Be

2.5

Meh. 2/5

Was Common ever in the conversation of hip-hop greats? Do we really need two of his albums on this list? This is the better of the two, but still.

Not a fan of rap really

Not at all my jam - but more musicality than I've heard of others in this genre...

It was okay. Rap is not really my thing. The last couple of minutes tied the whole album together though.

I’ve heard of Common but never listened to him. Very bluesy and r and b. Also very much messagey. Didn’t mind it but not my total jam.

Don’t know this smoother type of rap very well, Pleasant enough, not the target audience and didn’t connect/get into it enough to reach/know the content, which is on me which is fine.

This one didn’t click with me. Production is good, but I didn’t like the style overall. Guess it’s my mathematics phd and lack of verbal intelligence

Tydelig Kanye produktion. Lyden er meget hen af hans egne tidlige albums. Men uden de samme bangers som der var på de skiver. Første nummer fanger mig, men derefter fader jeg nemt ud af albummet.

Honestly, more enjoyable than I was expecting, but not for me.

Never even heard of the artist before and for sure won’t remember him in a few weeks time…nothing special, decent hiphop grooves, lyrics don’t stand out for me…

Apart from some interesting rhymes in the first couple of tracks, this didn't do anything for me, and the final track, It's Your World, I just found mawkish.

Another let down of an album. I have standards and those standards for hip hop don’t fit the “Common” slate. Parental Advisory alert? Check Anything else??? No Musically well produced, decent samples as well but the delivery of his rhymes are weak. There doesn’t seem to be any conviction, anger, direction with his delivery. I know who Common is, that says something but I clearly don’t know it from this album. Choice cut: Love Is

Cool production, honestly not too many thoughts on this. Good album don't see myself coming back in the future.

As with most rap albums, this really wasn't for me. I've heard worse, but this made no impression on me

Be is an album that clearly wants to be important, conscious, and uplifting, but too often settles for sounding polite and self-satisfied. It presents itself as soulful and reflective, yet much of it feels smoothed down to the point of blandness. The production is warm and tasteful, sometimes too tasteful, wrapping everything in a comforting glow that removes any sense of urgency or tension. Instead of pulling you in, it keeps you at arm’s length, nodding along rather than feeling anything deeply. Lyrically, Common is thoughtful and articulate, but the delivery rarely hits with real weight. There is a lot of talk about growth, positivity, and self-awareness, yet very little that feels risky or emotionally raw. The verses often circle familiar ideas without digging into them, and the hooks drift by without leaving much of a mark. Even when the beats hint at something richer or more dynamic, the songs tend to flatten out, choosing reassurance over impact. What ultimately holds Be back is how content it seems with being agreeable. It wants to inspire, but it rarely challenges, provokes, or surprises. There is nothing here that feels outright bad, but there is also very little that truly demands attention or repeat listens. It is an album that sounds good while it is on and evaporates almost immediately after.

..

5.5/10. Be what? It’s okay. I don’t have much to say about this album. Be.

Here comes my usual hip hop review: More relentlessly monotonous hip hop about the same boring subjects: humble brag, whine about "socially conscious" subjects, rinse and repeat Nothing original here. No thanks. Moving on to the next album.

Supongo que no está mal y Común me parece buen tipo, pero cada que me sale un disco de rap en esta lista me confirma que no es lo mío y nunca podré con el género. Me cansa enseguida y todos los discos me parecen idénticos, sean de quien sean. Lo siento, Común.

Didn’t think I was going to enjoy this based on its genre, which I know is bad but I’m just not a rap/hip hop kinda gal. However, as albums go, this was one of the more listenable ones I’ve had on this list from that genre. If it’s got a more interesting beat and some different vocals and melodies then it just passes for me.

Kanye and Chappell on the same song lame

S'alright, which is a more than glowing endorsement when it comes to hip hop for me. I quite enjoyed the instrumentals on these tracks, and I found myself warming to some of the vocal performances and lyrics. The Kanye track was my favourite, which surprised me as I have next to no familiarity with his discography. I may give some of his albums a listen when I clear my current backlog

I'm not a rap fan but as far as rap albums go, this was actually tolerable. For me to give a rap album a 2.5/5 would be like giving a different kind of album a 4.

Just gangsters etc, i dont get the hype

Not bad, but nothing really stood out either.

Maso

I'm not surprised I'm not big on the Kanye West produced tracks, never got into his chipmunk soul thing. I am surprised that the Dilla tracks don't stand out. Maybe kinda shocked even? the natural response to J Dilla beats is supposed to be 'oh hell yeah'. I'd maybe think harder about whether it should be a 3, but if you've got both John Mayer and Kanye West on your album you have to really justify anything above a 2.

