Be

Nice to hear some old Kanye I’ve not heard before. All round good stuff. I like Commons vibe. Simpsons: Yes

Production is incredible, love the jazzier feel. Common's got a great voice and flow, and this album is a nice 42 minutes, gone is the bloat that "Like Water For Chocolate" had. Just (almost) pure bangers. There were a few songs I didn't care for but this was mostly great. Also cool Chappelle's Show intro

I went in blind and by 2 tracks in I was like "kanye???" Very well produced album, I found it to be a bit preachy at times... but didnt ruin the overall album.

Хороший рэпчик, довольно приятный. Ничего супер впечатляющего я в нем не нашел, но тут приятные биты, приятная читка, олдскульный стиль. Хороший альбом для теплых деньков и расслабленных прогулок, залетает с кайфом

Melodic and rap. Many artist collabs.

Much better than the other Common album on this list.

that was nice, hip hop soul mix make sense to me, yet its sounds like a music of a certain era and im not into listen to it everyday

A good album for its era - but perhaps a bit too mellow and repetitive at times.

Favorite: Be (intro) This album is impressively good

I liked this style of hip hop

Literally knew nothing about Common going in except he was on Silo. Loved this album though.

Wayyyyyyyy better this time than the first time I listened to it a couple years ago. Sometimes I rate albums unfairly and didn’t give this one a chance. Glad to have a second chance with a separate account.

Not a fan of hip-hop but this album was surprisingly good. Really enjoyed it.

Good stuff

Highlight Song/s The Corner, GO!, Faithful, The Food and They Say Such a refreshing album, it is not often when a new album gives me that feeling. Solid flow and solid production. It seems like the lyrics aren't too negative and gangster, It gets a bit old when a rapper tells me hes going to spray all his rivals.

Has some of the elements I enjoy most in hip-hop: smart, poetic lyrics, lovely voice and great soulful beats. But man, did the sped-up samples on some of the songs annoy me to no end. I would go as far as to say I hate it. :( But it didn't completely ruin my experience; 7.5/10. It's definitely a well made album - I get why people say they miss older Kanye stuff. I'm glad I'm not studying mathematics (scary and real) and only statistics (epistemically contested; made up and fake) so I can enjoy this album with my low quantitative intelligence. Favs: Be (Intro); Love is...; The Corner; Chi-City

I’ve listened to this once before and enjoy it even more than the first time

Great flow, love the horns. Common’s an OG for a reason. The lyrics are poetic and will improve upon another listen when I can really focus on them.

I first heard this album around the time it first came out and I remember playing it endlessly. It has a jazzy soulful low-key sound. It deals mostly with empowerment and taking pride in who you are and what you have.

This album is an example of what you can do with great lyrics, rhythm, and music all rolled together. Such a breath of fresh air compared to some of the more contemporary, trap-oriented hip-hop.

As an old school hip-hop lover growing up in the 80's and early 90's and to see where it headed, it's been hard for me to truly enjoy the genre cause it's gotten so bad in my opinion. When this album came out it gave me hope. There are still intelligent rappers out there that tell meaningful stories while I can shake my rump.

Common is a good storyteller and Kanye is all over the album for good or bad. 4/5

Good rap.

Common has always seemed like the old dude at the club. I like this, despite all the Kanye (old Kanye was something else, but I cant listen to him anymore). The hits are here, and some of the other tracks hit just as hard. When I am looking for this kind of vibe, I will definitely revisit. 4 stars.

Some next level 'separating the art from the artist's required today regarding Kanye, but oh my god the production quality of this album is unreal. Personal highlights were Chi-City and The Food. This has gave me an appetite for hip-hop again

Classic!!! I love Chicago rap and I love this era. It's so impactful but still simple and fun and just plain good!

Good

Timeless

The fact that this album and Konnichiwa are both on this list is astounding. This was incredible. Loved it. Also, "I wanna be a duck!" was adorable.

Chilled R&B vibes rap

I liked this one, really good album! Loved the twist in Testify. Best song: The Corner Notable(s): Testify, Chi-City

Strong songs and above-average rapping from Common on this beguiling collection. Produced by and featuring a pre-Nazi Kanye who showcases his abundant skills, early-ish in his career.

Rating: 8/10 Honestly this album is carried by Kanye's production which is absolutely phenomenal. Common is decent but his delivery and flow are so one-dimensional and I did not care for some of the lyrics here as well. Be (Intro) is one of the greatest songs of all time.

4 stars Solid album with early-Kanye production, great lyrics and flow. Quite soulful. You don’t need a PhD to understand that this is good.

Wonderful kanye production with some thoughtful lyrics. Songs like be and faithful really speak to his mind, culture and things he's seeing i around him. I've always really appreciated it. That being said, at times the production feels a little dated which makes it a little less repayable

Best hip hop album so far. Musically complex and clever lyrics.

Smooth beats, humanist lyrics--no complaints here.

I remember being disappointed when this came out, but it's not bad! Light and groovy, but also introspective.

da otvorim kafic specijaliziran za kave, smoothije i sendvice u velikom gradu neke anglofone zemlje ovo bi tamo pustala

Cool mix, très Ye

Kanye est bien évidemment le highlight de l'album, non seulement avec ses verses mais avec la production incroyable. Quel bel outro!

A strange one. Opened so strong and then blipped off and on.

The Kanye feature and live record are the highlights

Kanye produced, intellectual, soulful Go Testify

God rap stuff

Biggest takeaway from this album is I really wish Kanye wasn't a douchebag. This is him at his best productionwise - the beats are soulful and chopped, Common drops bar after bar, and it combines for an incredibly enjoyable rap album. Easy 4 stars.

👍 4

Some good songs on here. Kanye sure was talented before he went insane.

