foundation. Then I learned it was produced by Kanye West and released on his label. I rated both his albums a 1... and don't tell me he used to be a different person. People never change. Let this one be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day283.

It's not my thing, but I like the contrast of the soulful jazz music and the spoken word/street poetry component. Better than a lot of hip hop rap crap I've heard here.

too corny for my taste

Started well with the sound of upright bass, but after that it was pretty common hiphop.

This slipped once again to the boring side. I have never been a huge fan of Common, and this album points out why. His hip hop is too soft and loose for my taste, I need more edge, attitude, and some off-beat vibes.

Not my kinda hip hop. Nothing wrong as such, just doesn't hit me like I was expecting.

I'm no mathematician, but I sure counted a lot of songs with irritating, grating sounds that repeated over & over & over again.

I don't think that I enjoy Common in either way that I've consumed his content lately - musically or acting in Silo

The poetry is okay, but it's not musically interesting.

Começou bem mas dps de um tempo senti que era mais do mesmo o tempo inteiro

couldn't get on with this, fave song was They Say, liked how it was kinda chilled out but overall it just didn't work for me

The music was ok, not the usual hiphop I listen to - middle of the road 3 stars, but 1 less star because of Kanye

This was decent but not quite managing a 3

For what it is it isn't bad, it just isn't my kind of thing and I doubt I'll listen to it again

Yeah...oh fuk yeah. Famous...joint. ei jatkoon

Ei uppoa.

WTF, Kanye two days in a row?

Meh... It's not terrible. Flow and rhymes are solid. Not a fan of the production, but that's typical for me and modern hip-hop. Nothing really outstanding here though. Nothing makes me want to listen to it ever again.

Easy listening but ultimately disappointing. I expected jazzy “conscious” rap to be my thing, but the flow and delivery is monotonous and boring.

Not bad but I only connected with a couple tracks

This album is not targeted towards me, and it also falls outside my usual listening habits. In fact, my engagement with rap music has been minimal since the early 1980s, specifically during the era of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I am just not a fan of the evolution and direction most mainstream rap. From a sound perspective, the album is well-crafted. The instrumentation is clear, intricate, and avoids excessive repetition. However, nothing particularly captivated me or compelled me re-listen, nor did any tracks evoke a strong dislike, although I did find the live track disruptive to the flow of the album. Also, I admit I have my own biases. I might have been more open to a higher rating for this album had it not included a self-admitted anti-semitic Nazi. But hey, maybe that is just me.

It's always a little sad when you get excited to see what album you get for the day and when it pops up you're just like, "oh man, that's a shame." I knew I wasn't going to like this when it came up. I'm not a hip hop fan at all and I can't imagine from what I've heard from and about Common that I'm going to enjoy this much. I've heard Common referred to as 'dad rap' and yeah I can see that. First impression - holy shit maybe I was wrong, sweet double bass is shaping up to be good! Then the album really begins. Nope, I was right. More typical hip hop degrading women and inflating self-importance. Maybe not to the same degree as most of the others, but still. It does those things in kind of like a nice guy sort of way if that makes sense. Still, no thanks. And not only that, but this record is produced by and largely featuring Kanye West. Fuck that guy. I'm out. 1.5/5 maybe rounding up just because of that double bass. And a PS, I was reading reviews but skipped down a few first. Thought I was missing something with all these reviews about math and PhDs 😂 Good work here guys.

Consider the extra star a professional courtesy

Okay.

Rap, which reaches nearly a 3..

nah, 2005 rap esp. with kanye nnaah bruv

ehh, so so