I remember kinda liking this when it came out, but it feels like a harder sell now. Maybe it’s the Kanye West connection, maybe it’s John Mayer. Maybe it’s that I know Obama really likes the guy. I dunno. It’s not good when any president thinks you’re cool.

I like Common in general but found this album pretty generic and lacking any distinctive feel or creativity to push it over the top. Very average, if not slightly below average.

Þetta rapp var nú ekki alslæmt. Ég næstum því fílaði það en samt bara næstum því. Ég þurfti ekki að bíða eftir því að platan kláraðist en ég mun aldrei reyna að spila hana aftur. Þannig að já, ekki alslæmt en heldur ekki sérlega gott

Meh. Enjoyed some beats but mostly ruined by association with Kanye.

It's ok

Not my culture, cannot relate and not interesting musically enough to make it other than repetitive. This has just enough small musical interludes not to dismiss it entirely. but please no more rap albums!

It’s nice enough. But what’s the point in listening to it? It doesn’t break any new ground.

Just pretty dull really

Not for me thanks. I recognised the extra emphasis on the music, but the rapping was the usual...

Best part of this album is Kanye. Great album etc but unfortunately I have an aversion to Common.

I’m not too cool for many things. But I’m too cool for Common.

It's easy to hate Common for being a lax faux intellectual rapper. And I hate him for it. I'll give 2 stars for good production on this album though – a lot of socially conscious rap has such sparse and uninspired beats that you have no choice but to listen to the preachy lyrics, but the highest compliment I can give Common is that he picks good producers who can distract from his annoying persona. I actually found myself enjoying a few songs when I could just enjoy the beat without listening to him waxing poetic. But that's as far as I'll go

I fell asleep every time I tried to get through this - one time at 2pm in the middle of the work day.

Not my typical genre of music. Some nice rhythms but easily forgettable for me - no real lasting power.

No thanks. At least it wasn't hyper aggressive.

My buddies listened to this a lot in high school. It's definitely more pleasant and mellow than pop radio rap from the same time period. But it's a little serious. It's just not as much fun as ATCQ or De La Soul. Fine but not exciting.

Meh

Not my music

This one didn't speak to me.

It’s not awful, but the some of the production style is a little too smooth and R&B for my tastes. I suppose, at least, that’s another artist I never need to hear again ticked off the list.

It was ok, not my type of music

Very odd. I disliked it a lot less than I thought I would. Still no interest in it, but it's certainly more than a 1-star.

I don’t get the buzz around this album

Kan kanske höra något musikaliskt nån sekund här och där. Men mest är det nigga och motherfucka.

Ok

No lo conocia, pero no me convence. No es mi tipo de música.

Apart from the lyrics mostly pretty common and notebly a lot of repetitions. A lot of the instruments also seem to have been generated digitally. This probably is not noticable, if one is focussing on the lyrics. These may be generally good and were fine for the last song. But there the vocals were from my perspective badly performed. At least for me, the breathing seemed to be displaced. There were some highlights, but there are too many aspects below average to justify more than 2 / 5.

Es ist sicherlich kein grottenschlechtes Album, aber es ist halt Hip-Hop und Rap, der mich persönlich wenig begeistert. Common bleibt seinem Stil treu und liefert solide Texte und Beats, die Fans des Genres sicherlich zu schätzen wissen. Dennoch fehlt mir der Funke, der das Album für mich wirklich herausragend machen würde. Die Tracks sind solide produziert und beinhalten auch melodische Passagen, aber sie schaffen es nicht, mich emotional zu packen oder nachhaltig zu beeindrucken. Insgesamt ein eher unterdurchschnittliches Musikerlebnis.

Stories in musical form. This album is upbeat and speaks of current affairs as far as a non black non American can tell, but I didn’t really connect with the lyrics. The best song for me was at the end: It’s Your World. I do like how positive this album was compared to a lot of other rap albums out there.

This is better than the first offering I got on this list from Common. Still not my thing.

Meh record, not my kind of soul.

I’m not into rap

Not for me

3.92 rym qualche base sembra interessante, ma musicalmente non è il mio mi spiace non riuscire a entrare nel conscious hip hop, ma per me dei testi assurdi non bastano, ho davvero bisogno che la musica mi dica qualcosa

The lyrics are considerably more thoughtful and creative than most popular hip hop. But the beats and the flow are pretty average.

Not my jam, but good.

Rating this album is like rating a type of beer I don't like (Ciders). It may be well crafted, but not to my taste. I did enjoy the first song BE "The present is a gift and I just wanna BE"

Not really my genre. The first attempt I got in about 3 songs and just wasn't feeling it. My second attempt, many hours later, was more successful. It wasn't bad, but I don't feel like there were any standouts for me as well, and the collaboration with Kanye was "rougher" as per the latter's style, which I am less appreciative of. While I probably wouldn't object to hearing some or most of this album again, I am not putting it into my playlist.