I really really enjoyed this.

that one guy who's like "i have an advanced degree in being a big baby" from the top reviews is nuts - this is a great album!

omg it finally happened... i got the album with the review from guy who hates hip-hop because he was a STEM major. incredible. honestly for this album in particular, that seems like a strange hill to die on, since it's one of the more interesting and well-produced rap/hip-hop albums on this list imo. the songs are engaging and vivacious, and common should be more of a household name with stuff like this. favorites: be (intro), go!, testify, they say

Jazzy hip-hop with some crisp and chill production. Vintage Kanye was a pleasant surprise (RIP). 4.5/5

Solid rap album. Great samples on a couple of the tracks. I liked listening to this one. Also the more of the old Kanye I hear, the more I miss him.

I didn’t realise common had been around so long. I liked this but I didn’t listen too closely. But I did enjoy it. And it’s important.

This is so kanye. I know this album is produced by him but like omg its so apparent. very very good should checked this out sooner

The opening number, Be, is weird as heck. It consists of a very melodic bloop-synth (think 80s-arcade-machine-core) combined with some messy violins, a double bass, a low-quality rap beat, and a pretty solid rap vocal. Really odd – but honestly, it works wonders. The synth is so odd and endearing that it really sells the track. The double bass is a common theme and carries this old-fashioned jazzy quality that creates a wholely unique hip-hop feel. Nice small-combo-jazz feel too, particularly in songs like Real People that put specific emphasis on horn likes and chord progressions. The lo-fi feel is fantastic and is featured on pretty much every song except The Food. Like a disappointingly large proportion of hip-hop, the lyrics are a swing and a miss. Even in the most popular track: "Go and uh ooh baby, she liked it raw and / Like rain when she came, it poured / And like a car that I can't afford / I would want it then want some more / The positions our frames explored let me know / She was secure, back for more"... And in a later track: "Wonder how many of us these drugs gonna touch / Used to gangbang, ain't really thug that much / Rather have some thick broads then the dutch to clutch"... Yeah. Not great. And the lyrics don't improve much from there. On the bright side, it's pretty easy to tune out the vocals because the instrumental is so fun to listen to. Check those keyboards! The muted trumpets, backing vocals, and piano in Faithful! It's so tastefully done that it could easily get a 5-star rating without the melody-lacking lead vocal. Picture the track Testify with just the female vocalist, with her bluesy, soulful lyrics. And without the comparatively monotonous male vocal. Dang it, this Common bloke's music would be so much better if... well, if he wasn't in it. The track They Say gets close to this, featuring Common's singing voice, and it's a sonic breakthrough I hope he picked up on in later recordings. NB: the PhD guy is an idiot. 4/5 Key tracks: Be (Intro), Faithful, Real People

This project keeps bringing me excellent hip hop albums. If you told me a few months ago that my highest rated genre on average (well, tied with a couple others) was going to be hip hop, I'd have laughed in your face. But albums like this and Power By Numbers show that can do a lot for people like me who are more into melodies. I don't think this one appeals to me quite as much as that album, but it's still one I can see myself coming back to. I probably should say something about the lyrics, but it's something I have difficulty keeping track of. They seemed good I guess. Testify was the standout for me there. I don't like the gangsta stuff in a lot of rap, so this album fared well in that way. Wasn't big on the sex stuff in "Go!" but that was all there was on the album that didn't agree with me. It wasn't too bad either, and not really sexist, so I can forgive it. Favourite songs were probably Testify and Real People. It's Your World was pretty great as well. They're all good though. I gotta mention PhD mathematician dude - man, that explanation is complete bollocks. I dislike talking about intelligence and whatnot, think it's ignorant, but I want to offer my perspective here. I'm also a STEM guy, and have a preference for prog / melodic stuff over lyricism. However, my verbal intelligence is the strongest. I would feel comfortable saying that verbal intelligence = preference for lyricism is complete bogus. I think there's a stronger argument for saying that prog probably appeals more to STEM oriented people like myself. Many of us have awful social skills, are obnoxious and say pompous shite like phd dude. This is probably the real reason that prog is seen as uncool, because its fans are.

nice ass album

I think Common isn’t as commonly (no pun intended) known to the world for a simple reason: was borne in the wrong era. His rapping style is reminiscent of the artists he grew up with: Latifah; Chuck D; LL Cool J; et al. However, being younger, the bulk of career was during the club rap age of Nelly & Li’l Kim and the Neo-Gangster era Jay-Z & Ludacris. Basically, his socially conscious lyrical style was lost because it wasn’t hook-reliant or aggressive/ sexualized enough to be mainstream anymore. It doesn’t mean it was great. This album was my first introduction to him outside of acting (saw him in Smoking Aces and was curious). It was refreshing knowing there were some ol’ school rappers with a point out there. Key songs for me were Faithful because it was an interesting question of how would people treat religion if God was a woman, and I liked the vibe of Testify. I think I could hang with him….

I’ve not been a fan of the rap/hip-hop offered up so far for two reasons. Firstly, the rampant misogyny can’t be given the tagline of ‘it was decades ago’. Secondly, some of the rap (I’m mainly thinking Jay-Z so far) is the sort of rhyme that you’d get laughed at by your primary school teacher for - H to the Izzo! This is better. The lyrics are interesting and offer something that it’s the two above. The music is also far more interesting too.

I’m almost 65 years old and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then again, I’m not great at math. 😂

Beautifully produced album, Common is a really talented rapper, very uplifting sound, Be (intro) is one of the best beats ever.

Good :)

The original chill, lo-fi hip-hop to study to (or so it seems). I like Common's style and the beats are great. It's too bad Kanye turned into a POS because he does well complimenting Common.