If you make me listen to this genre, then this is the album I would select. I enjoyed Common's voice more that I imagined but wont be listening again.

It ok, just not for me.

Hold the back page. I like an album from this genre! Was fearing the worst once I’d read that Mr Common was a rapper and the album was produced by Kanye West. But…it was more than bearable. In fact, there was nice music! The vocals were really good and not too offensive lyrically and it felt like a nice R&B mood.

It was just okay. I didn't feel overly moved or excited about any of the songs

Kind of boring, not gonna lie. The most fun I had with this was reading that PhD mathematician dude's review - Shakespeare could never. Got jumpscared by the "Uneven Compromise" sample origin on "Chi-City".

Pointless rap

A poetic rap album littered with classics and yet it feels outdated, artificial, and pretentious.

Best oke

5/10

Not a huge fan of this one, I am just not crazy about his voice / flow. Also something about the production rubbed me the wrong way, either too much compression, too much high end, or something like that. Some songs also had annoying chipmunk vocals, or annoying back up singers. Also fuck Kanye

Ok

Day98 - common and kanye sound really good together. the music and beats are good to bad the lyrics are lame

It's the same thing with each rap/hip hop album I hear: burdened by awful hooks and choruses. Some of the rapping is really good. The beats are great in some of the songs. I love how Common raps about love in one song and the next he's talking about getting head ain't cheating. Haha. I don't know... Maybe rap just isn't my genre. Because I couldn't see myself ever putting this on and grooving to this. Maybe another rap album or artist will hook me in but come on Common. It ain't you!

Good R&B vibes, nice beats

Disappointing. I really like his flow, but this just feels a bit clinical. Not quite underground, not quite shiny pop hip hop. Stuck in the middle of ideas .

The first track was really fun but did not leave much of an impression afterwards

Kanye had a hand in this before he lost his mind. Had some other heavy hitters on this album…I’ve got nothing in common with his music. Ok actor though.

Not the worst

Great album not really a hip Hop guy this has me locked in lyrically

Good listen. I enjoyed it.

Ok; not exactly bad but didn't really connect for.me.

Another one of these where I'm like "nope, never heard of them", then found that we've already had another album of theirs on the 1001 list. Like Water for Chocolate was alright. Is this better? Probably on par. I don't have much opinion on it.

Well, Common is a good name because nothing on this album stood out. I put it on, fairly decent mix of kinda laid-back hip-hop….and then it was over. I just sort of listened to it but it went as fast as it came. No very memorable.

The only rapper whose concert is packed with more suburban moms than teens. 👩👩

Didn’t listen

2 - Me caga el Rap

Not my thing. Very simple compared to the rap I hear now.

This album was entirely forgettable. It tried to be profound, and the first and last track were pretty good. Other than that I wouldn't listen again. 2/5.

kinda didnt connect with me in the way i thought it would the intro the best song imo

Leaves me without any emotions

I can see why this is so lauded as a great album, but it doesn’t speak to me. But the messages weren’t made for me - a middle-aged white guy from the suburbs. I appreciate the artistry, and really liked some of it, but I won’t be looking to listen again.

Fine. Sounds like Common.

No, this was not for me. Some cool rapping and sampling throughout, but the only really noteworthy track is They Say, featuring John Legend and Kanye West. Also, Kanye’s production is clean and really good. Maybe if I’d been a bigger fan of rap music in general, but I’m not.

Hübsche Soul-Schnipsel, leider zum 100sten mal ausgelutscht und dann breitgetreten - laaaangweilig

👍

I was glad when it was over. The background was nice.

Not bad

If I liked HipHop then this would probably be where I'd start. Lovely bass playing, but for me that's where the good stuff ends. Like Intro, hated GO!. They Say was interesting with the interplay of the keys and vocals. Overall though, I'm still not a hiphop fan, don't every want to hear this one again.

Rapsy hip hopy

I am not the intended audience. Good music.

This is not my style of music but it was some of the best rap I have heard.

Not me

Yet more Hip Hop - not sure why there shoud be so many in this list! Wikipedia gives the genre as Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Hip Hop Soul, Progressive Rap, Chipmunk Soul - what the hell is Chipmunk Soul? This album's main claim to fame seems to be that it was mainly produced by Kanye West.

not gonna revisit this

Not my music

I didnt like it

Not my genre. Surprisingly tame and mainstream

I enjoyed the background music and his voice but I couldn’t really get into the rapping.

Not really my thing, I didn’t connect to the music very much, but I could still appreciate the stories he tells.

Sounds kind of like a watered down Roots. Whoever decided to put a Parental Advisory sticker on this one probably did so to sell more albums, but I can't remember a single swear on this album.

Be is polished, worthy and so frictionless I slid right off it.

I like rap but I don't like hiphop that much

Virkelig stadig ikke mig, selvom jeg nu har hørt pladen 2 gange indenfor 2 måneder..