I know of this artist. Not a huge hip hop/r&b follower. I know a couple tracks off this album. Good album. I'd expect nothing less from this artist. Then also having most of this being produced by Kanye is not too bad in itself. (Kanye is not really the best these days though). Pretty good. 4-stars

Dug this a lot! Favourite tracks were The Corner, Real People and They Say. Just cool stuff!

I really enjoyed this! There's been a tiny bit of modern rap on our list so far, and a decent amount of 90s hip hop, but this felt like an album that straddles that gap. That slightly dated 90s sound, but with the smoother flow that you'd expect in more recent rap. I particularly enjoyed The Food.

Not bad, but I don't love spoken word style rap.

I saw him perform at a festival once and the crowd was not really that into hip hop and while he tried to win them over it just fell flat. I was only vaguely familiar with his work but the lack of crowd response kind of soured me on him and I never gave Common much of a chance after that. The lowered expectations based on a performance that was more of a crowd issue let this album give me a pleasant surprise. Damn good album.

Pretty groovy beats and good lyrics. I didn’t think there was much to write home about but really did enjoy it.

For when you want to listen to Kanye but guilt-free Satisfying pleasantly-produced comfort music

Chillllll vibes

Banging with the kanye beats

Better than I expected. I quite enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this listen. One I've been meaning to get to for a long time, and no disappointment!

I think it was alright

Vibes

Better than I anticipated (only know common from his acting rolls). Lyrics that were serious without sounding just like gangster rap. Stuff had good flow, a lot chill allowing lyrics to come through clear

I really enjoy the 70s soul and funk music Common is rapping on. Warm and nostalgic mood.

I enjoyed it. First ever listen.

Never heard of Mr Common but this is a common W, as the kids say. Social commentary, human stories, and smooth flows. Particularly liked The Corner. Go! is very 2005 in that it features Kanye AND John Mayer. Feels very much like a Kanye album of that time, in a good way.

I don't think this particular style of rap is my favorite but it has it's moments like this. The prediction is amazing. The rapping is very passionate. You can just tell alot went into this 4*

Great rhymes and production. Common makes good music and knows how to build a good album.

This is wildly better than the other Common album on this record. Maybe I was just in the right mood for it, but this is just awesome.

It's not doing anything particularly groundbreaking, but I enjoyed this as a soulful, laidback hip hop album. I also now know Common as someone other than that bloke from John Wick 2.

I only have a Ph.D. in Linguistics, so being a humanities professor, I suppose I should like this. And I do, actually. I'm not a huge fan of rap, but I can get into hip-hop, and this seems to lean that direction. It's not my usual style of music, but I enjoyed the album and could see how well crafted it was. I'd give it three stars, but I'll give an extra to balance the math better.

Smooth, jazzy, political. V nice

un gros 4 solide, bon album

Laid back early Kanye vibes

Good

Awesome

I haven't heard much from Common, but I did recognize GO!. All in all, the other tracks were mostly solid.

Solid album, but I feel like if you’re going to have tracks about femme fatales framing their men, you shouldn’t also include tracks about little pious thoughts like what if god was a woman, and so on. Have some consistency, man!

I loved this album! Almost every song is a winner. Jazzy and mellow a lot of the time, but also intense.

Really good hip hop album. Production is great which is not surprising considering Kanye had a hand in the production. The sound in general is very uplifting and I feel like it cheers me up whenever I listen to it. 8/10 Favourite: Faithful Least Favourite: The Food

I really liked it. The lyricism and melodies are really good. I'm shit at Math, so that's probably why

Chicago hip hop from this era is good. It pushed into consciousness, elevated the style and had the Midwest flair close to my heart. The death knell for gangsta rap, I like it. But Common is a really bad actor. I mean one of it not the worst rapper-turned-actor there is. In everything he’s in, he’s terrible. I don’t get it, he seems smart and capable but he is not good.

Common - Be I had only known Common as an actor until I listened to this album. This album came out in 2005 but it feels a lot older. Common is a year older than me so it makes sense that his influences would be 70s-90s rap and hip hop. This album is more melodic than a lot of rap albums I've listened to. It also seems more story oriented than many. Much of his rap feels spoken in a way, which makes me wonder if Eminem was influenced by him. The closing narration sounded a bit like Bill Cobbs but was Lonnie Lynn a former basketball player and poet.

Great all round lyrics

noice, chill rap

Surprisingly great album

Classic Common!! Chi-city represent!!!

A good example of why this project is good for me. I don’t think this album was anywhere near my radar. (I was in fifth grade, smalltown Indiana when it came out) Good stuff!

Smooth and soulful and positive-vibesy – one’s preferred hip-hop mode. Exceedingly non-cringey and in no way a guilty pleasure (for there’s nothing to be embarrassed about). “Go!” is an all-time personal fave. “Love Is” and “Chi-City” and “Real People” and “They Say” are also great. Warm and humane closer makes a mood-improving exit. Samples are well chosen and beats well balanced, mostly groovy and inclining to the chill and thoughtful (the template for conscious hip-hop, maybe). Bonus points for holding up so well over time.

The Kanye West production is really good.

Love the bass opening followed by synth and piano on track 1. Very jazzy opening followed by some 70s samples and a trip beat. His vocals flow in over the top and you're already groovin'.

Hiphop met een vleugje soul en funky! I like :)

Laatste nummer met die kinderstemmen was echt mooi, het schetst zo’n mooi verhaal

Dad- 6 Mom- 7.5 Mike- 7.5 Lori- 8.5 Michael- 8 Miles- 8 Cole- 8.5 Avg- 7.71

The non-antisemitic version of Kanye West 😍 I know he produced it, but If I just ignored every song he sung in, it's a good album.

Already listened ❤️ Great production that really suits his rapping

More Common with Dilla beats!

Damn good old school hip hop. Hits deep with concious lyrics and bold beats. The early Kanye features are here to remind you that he had so much talent back then. But, alas. I never paid much attention to Common on my upbringing so its nice to finally dig in when i was mature enough. I was although a fan of the dave chappelle show so i know fondly of that performance that was featured on the album. Cheers to the weekend cunts.

Better than I remember and I could see my rating increasing even more in the future. Kanye's contribution to this album makes it irresistible. Favorite track: Go!

Solid album. Probably a 3.5 for me, but rating up because there's a crackup review from someone who gave this a 1 because he's a a STEM guy PHD student who "doesn't get rap" and I'm doing my part to bring balance to this world

Nice hip hop. I knew Common was a rapper but I'd never heard a single one of his songs. Good songs. Hip hop bias makes me give this album a 4.

Excellent vibes, never heard of this artist

no idea why Spotify only has the live version of The Food..

Näyttelijänä tämän kaverin tunnen, hyvä levy

First album I encountered that I already knew! I love this one. 4 stars.

Absolutely loved it. Beautiful lyrics.

Soulful, humble, and impactful with some great production. Best song: They Say

It’s been a while since I had any interest in anything hip-hop so I was unsure about this one. But it was so great! The storytelling was evenly matched with the solid production and mixing. Actually really enjoyed it.

3.8 impeccable, a little low on variety but overall a nice listen from start to finish. faves: be(intro), the corner

Really enjoyed this. Is it old Kanye? 8/10

Classic early 2000s hip hop album, good production from Kanye during that era

Fun album. As soon as I recognized Kanye, I told myself "I'm gonna hear about this"

Didn't realize how many songs I remember. Always was a big fan of Common's cadence and tempo. Lyrics defining life in Chi town with witty, contemplative wordplay

I liked this. I do not like that other guy though

much more enjoyable than his acting in "Silo" loved the Dropout-era Kanye beats

Too much fucking Kanye for my tastes

Hate to say it but Kanye West is (was?) a really good producer

Good HIp Hop

The Corner and They Say go mega hard. I like the sampled beats a lot. The vocal samples are annoying as hell though. Common has some sweet rhyme schemes where he will stick with the same rhyme for a whole verse which is pretty impressive. Especially when he's actually saying stuff is not just drugs and money. The lyrics also tend to be sort of preachy though, he literally compares himself to Jesus at one point. All together , solid album but I don't think it quite deserves five stars.

Amazing combination of hip hop with soul elements. I really enjoyed this.

I knew nothing about this album going in and about 3 songs in was very impressed, thinking it sounded like The Blueprint. Then Ye showed up. He's really ruined music enjoyment due to the Nazi love. I'm sure Common hates it, but I can't think of anything else. Kanye made this album what it is, but I still have to credit Common on the positive feel. I might not revisit and it's not as good as The Blueprint, but it's good all the way through.

Only reason it’s not a five is because of the deluge of other excellent jazz rap artists on the list, no disrespect to common, just not my absolute favorite, will probably listen again

Great jazzy instrumentals. Very 2000s album.

loved this, had only heard Go before diving into this record! Dilla & K*nye production is no joke.

Great flow. Hate to say it but the Kanye features go hard

Dope

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I'm honestly not very well-versed in rap, so it's hard for me to contextualize what this album does better/worse than other albums, what it brings new to the table, etc. But from the opening double bass riff I had a good feeling that I would enjoy 'Be', and I was right. The whole album was just very solid, hard to find any faults.

Imagine you're a Chicago-area kid in the fall of 2005, sitting in homeroom, and the school is lit with energy. The White Sox just won the World Series, the ladybugs are clinging to the corners of the classroom ceiling, and Common's GO! is breezing through the radio waves while autumn air breezes through the window crack. The homeroom teacher pretending they do not hear the song lyrics. The other kids chatting about out how Kanye is about to the greatest rapper ever. And even though we are north of the city, some kids pretending they have street cred because they have family in the Southside. Common brought poetry, Kanye production, and that amazing intro bassline to a great album that gives walking on autumn leaves in the beautiful windy city energy.

Love the backing track on the intro. This is kanye on production. I'm never really sure what to attribute to production v. the musician (i.e. how much of uptown funk is Ronson, how much is Mars?), but I guess you can see Kanye's fingerprints here, though common is a lot more restrained. I'm liking the duet on the second song. This is a nice middle between the maximalism of Kendrick and 2010s hiphop and the carefree laidback sounds of ATCQ. I thought Faithful was lyrically pretty engaging: the "what if god was a woman?" approach has been done many times, but I think Common does something neat with it. There's nothing transcendent about this album that would get it to 5, but this is a well put-together album that reminds me how good Kanye was at producing, among many other things. Common sounds pretty good (which is funny; I think of him a parent-approved rap vibes)

This is a good album. It's fun rap. There are some great features (old school Kanye, *chef's kiss) and the lyrical play is nice. Lyrically, it's ... interesting ... in a couple places as Common seems to grapple with how he feels about women, often falling into the traps that have historically marred rap as anti-woman. The opening song talks about his feelings for his daughter and the hope that he has for her and wondering if she is the Messiah. There's a song in here grappling with how he would feel about his faith if God (and Jesus) were women. It ends with (what TBH sounds like a response and callback to Baz Lurhman's "Everybody's Free") a bunch of children, may of them talking about what they want to be when they grow up. But at the same time, there's songs about his sexual fantasy of a FFM threesome that devolves into the fetishization of lesbians. He has a song portraying a wife as a crime queenpin that's pinned the crime on her husband (and apparently doesn't know about the appeal process?!?!?!). There's a song about a tragic woman who can't seem to escape poverty, despite her hopes and some desperate measures. It's all complicated, and very much of its time. With all that, I can't give this album the five stars it probably deserves for the sound of it all and that I was so ready to give it based only on the first song. So, 4 stars it is.