This is a very listenable album and the production - by Kanye - is rock solid (the bass was coarsing through my bones throughout). i enjoyed it, not as mainstream as Kanye's own work (I'm thinking College Dropout here), but it has an edge. It reminds me a little of Marvin Gaye's Waht's Going On with it's social messages and children's aspirational voices strewn throughout. It lacks the catchy, memorable melodic hooks that I seek in the hip hop I love, but its a solid album. It's going to lose a star for not being the most re-listenable for me, but that's just my taste. I bet hardcore hip hop lovers will rate it much higher adn I am unaware of the influence it has had.. As with many of my reviews, I'll likely wan tto change it at a later date and, in this case, most likely rate it higher as I get more acquainted with it.

The last song was good. The rest were alright.

Not my favorite by Common and not my favorite in the genre. He has a good message as always but never really liked him a ton.

I don’t know if it’s because the album is a certain style but felt dated. Mostly common rapping a story over a decently catchy mixed track.

Rap is not for me personally but I liked some of the beats and the intro song.

I'll preface this by saying I'm a 54-year old English white man. In the two weeks I've been on here this was the first artist that I actually never heard of. I almost didn't listen to this album because EVERY song was greyed out on Spotify because of explicit lyrics, and I didn't feel like turning off my kid-filter for someone I'd never heard of. But I did. And I'm glad that I did. Melodies were nice, great backing musicians. Music reminded me of Mos Def or A Tribe Called Quest. Explicit lyrics weren't extreme, mostly the occasional N-word. I doubt I would listen to this again, but I'm glad I did once.

J Dilla and Kanye influence make this album for me. Lyrically he fluctuated between genius and cornball.

Mid

It wasn’t for me honestly

The singles were the good ones. Not too impressed.

Ikkje så dumt, ikkje så minneverdig heller

The principles of this so-called 'art' are rudimentary, at best. Simplistic rhythm section and unpolished, usually simplistic poetry. We're aware this type of "music" comes out of an impoverished environment. Impoverished and oppressed by predatory capitalism, of course, though its practitioners rarely , if ever, address that. It's regrettable that the billions of dollars made by the pretend moguls and their patsies can't be reinvested in the communities which spawned this style. Maybe then the reliance on jury-rigged technologies can be overcome and real musical instruments and instruction and real musical invention can come back.

Strong disliked the previous Common album I got on here. This one was slightly better. First and Last track both really good. The rest was pretty meh. 2.5*

Helaas is dit album iets te veel R&B voor mij, terwijl ik de stem van Common wel aangenaam vindt.

I like the intro. There's some funky beats in there man. It's a shame the rest of the album doesn't hold up to that. There's still some nice things going on, but it's just not my thing and lots of it sounds generic.

Another hip-hop album that is not relatable at all for me. Some of the samples are nice. Don't like listening to all the N-words, sorry.

Hip-hop rap. Escuchable, sin más.

This album just flowed along not sparking anything arresting along the way.

I didn't have high hopes for this, given that Like Water for Chocolate is the only album I've shut off partway through in 350+ albums. This was...fine. I'm not a big fan of rap and hip hop. It seemed like a decent album if you're into this type of music.

Wow. As an African-American youth residing in the inner city of Chicago, this album has inspired me to do great things. Wait a second, I’m not an African-American youth residing in the inner city of Chicago!

C+ Be(Intro) - 3 The Corner - 3 Go! - 3 Faithful - 4 Testify - 3 Love Is… - 2 Chi City - 2 The Food (Live) - 3 Real People - 3 They Say - 2 It’s Your World, Pt. 1 & 2 - 2 Returned to this with my new anti-Kanye lens and guess what? They (didn't) got better! MWahahahaha. It's a reference to- nvm I'll just drop the link: https://www.tiktok.com/@krantzcke/video/7192553832679935278 . It'd take too much to describe. Hopefully that link lives in. Otherwise, this review will make no sense.

It was solid but no really my thing.

Enjoyed intro and testimony as they stood out the most to me Liked most instrumentals with the bits of jazz mixed in. Some became a bit repetitive or dull as they sounded like other rap songs from the early 00s Vocals were okay, liked some bars he has but voice/flow wasn’t as interesting or didn’t capture me entirely. Testimony female vocals were great tho. For me that was the best song especially with the story telling from start to finish.

It's alright as far as rap goes, but not something I really enjoy. 2 stars.

holy shit, the sampling on "Testify" was so fucking annoying

Not listening to this. Electric Circus was a flawed but adventurous and sometimes very good album. This was closer to music by committee. "So, Mr Common, we have to tap back into the zeitgeist of 'One Day It'll All Make Sense' etc. You don't have the material? Worry not! We have you, and we have the incentive..." Yes, Be made lots of money. Still doesn't change the fact that it is a poor shadow of Common's first albums, and locked him into a creative cut-de-sac that I doubt he'll ever get out of now. yes, I am bitter. Can you tell?