This is the only Common album I've ever known, so I was surprised to find that this was his sixth release. It's good hip hop, that's for sure. And, I hate to admit it, but it's obvious that part of what makes this album so good is the Kanye production. My only complaint about this album is that it's not very catchy. Despite this being an album that I'd heard many times over in my college days (mostly because my roommate was super into it), I could only recall a couple songs. Still, it's really well done, and I now know why my roommate liked it so much.

Oikein hyvä rap-albumi. Paljon jazzista ja soulista tulevia vaikutteita.

Really enjoyed this album.

Common is kind of underappreciated. He is good but not great. I feel like most people don't like him or have never heard of him though, at least most people in the mainstream anyway.

Man merkt den Einfluss von Kanye auf dem Album. 00er Kanye war einfach ein Biest, fight me. 4 Sterne weil ich nicht gut in Mathe bin

Gosh this is good. I knew Common was a great artist but I’d never given him the time. Grateful to have listened to this one.

Послушал не без удовольствия.

Really smooth hip hop album, highlights are "Go", "Be" and "Love Is." Loses points for "Faithful". Overall enjoyable listen but don't love.

A classic.

good production, nothing really boring, good album overall

Overall decent album, gets an extra star for his acting role on “Silo” which was solid

Jepaa chilliä räppiä. Kuullostaa hyväntuuliselta, en sanoihin keskittynyt. Parhaat: Real People, GO!, They Say

Thankfully I'm awful at maths. A snowballs chance in hell I would ever be able to get a PhD in mathematics. So of course I rather enjoyed this album. It's that simple.

Fastnade för Common med Like water for chocolate men denna är nog hans bästa skiva. Jävligt välproducerad (kan ju inte bli så mycket bättre än Kanye och J Dilla) och Common är alltid bra, framförallt textmässigt. Stark fyra.

Not my usual cup of tea, but thoroughly enjoyed this

Бодрый позитивный. Под такое летом ходить по набережной. Канье Уэст как битмейкер великолепен. Ну а текст -- говно, конечно. Ну ладно. GO особенно хороша.

A very solid rap album. Kanye's soul production is great. Good thoughtful verses. The ending clinched it for me as a must listen. Some of the best this genre/era has to offer.

It's interesting getting this album directly after Yeezus by Kanye. I said it before, but I'll say it again: fuck Kanye for being a nazi. He made so much great music, this album included, but how it's hard to think about what he was doing on this album without thinking about what he would become. That said, this album is really solid. It's a great example of the soul sample flipping that Kanye was doing in the early 00s, and it holds up. The addition of Dilla to this album changes the way it feels, and it's another reminder of what we lost when he died, less than a year after this album came out Common is really solid as a rapper on this album, better than I remember him being, and he really takes advantage of having a well-produced album 4/5

Really liked how there tended to be musical background for the rapping, rather than just chopped up samples here and there, made it more of a “song” for someone not well versed in the hiOhio genre. 3.5/5

Be is a great album... thoughtful, soulful, and smooth from start to finish. One thing that holds it back, though (and a lot of albums from this era), is that high-pitched, almost computer-generated voice effect sprinkled throughout. I’ve never been a fan of that, but this album manages to rise above it for the most part. Still, undeniable talent and sharp lyricism make this one of Common’s best. Also, Fvc|< Kanye.

Would’ve been great but it has Kanye’s stink all over it.

I quite liked this one. Enjoyed the clarity of his voice. Did not enjoy his acting performance in Silo though. Wooden.

I listened to this album on repeat when it came out. Went to see a Common live show, February 2006. Common, smooth, great lyricism, has that bounce. Nice word play. Every track has something interesting. Couple nice J Dilla tracks. The other tracks with a formula that worked for so long. The Food should have been the studio version. Live version could have been a bonus track. Still a great song though. I had forgotten about this album. It sonically holds up, but I probably won't revisit it often again.

Can definitely tell it was produced by Kanye He's not as good of a rapper as Kanye is, but it's still a great album

Cool album, great production by J-Dilla as always, I liked the beats and Common's flow. One of the better modern rap albums on this list so far, enjoyable and positive record.

Great production and smooth rap

Overall: 8/10 I've seen this album cover so many times and somehow never heard anything from it. That's probably why I had no idea how involved Kanye is. Musically, that was really exciting but it's also Kanye...ANYWAY Common himself is a talented lyricist with a good voice for hip hop. As much as I don't like the man, Kanye's production is truly what makes this album special imo. It reminds me of The College Dropout while still feeling fresh and different. I don't think I'll be diving into this one daily yet but I could see it growing on me. Fav Song: Chi-City Least Fav Song: Faithful

Ohhhh I like. Kanye jcole type feel

I enjoyed this one.

Classic

Surprised to see Common on here. Tbh, I know him more as a part of the cultural zeitgeist than a music artist. I didn’t expect so many Kanye features, but that’s cool. Overall, I like it. 4/5 Highlights: The Corner Chi-City

GOOD Music!

Klassiker. Stabila låtar som håller upp än idag.

Quite a good album, haven't listened to rap for a long time as it's usually always the same monotonous music. It's different here, I would describe it as melodic. I also like the voice.

Puede que el mejor momento de producción de mr Kanye West y unos raperos y tracklist super sólidos, no sé por qué no le pongo un cinco

Never heard this one before, and was shocked to find an album majority-produced by Kanye appearing in front of me now of all times - modern-day context (Kan-text?) aside, Common has a good project here! The intro track is a banger way to start, with the way it all comes together with the strings. Whole album works, no skips. Not a Common fan but I’ve really mostly only seen him as either a feature or an actor. I’ll return to this.

E bueno, 4.5

This is a fantastic album. The production by Kanye and J Dilla is amazing. Common's flow is less fluid and more metric than someone like Kendrick Lamar, but still freer than the sometimes sing-song-y feel of old-school rap. It's definitely smoother and less aggressive or angry than KL, which may be too "Starbucks Presents...Now This is Hip Hop!" for some. But it feels to me more a matter of maturity. The grown man doesn't (shouldn't) have the same problems and perspectives as the 19 yr old angry young man. I get it. I feel the same way about bands like Metallica who lost their edge as they matured. Sometimes it's better to come across the more mature version of the artist before the young and hungry versions. anyway... There's a depth to his lyrics that would reward repeat listens. Helluva storyteller. Testify might be one of my favorite tracks on the album, though the twist in the final verse is a bit too abrupt. I can't go 5 stars because it's not perfect, but this is an easy 4 stars for me.

83% Best: The Corner; GO!; Testify; Real People; They Say Must-Hear? Sure

first listen very cool, very thoughful

HELL YEAH So underrated every song is very good Jazzy sound + bars So awesome

good hiphop

That was a great album. I liked the call-back in the last track to the first song, and to the album title. It's a shame about Kanye, cause he's a great producer, and rapper himself.

Gospal, Jazz, Soul, and Hip-hop. The way that Common is able to blend these different sounds so seamlessly is what makes this album stand out. I love his flow, it's easy to follow along but not so simple where it's the same cadence for too long. I love how he enunciates his words and you're able to clearly hear everything that he's saying. I love the mix of the record, everything has its own little island and nothing is clashing with each other. That opening bass line had me hooked right away. Groovy, deep, immediately had my head bobbing. And then when Common comes in, again, his flow it's not like it's a simple cadence, it's got rhythm, it's got flow, it keeps me captivated. I love how the bass is mixed throughout the entire album. It's deep, it keeps everything in line and is the backbone to each song. Great album. 4

I like Common quite a lot. The music is tight, soulful, jazz and exactly as subtle as it needs to be. The lyrics are powerful and socially conscious. But I have to admit that anything with Kanye West's name attached is a little hard to listen to. I'm trying to be objective and remember that this was before he came out as an extreme right-wing racist conspiracy theorist. And I can completely see why people loved his production work. Even when it's a little gimmicky (like the "chipmunk soul" style), it still works. So I'm going to ignore present day Kanye and say that he and Common made an amazing pair on this album.

Yxi wähä rucous kiria monil iumalisil ia tarpelisil rucouxil ia kijtos sanoil sekä entisistä suomen kielen että mös muista rucous kirioista lisätty/ enätty ia vdhistettu Iumalan cunniaxi ia suomalaisten tarpexi. Kaxi wähä rucous kiria monil iumalisil ia tarpelisil rucouxil ia kijtos sanoil sekä entisistä suomen kielen että mös muista rucous kirioista lisätty/ enätty ia vdhistettu Iumalan cunniaxi ia suomalaisten tarpexi. Tyypillinen albumi. heh tajuutko.. ymmärätkö? Yxi wähä rucous kiria monil iumalisil ia tarpelisil rucouxil ia kijtos sanoil sekä entisistä suomen kielen että mös muista rucous kirioista lisätty/ enätty ia vdhistettu Iumalan cunniaxi ia suomalaisten tarpexi. chi-city

Never listened to this. Not once. And to be honest, I probably have never listened to any song by Common (at least not deliberately or that I could remember). But damn...that was smooth as hell. Like a mix of rap and jazz. Enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would.

I'll always cherish this album for allowing me to listen to some prime Kanye beats without having to listen to Kanye. Well, most of the time, at least.

Impeccable flow catchy verses and

Not my normal genre but I really enjoyed this. Especially loved all the Chicago content

Bit of a genre change.. liked this album, real smooth listening, classic 2000 rap

Production on this is great, def see its merit

I've heard this album when I was 24 years old. And what I loved most, he had so much soul... (no, for real, putting aside the fact that mentions of Dave Chappelle aged horribly and that I wished Kanye kept doing great music instead of trying so hard to offend everybody, this is a very, very good rap album!)

Truly enjoyed this album. Fun yet meaningful.

maybe the most likeable album ever lol. for some reason i always remember this as a debut even tho i know its not, but i always forget specifically that common had been releasing music for over a decade by the time this came out...obviously a big part of this record's enduring legend is the involvement from golden era k@ny3 but im glad things worked out to get a bunch of eyes on common at this stage. not that he has Everything Figured Out or whatever, but the level of lived experience is oozing out of everywhere and is just in general the stage i wish a lot more artist of all types and mediums got to reach...being rich and successful esp can hold u in a myopic personal stasis (like some of the collaborators here, famously!), but at least at this stage common feels like he has never stopped living and thoughtfully accruing new experiences and understanding...just one of a myriad contributors to this being a very sweet and assuring record, esp for these Times,,,,bush-era stubborn optimism rly does hit nice about now

Bra album. Chicago-rappare precis som Kanye (som är feat.) på någon låt. Stabil, känns som en klassiker?