Notable bars and beats are few on this LP – Common has a few great lyrical insights to share, but is easily outclassed by each and every guest feature on the album when it comes to wordplay. Instrumentals aren't helping given they're firmly stuck in the mid-gear of the early aughts, some blandly positive commercial vibes transposed into music.

Como já tem sido mencionado Rap é das coisas que menos gosto de um ponto visto musical. Quando o álbum começa e é algo mais instrumental fiquei agradavelmente surpreso. Contudo, quando cantam deixa um bocado aquém pelo estilo musical. Por fim é agradável de se ouvir, mas não algo que goste, o álbum ganha pontos pelo arranjo musical. Nota:4/10 18/05/2024

Better than I thought but I could have done without some of the sexist lyrics.

Not in my wheelhouse.

Got a little chaotic musically in the mid tracks. I like it otherwise.

Nothing special

Ik ben geen fan van rap-muziek, maar de beats van sommige van deze nummers zijn wel relaxed. **

Listened Before? N I don't understand what the appeal of post-2000 east coast rap is. Especially when Kanye is involved. I get it. You're poor. You live in NYC. That's not an excuse to drone lyrics over generic beats and let the hook come from samples. You guys suck. This is getting a 2 just because it's not a Kanye album, if it was, it'd be a 1. Added to Library? HAHAHAHA no Songs added to playlist: The intro, because its short.

Lost points when they brought Kanye on

I can't say much about hip hop except that I don't like it. Howeverm, to my ears, this album is a tiny notch above most of the others in that genre I got to know from this list. Can't really say why. 1.5/5

Some of the sounds are good and the lyrical content is better than most of this genre. But it's still just people talking over a beat which ultimately bores me.

Vond niet veel aan dit album

Extremely underwhelming.

p905. 2005. 2.5 stars. Rap, so... not my thing. Seems to be well done, but only 2 stars as I don't like rap. Liked the last track though.

This was a bit mellower than the earlier rap albums I've listened to.

A few decent songs but wow some really dumb shit as well, guess that's what happens when Kayne produces it. Yeah these are great lyrics? Perhaps for a 16 year old. "Fantasize when I had her in the bathroom sweatin' with her ass up (go) The body of a dancer We had chemistry 'cause she was a Cancer Thought forever it would last for But forever moved faster so I had to (go) Still I gotta pause when I think about her in them drawers (go) And uh, ooh baby, she liked it raw"

Kinda boring.

Too much homophobia and hearing the f-word (and I don’t mean f**k), which unfortunately ruins a lot of good songs and great special guests.

Tämä kuulostaa ajattomalla tavalla vanhentuneelta, ja biisit tuntuvat jotenkin keskinkertaisilta. Ei paskaa, mutta uudelleenkuunteluarvoltaan rajallista.

Listenable, yes. But it's saying something when the only time I REALLY perk up during the whole album is when Kanye makes an appearance. It's like suddenly someone has pushed the speaker six feet closer to your ears. Common is fine. But he lives up to his namesake when he's standing next to people who are better at what he does than he is. Also, this is why you should never, ever have guest artists on your album!

pas trop mon truc

Serviceable voice but the cadence and flow is sorely lacking. There is a disconnect which makes it feel like he rapped to a metronome then sent the file to a producer who slapped it onto a backing track. The production is nice with airy and warm soul samples and nostalgia. Intro, The Corner and Real People could be good if the vocals were on beat. (2.5)

Mais um disco de rap que não me convence.

Never heard of Common. For me, this was a little dull

The Common Bee.

Kind of repetitive, production is good but not enough to make it interesting

I don't think I was the intended audience for this album.

Nothing to see here.

mje

4/10 Best song - They Say

Supaboring

nice instruementals ; not looking good at the lyrics tho

I like the way he blends Gospel and Rap on this. It's not generally my kind of thing, but that fusion is interesting.

More R&B than hip-hop which isn't really my thing. Some interesting beats and lyrics and I should probably give it more of a chance than I'm going to. I just found most of it a bit boring.

Never heard of Common, some nice beats and breaks but not really my up of tea

This album is not meant for me, so I really shouldn't vote on it.

Couldn't do it. So many other hip hop classic albums have really hooked me in, but this was just sample city, all over the map. Got to track 5 (Testify) then started skipping, looking for something. Didn't add.

It's not de kind of music I like, sorry.

I really liked the intro track, so I thought I was going to love this. But unfortunately I didn't like much else on the record.

Meh

Caught between 90s and 10's hiphop. Not quite Biggie, not quite Kendrick.

Hip-hop rap. Escuchable, sin más.