It’s good, it’s not my thing but I enjoyed spending time listening

great stuff. EZ listening. good vibes only

i have a bias toward rap albums, but this one is pretty good. maybe the reason for this is the presence of ye as the producer and the co-writer, who is still half a genius at then, before becoming that wanker that he now is. even though i was a fan of taylor when i was in middle school, i still miss the old kanye. 4/5

Favourite tracks: be (intro); the corner; go!; faithful; love is...; they say

An enjoyable album

i love the intro

Pretty good stuff, although I do find it a little over produced and sheened - definately prefer his slightly rawer, jazzier albums such as Like Water for Chocolate..

kinda chill. kinda angry

Somewhat overseen rap album that shouldn’t be overseen. Feels like Illmatic 2.0

Really strong rap album. Lyrics, flow, beats: everything on point. Favorites: Chi-City, Be, They Say

I'm more familiar with Common the actor than Common the rapper but consider me pleasantly surprised. Appreciate the soul/R&B-influenced backing tracks. Favorites: Be (Intro), Chi-City, The Food, They Say Would I listen to it again: Probably

7/10 Nice album, production amazing Common doesn’t quite live up to Kanye’s production Best: they say

4 star. Nice easy listening hippity hop.

Really digging Common's lyrics throughout this album, and the music hit me in good ways. There are a handful of touches that I'm not sure about on my first spin, but I'll definitely listen to it a few more times to see if my opinion changes. For now I'm not sure it's great, but it's definitely worthy of attention and I'm glad this project gave me a reason to listen to it. I may need to dig into his other albums too.

Some records can be hit or miss in Atmos but this one is mixed well. Really good story telling on Testify. Haven’t listened to a lot of Common’s stuff but I’m giving him a Chappelle’s Show bump like I did with Q-Tip. Favorite song: The Corner Least favorite song: Faithful

super chillll

Solid album

Man I miss 2005 rap: when Kanye's screws were loose instead of left behind in 2015. Common really nailed the comeback with his poetic and powerful lyrics while Kanye really laid down some of his better tracks I've heard outside his own music. Simple, but powerful. 3.75/5

Great. Listen again

great album, it was my second listen and went from a 3/5 to a 3.5/5, great production overall.

Nice.

I don't do a lot of hip hop deep dives, but this was definitely a gem. I'd heard The Food before, but all of the other tracks were solid. It's Your World is such a powerful track, I'm still re-listening and mulling it over. Glad this one popped up for me!

Great samples, great beats and great production. Infused with a sense of joy and love

this is so fucking fresh

Better than I thought, nice chill jazzy rap album w/ great samples. Also features Ye (also produces the album) and John Mayer as guests, who kills it.

82/100

Enjoyed this one. Like Common’s message and the mix of hip hop and r&b. “GO!” Is a great song. 3.5/5 Will listen again

love the beats, not just the Kanye ones tho. He's a really good rapper as well, really no downsides at all, a near perfect rap album. Favorite songs: the intro, Love is, The live one with Kanye. Overall around 8/10

Such a fantastic pairing of voice and production, this is some thoroughly excellent work from Kanye…. A really great album

Dammit kanye

yeah i mean its undeniable. beautiful album ... somehow makes conscious rap not corny af and kanye and dilla's production is truly unreal. I actually really enjoy kanye's vocals being used as a 'production effect' i think it adds a beautiful texture to this album ...

Light ambient lounge

7.8/10

Maaaan this takes me back to high school/college. I used to love this album so much. And it hasn’t aged terribly either. Still bangs.

The Kanye production is so clear. What’s happened to him man :(

Always a welcome listen. Laid back, well produced. Not absolutely top-tier hip hop, but still bloody lovely.

Proper good. Go is a right song and the title track is as well. Very smooth and melodic.

If I remember correctly, this isn't the first time a Common album has appeared here... anyway, great rap album! I really like it when an album like this sounds like the 90s, even though it isn't. His voice is very comfortable to listen to. It was a great start to the morning listening to this! I will leave 4 stars today.

Worth hearing again

I liked this. More than a lot of hip hop anyway.

Enjoyed it, not biggest fan of rap but thought this was well produced. Very nice flow. I particularly liked The Food - Live.

Excellent first half, ok second half.

Rap. Groovy, soulful. Lovely voice and flow. Melodic, soulful samples. Very easy to listen to. Like hip-hop more than I thought.

prime Kanye production, a perfect background for the low and smooth flow of Common. Didn't have time to get deeper into the lyrics (not a native speaker, always a challenge with rap) so it may still grow on me. "I miss the old Kanye"

kanye west

yea its alright

Favourite song - Go!

Yeah. Some intelligent rap. Ace rhythms. No cussing or misogyny. It's a bit like early Kanye but smoother. Highly recommended.

tolle grooves, jazzig angehaucht und einfach zum mitwippen.

A really bright and fun album from Common, thanks in part to Kanye's lively production and Common's hooks. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

go

Good drum loops and that

The production on this is so good, I love the soul and jazz influence. The tracks are solid throughout, and it's a testimony to Kanye West's brilliance as a producer. It's conscious and cohesive. Best song: The Corner Worst song: The Food

Nice beats and flow. A bit different than normal hiphop

Loved it.

Al señor "matemático" que escribió la reseña de cómo le gustan "más los discos por su naturaleza musical y no lírica", le digo: deja de justificar tu racismo. Este debe ser uno de los discos de Hip-Hop más melódicos e interesantes que he escuchados. Las bases producidas genialmente por Kanye West (antes de su irreversible caída a la locura) se mantienen frescas a través del LP, inspirando subgéneros como el Lo-Fi Hip Hop y adelantando el estilo de algunas de sus obras más interesantes. Common, por supuesto, destaca con su inmaculado flow e ilustraciones dramatizadas de las ocurrencias cotidianas de las comunidades afroamericanas. Sumamente recomendable.

goated production

Peak Kanye era production Maybe less well known than College Dropout but arguably just as goood

Well I never listened to Common before, and I definitely never knew what Kanye actually did before he became a deranged Nazi shoe designer, so I must say this surpassed my expectations by quite a lot.