Second Listen. Gave it a 1/5 the first time. Not as bad this time

Meh. "The Food" was the only song I liked on this album.

can here the kanye influence but not as good as kanye

Had this album on and it really passed me by, while it was easy on the ear really nothing stood out. A bit bland.

Not really a rap fun but cool beats

It’s fine, it didn’t dislike it but it just really forgettable. The Kanye verses are probably the highlights and sadly there aren’t enough of them. There wasn’t single outstanding track. I mean, where are the hooks?

so-so

It’s fine, it didn’t dislike it but it just really forgettable. The Kanye verses are probably the highlights and sadly there aren’t enough of them. There wasn’t single outstanding track. I mean, where are the hooks?

Hoewel ik wel iets met rap heb, kan ik hier niet zoveel mee. Iets te weinig smoel ofzo.

Best een paar aardige nummers, en muziekaal best ok. Maar toch is dit niet iets waar ik echt warm voor kan lopen.

4.5

Nice warm Beats String Old school Attitude Still mit my cup

I’m 100% not the intended audience for this album. I’ve never really been a fan of rap but I can appreciate when it’s good. I feel bad giving it such a low rating. I like the background to the lyrics and can understand the rhymes which quite often I can’t in most rnb. I felt like it was thought provoking. Favourite track was testify. Just not my style of music

1.5

I liked Kanye's production, but was pretty meh on the songs themselves.

rap um pouco melhor... primeira faixa é razoavel, mas a maioria é tosca.

I actually like Common's varied works, but a couple songs on here that are impossible to listen to (Testify) ruined the experience of a whole album. The highs simply don't outweigh the lows.

Meh. Alright, I suppose.

Kind of boring - didn't really get it, like 99% of highly rated hip hop records.

Not quite sure what this album is doing here. It’s generic and just cheesy!

At this point I am averaging about 1 in 7 good albums per week ... so I figure at this rate, at least in the next couple years I will get another 88 great albums. Not sure why I am still here.

Too much Jesus for my taste - all Jesus and faux-respectful ogling of women. Also just not sonically for me - too smooth or something.

There were some elements of the album I liked, some of the sound and vibe. But. Once he opened his mouth the whole thing just fell apart for me. I just can't get behind rap. Just can't. I endeavoured through the full album but it's not a good sign to start counting down tracks till it's completed. 4 tracks counted down each one about 3 minutes in length... Then I got to the final (double) track coming in at 8.5 minutes. I could have cried into me steering wheel. EIGHT FRICKING MINUTES. Dear god, never again.

Last time I had to listen to an album by this bloke, I hated it. This one is equally loathsome. As always I tried a few tracks and then gave up.

Couldn't finish, too boring. Not my cup of tea. 1/5

favs: they say it’s your world (part 1 & 2) rating 0.8/5

I like rap and am pretty good at math, so have no way of explaining why I didn't like this album. Common is okay (if a little corny), but this is not my fave listening experience.

Not for me

Ah, interesting, blah blah, the foundation of punk, blah blah, provenance, blah blah meh meh.

not my cup of tea to be honest. too many not so tasteful sex references as well lol

pretty bland surface level lyrics with uninteresting instrumentals

Nope. Rapper, Crapper.

He’s a good lyricist but I hated the production of this album, the looping back tracks and the high pitched backing vocals drove me crazy.

Not my thing at all. I did try and finish the album but I didn't.

It is hard to keep talking about the exhausting effect of the looped beat, but trying to avoid it just makes the effect more prominent. Similarly, the thought-terminating cliches of hip hop lyricism shouldn't overshadow some of the clever wordplay on display here, but it does. When the vocalist reiterates the boring old claim that oral sex isn't cheating, it is deflating - okay, you too, Common. I'm sure he doesn't mean it any more than his peers mean every bitch or motherfucker - these are just vocal tics used to extend a metre, versions of um and er. Cliched bravado and machismo is probably much the same and seasoned listeners can ignore them. But, for me, the clangers sound much louder than anything else. I'm sure seasoned listeners have stamina for the looped beats too, never expecting development or progression and just grooving it out. But I am frustrated that all the tension is repeated and there is no release. It's not impossible in the form - it's there in Public Enemy and NWA - but it is largely absent from smooth 21st hip hop and r'n'b. There isn't even a bass drop. Some of the music here is pretty nice, but it doesn't know what to do with that. Go is a good example. The title suggests dynamism. The three-note motif charges it to launch somewhere... but the release of this tension is literally the tune to The Bells of St Clements. I get that what frustrates me are qualities inherent to the style, but that only makes it more frustrating. 1.5 First of all - only 42 minutes long and a big smile on the front cover. Well done Common! Hey other rappers, what’s your problem? Even Will Smith doesn’t smile on the covers of the hour-long ‘Big Willie Style’ and ‘Willenium’. Too ‘cool’ I suppose. I listened to this album while cooking. By the fourth track ‘Faithful’ something like anxiety had materialised in me. This was partly because there were 7 tracks still to go but also because I had begun to think perhaps I had missed a satirical element. Was that the ring of a penny finally dropping on ‘Faithful’ when Common dropped the lines: ‘I was rollin’ around/ in my mind it occurred/ what if God was a her?’ Had the joke been on me? Weren’t the lyrics so far all so conspicuously terrible that surely you were to laugh with Common rather than at him? I pondered this too long and, distracted, burned my olive oil. I had to scrub the pot and start again. My Bucatini all’Amatriciana turned out great in the end. Common turned out to be in earnest. You can see why aficionados of this genre think Kendrick Lamar is James Joyce. 0.5/5

langweilig

0.00 Another album that should be sponsored by Hoover. Because it really sucks.

Not for me.

I have undergrad and post grad degrees in both STEM and humanities so I feel sufficiently qualified to judge this album…. harshly. Vapid, boring, self-congratulatory. Common has nothing to say but says stuff loudly anyway. I hope I never encounter this album again. Be? Should’ve called it Not To Be.

Wow! A second album by baby's bottom soft rapper Common featuring noted lunatic/"racist for clout" (what cursed days have befallen us?) Kanye West. What did I do to deserve this treatment? Unless I black out each night and become a werewolf or some other nocturnal monstrosity that terrorizes nearby villages, I believe I deserve better than quirky hat wearing rap with that disgustingly hollow and tinny 2000's rap production. Don't worry! Nobody will be subjected to essential death metal releases for the late 1980's, we need room for 12 David Bowie albums and TWO albums from the man who seems to be weaker than most of the kids I grew up with in upper middle class Canadian suburbs. At least two, I'm sure this bum will be shouting "go ugh go ugh go go go" into my ears at some dismal day in the future. This website feels like it has a large male demographic, but I implore each of you to imagine what it would be like to have a poorly considered relationship with bald man and have him release a truly dreadful hip-hop song about it. Just imagine the humiliation of hearing "she was freaky like the daughter of a pastor" and it's about you??? That's life-ending stuff. Especially when it leads into the song about Common maybe trying to fuck god if she was a woman. Anyway. It continues on like that. This is rap for people who say they don't usually like rap. 100% watered down drivel that only has eyes for the charts and to please one particular shiny-headed false prophet of Raffi-fied rap muzak feat. John Legend. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Please cancel my order for that bald cap and puffy hat. Halloween is cancelled.

Nothing

No for me ta

Very smooth, and that’s not really my thing.

I’d never heard of this artist or the album before, and halfway through the first track I caught myself thinking, “This sounds like Kanye… but not in a good way.” Then I checked the credits and, of course, Kanye West is actually on it. I was fully jump-scared when his vocals came in on “The Corner.” And seeing that “Go!” has both Kanye West and John Mayer credited? double homicide.......

I gave it a try. The "music" didn't bother me as much as other hip-hop does. But I couldn't bring myself to listen to more than the first two tracks. 1/5

Not my cup of tea.

I like Common as an actor. Not a huge fan of his music.

Sorry, not listening to this one. Not giving Kanye any streaming royalties.

I liked "The Corner", sound and rhymes, even if for me the lyrics' meaning where hard to understand fully with all the slang words. The rest is too pophipop for me.

vabshe ar momewona gng. iseti album iyo udnercover ragac aravin ro ar icis and it should stay that way. 1/5

Some of the beats/backdrops on this are actually pretty good and mood-evoking - there's more than a hint of soul throughout the album. Bin off the vocals/lyrics and you'd have something that I might chuck on as background music. As it stands, though, this is just absolutely not my thing.

I cant remember what it sounded like I know first track sounded like a gameboy game. I didnt listen to it all, theres a limit to this speech impaired nonsense that I can listen to.

Oh my fucking god. Produziert und arrangiert wie ne B-seiten Sammlung, miese Beats, peinliche Lyrics... Abgrund much?

I'm not racist this is just bad music

Feels 3ish, but per the bylaws, anything featuring Kanye gets an automatic one-star deduction, as does anything produced by Kanye. For the purposes of calculating a final rating, each type of offence must be separately considered and assessed. Hey, I don't make the rules.

"be the owner of more land than is set aside for wildlife" 1 star. You lost me at this random and unnecessary greediness.

Shit

Tired

Not my thing.

Tämä oli täysin tuntematon artisti. Piti hammasta purren kuunnella albumi. Musat ja lähinnä biitti oli parasta antia. En ole mikään puhelaulun, eli räpin ystävä. Liikaa sanoja liian lyhyessä ajassa. Arvosana jäi pieneksi omien rajoitteiden takia. Ei riittänyt kuulijan ymmärrys tämän koukkuihin ja hienouteen.