Moving out and tidying up to this album was a bop

I don’t have to have a degree or a career in STEM to know that using that as a criteria for judging music is cringey behavior. This album is a solid rap album from the 2000s.

This is good. I've always seen this around but never listened. Definitely would not mind coming back to this.

Upphafslagið er afar gott, næsta líka, og svo framvegis. Mjög góð grúv, ánægjulegt, yes yes.

I absolutely love Common and this album is an essential Common album to listen to

I like this kind of rap- groovy and underplayed. Reminds me of DOOOOM!

Common in always interesting. His songs usually just have a basic beat and a chorus that does little more than tie the verses together. But those verses are FIRE. And of course, GO! is awesome. Love Is... is also a nice chill song. It's Your World was a great ending to it. Best song: GO!

This was GREAT. I loved digging into the production history here. Didn’t realize the star power on this album and that Mayer sang the “Go” sample. Fun flow for an album, didnt feel like a super perverted album either (maybe doggy style was just too much for me)

I am familiar with Common the actor and unfamiliar with Common the artist, so I am excited. The opening bass line is sweet, and this is a welcome change compared to the Kate Bush drivel I had to suffer through yesterday. God, I love 2000s hip-hop with a passion. It's just so good on so many layers: the beats, the lyrics, the tempo.

This is a great, engaging album. Love the rhythms, bases, and harmonies. Great time capsule!

Chill Rap jazz

Wow wow wow, how have I never listened to this before? I used to listen to a lot of Kayne West, so could hear his influence immediately. No notes, enjoyed every single song on this record. Will now be in my rotation.

Early 2000s Kanye + J Dilla = GOAT hip hop production.

truthfully i wanna rhyme like common sense

FINALLY! No more mind numbing music! 9/10. This kindve feels like a collab album with Kanye, and maybe that’s why every beat is so refreshing. This album will feel even better after I slog through another 15 albums that go through one ear and out the other.

Mostly delicious, some duds Hate common the actor, like the guy, rate the rapper.

Chill hip hop, second listen needed but good first impression.

WHat a fantastic album!

Great album! wish I’d known about it sooner. of course kanye as a producer is huge. Favorite songs were GO! and testify. And the sample of kids saying what they wanna be in the song it’s your world was special, loved it

Favorite Tracks: They Say GO!

I like this quite a lot. I could tell Kanye was involved without having to look it up. Haven't paid enough attention to the lyrics but I love how loose this sounds. The samples and beats work really great. 4/4.5

I really liked this album at a time. It helped me get into the genre. A 4 for the quality of the album and it's importance to me.

Nostalgic album for me. For some reason I have a very clear memory of listening to this on a bus to a field trip in high school on my portable CD player. Possibly an early mp3 player. Still holds up well.

I dug this album more than the other Common album I got a long time ago. Also what I loved is that it is a tight 42 minutes which is perfect length. Doesn't overstay its welcome. Shame about the Kanye connection but doesn't take away from it.

First album/artist I’d never heard on this list, reminds me somewhat of celph titled 4/5

So so easy to listen to. Such an easy listen. All the kanye on it reminds me of when he was actually a good musician. Commons voice is so chilled out, the album is fairly chilled out Great grooves, great production, perfect length, NO SKITS.

This is a solid album. Definitely sounds like it came out of the mid-2000s. Kind of like that Lupe Fiasco album I just had, so much from this era feels like it's got Kanye's fingerprints all over it. I didn't think I listened to much Common but much of this album was very familiar to me. 3.5 rounding up

I liked this a lot.

Kanye's production and Common's rapping creates a great hip-hop/rap album.

Not bad, I've never heard any other Common songs to balance this album against his other work, but this is good, and you can hear Kanye's influence all over, not just in his performances. I enjoyed it, even if it's not 100% my thing.

The first album of a genre that I don't normally listen to. Very powerful themes that honestly did draw me in. I was honestly a little surprised how much the songs could draw me in despite the fact that I have had very different life experiences; I think that's a mark of a good storyteller. I especially like the songs that include some elements of spoken poetry, which give the whole album a stronger and grander identity. Favorite song: "The Corner" Best representation of the album: "It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)"

Common is a talented rapper that is unfortunately rapping on some of the greatest beats ever. I don’t think he was quite up to the challenge. Still a great project!

This was better than I expected. Found it didn't feel like it took forever to get through.

This was a sick record. I liked the lyrics a lot and the music was good too. It kept making me think of Common in Small Foot though which is kinda funny.

Solid hip hop album

Echt een Bastiaan album? Wel nice

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Being from Chicago, it filled me with pride.

I find Common to be like one of your favorite Candle scents. You light your favorite candle, and when you start it up and experience it, it totally envelops your attention - it's almost like he's giving sermons of profound life experiences. But if you keep it on long enough, it kind of dulls your senses just a bit and isn't as attention-grabbing as when it first started. Though this is most likely because this project was peak Kanye's "chipmunk vocal sampling" days, which can get tiresome. Regardless, this is still a solid project from a classic artist. I don't always return to every track here, but the best tracks really are something special.

Quite a pleasant album, but just lacking something to make it feel really special - one real big hitter perhaps. I like a lot of the elements here and I think I could happily have it on in the background all day. Fave Tracks: Testify, Love Is..., Real People, They Say, It's Your World 4/5

this epitomises why i am listening to these 1001 albums - to be enlightened to albums i would never otherwise have listened to. each track flowed beautifully, and the vocals complimented the music perfectly. it’s an album where you don’t need to know the songs to enjoy it, you can just let the rhythms wash over you. i will have to do more research into common, and i will definitely be revisiting this record