Generic, personality-free rapping about mundane, overdone subject matter.

I think there might be something wrong with me - i just can’t make sense of records like this. It might be amazing, I just can’t tell. It’s like I can’t hear it. The problem is all mine. Give me three chords, a middle eight and some shouting and I’m all over it. Sorry Common, I bet you’re great, you’re just not what I’m looking for.

Off the cuff remark: I am sure that it says more about me than anything else that I have never heard of Common before - there said it. However that also meant I paid close attention to this album... is it deserving of its' place on this list..? My answer is a fairly resounding no. I can't hear anything different, innovative or even remotely interesting. It's not a genre I am huge familiar with, I'll admit, but this doesn't make me want to be either. Pretty dull overall.

I tried to listen to the album and give it a chance but honestly, It wasn't engaging enough for me. Maybe it's for another time, another me.

¿Qué mierda es esto? ¿Un disco con colaboraciones y el subnormal de Kanye West? Pero de verdad, vamos a tener un poco de gusto...

Niggas smoking shooting and rolling with hoes Yeah, yeah Nothing new or original here, lyrically or musically

Nicht mein Geschmack

More rambling over hip hop beats and soul backing tracks. Just not my cup of tea.

This'll go down like a good drug deal in 'da hood' but for me? Rap is mostly all the same crap! Just cheap sounding as the beats are mostly all the same and derogatory lyrics hence the 'parental advisory' warning. It's just a pity there isn't a zero rating here because that's what I'd give it.

Why do rapper have to say nigger all the time?

Not my thing. I hate rap.

Not a fan

Repetitive instrumentals and looped samples with a constant and relaxed conversational flow, laid-back beats and elements of Soul making this HipHop Soul.

The first track started promising right until Lonnie decided to open his gob and it all went to shit. Only question still remaining is what I hate more, rap or punk. After this rap is winning. (is it winning if you are the most hated or should that be losing?)

Бе

On the count of there - for god's sake go!

Didn’t even listen, heard enough before

Nije mi trebalo dugo da odlučim da mi je ovo neslušljivo. 1/5, 1/10

Rapsy. Ale takie se

No interest.

Hip-hop, 29eme album => 1/5

I am trying to give all of these a fair crack, but there isn’t much of substance here at all. A single interesting track with wonky piano samples going crazy (says here it was produced by - oh wait, never mind), and a load of competent, inoffensive soul samples and slick beats beneath a nothingey rap vocal. The sort of thing you hear, for example, coming from a passing car full of NPCs. It features interesting guests such as The Last Poets and - err, nope, nobody else. It is the sort of album where you cannot wait for it to end, quite literally from the first few seconds of the first track. Also, you have to do Olympic level ear-squinting to not pick up the endless (and I do mean endless) religious messaging. Frankly it’s like being bashed to death with a bible by Reverend Lovejoy.

The Corner

Shite

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SHITTY HIPHOP IN THIS LIST!

Toinen päivä peräkkäin samanlaista kuraa.

1. be - 1.5 2. corner - 1.5 3. go - 0 4. faithful - 1.5 5. teztify - 0 6. love - 1.5 7. city - 1.5 8. food - 1.5 9. real - 1.5 10. they - 1 11. uuorld - 1.5

Well, I listened to it, except of the last song. I quit that one. Don't feel any better for it though.

Gimme something without Kanye West on it.

Still, I tried, but not my thing.

Kinda groovy, has a good beat, but not our thing. Was enjoying it initially, however, many of thr songs sound similar. Think I'd need to listen a few more times to have a well-rounded impression. - but that, I won't do.

Well it’s Rap Jim but not as we know it. It’s devoid of misogyny, gangster speak, knives and willie references. So that is its favour. If Stevie Wonder was a rapper then maybe it would have sounded like this. But despite Stevie’s undoubted talent any imaginary fusion between him and rap would make no difference to my judgement of this type of music. 1/5 8/2/25

Not my thing

Definitely not for me. Nothing particularly interesting going on.

Bad language

Intro klingt wie ein 80 Nintendospiel. Und dann hört man 90er hiphop. Klingt cool, aber bekommt much nicht.

man, wat is dit voor lijst... heb de indruk dat het 'Listen to these 1001 albums and you surely will die' is... kutalbum!

Not for me.

no

*some music, mostly rap.

The best part of this album was Kanye West.

Not for me

Shit

Great voice. Not my style of music

nah

Not sure why this makes it into the top 1000? Rubbish.

Rap, 2005 -> 1

whatev

Maybe I am just not a rap guy, maybe this album isn't actually this good. Anyways, it's simply a bit boring to listen to, it's like a sip of warm water.

Didn't mind it but quickly became background dull noise. Another "rapper of the month" putting out same dull urban crap.

No

Awful