Be

Bom álbum, mas não é meu estilo.

Good music, not exactly what Id like but Ive listened and feel good.

4.5/5. Very solid, very catchy, very woke, very Kanye

I really enjoyed this. It's smooth and strong.

New to Common, I think this is solid. Beats are cool, most tracks are smooth and pretty inoffensive, kind of easy-listening.

Some real good tracks here. Love the nods to a whole lot of legendary sounds and artists, yet he's strong enough to make it his own -- very hard balance to strike, and it's impressive. Love his sense of melody and storytelling, too. I'll give this one more listens. Solid, solid album.

I love Common's beats, even if his vocals get kind of buried. They don't have that super in front compression. Oh shit it was produced by Kanye. That would make sense. Go is a great song. Testify kills.

Great rap album

Since the first song you know you are in for an experience, soulful beats chopped by none other than Kanye West and J Dilla, two of the best music producers ever, while one of the greatest Chicago MCs Common throws great bars one after another on symphony with the beat. Powerful soulful music with Conscious rap about street life, love and thought provoking lyrics that can really bring so much joy listening to. Fav Tracks: Be (Intro), The Corner, Faithful, The Food (Live), They Say, It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)

Already know I love it!

Great album, Lori relaxing beats, lyrically amazing. Very enjoyable!

Damn, the production's off the charts here. It's all so smoooooth. Really happy to have experienced this one, because I don’t think I would have otherwise. Standout tracks: - Be (Intro) - The Corner - It’s Your World

Great. Can hear a lot of influences like NAS and how he’s influenced others like Mos Def. Can’t believe I’d never heard this before.

pretty nice

Great verses worth multiple listens

lovely flow of the raps, swinging arrangements

Common isn’t afraid to show his soft side but doesn’t want you thinking he’s a pushover. Thoughtful, considered, occasionally dull in his earnestness, at least Common is true to self and working hard to express himself as an artist. His lyricism is often on point; his flow a little laid back; and as such, he doesn’t grab your attention like a Jay-Z or Eminem. Occasionally the record fades into the background. But his choice of collaborator in Kanye West is superb, who brings his soul samples and beats to full effect - this is genius Kanye (instead of loopy Kanye) and the soundscape is gorgeous. Be (Intro) is one of his greatest productions - thrilling, heart soaring music with Common’s glorious musings on the future and fatherhood and potential - this, along with tracks like Chi City and Real People, is where the album really comes alive. One more note in the art of sampling - Kanye didn’t just take a stone cold classic and add a beat to it; Mother Nature by Albert Jones is a TERRIBLE track about rabbits and bees and how Mother Nature made you for me - it’s about as by the numbers as a soul record can get - BUT it has this horn section on the intro - super short - and that becomes the heart of this Be (Intro). To dig that out of obscurity, recognise its potential, flip it and make it something greater - well that’s the sampler’s art right there. Kanye is a genius.

Well produced and well written

This album should really be a 3.7. It is good, but I cannot say that any one song is an absolute hit. I was familiar with some of the songs.

A master of the genre, you can't fail to admire the polished production on this album.

Cool

Nice to see Common on here. He’s got great tone, flow and lyrical content. Did not know this was produced by Kanye? Nice beats, still not a fan of the chipmunks thought.

This is actually a nice album - thought "GO!" and "The Food" with Kanye providing supporting vocals was great and the best songs on the album. 8/10.

Pretty good album. Kanye was a nice surprise, and his influence could be heard throughout.

Common is one of those under-rated (to me, at least, maybe?) artists. This is such a great album that I don't visit often enough. I little too slick 2000s production, perhaps, but damn...this album is representative of an era. Great stuff.

Cool and smooth. Common's style on this album is easy to listen to. My favorite was The Corner with some other tracks very pleasing.

As much as I viewed Like Water For Chocolate as an interesting curiosity, this album is just straight up art. Wonderful from start to finish. Warm, intense beats and thoughtful lyrics.

Great samples, warm sounding album.

Great hip hop sounds. LOVE the background vocals. Really nice.

This is really good. Definitely finds it's message, but the tracks themselves each have a pretty unique vibe that finds its groove and carries it. I think Kanye is a welcome contributor here and elevates his contributions. Maybe a little long by the end, but really enjoyable.

Good songs, great lyrics and production. Kanye West clearly heavily involved.

Overall the album pretty good with enjoyable beats. Faithful and They Say are the best songs on the album. 3.5/5 Stars

3.6 - Original, good and would listen again

Another enjoyable hip hop album. More smooth than others of the genre, both in the music and raps which have a warmth of subject line relationships, family etc... a nice mature soulful sound. Half way through and enjoying the generally positive message. Then comes Chi city which has what I perceive as more traditional rap theme's...life on the streets, police conflict, etc. Still a pretty smooth sound to the music. 3.75 🌟

Common on the mic and Kanye West on production is a powerful thing. This is on display throughout the entire album, but The Food is where it really shines, especially where it's a live performance with so much energy. The whole album is a spectacular showing of rap excellence at this time. Common has great lyrics and flow, and Kanye has great beats from early in his career. Majestic.

Damn amazing album. Common has always been on point, but Kanye's participation reminds me of what made him so great.

.

GOOD shit.

Similar to the last Common album in this generator, his storytelling is amazing. I enjoyed this album more than Like Water For Chocolate - it feels more refined. Really enjoyed this, will be listening to more Common in the future.

15. a marginal ficou mais escura desde que de lá saímos. às palpitações sobrepõem-se pontadas. há alguém por cima de nós. alguém que nos guarda e fará o sol despontar entre as palmeiras. a qualquer instante, vais ver. já faltou mais. MotA: GO! "I wanna be as free as the spirits of those who left / I'​m talking Malcolm, Coltrane, my man Yusef"

Fantastic.

Not my genre but I can tell this is the good shit

1. slow start, but powaful finish, good stuff. 2. siiick 3. very catchy lmao, GO GO GO GO 4. oof, great lyrics & sampling 5. damn, another dope track, that sample ahhh 6. slaps 7. SLAPS 8. woahh live? FIIIRE, him & kanye goin off 9. shiiiet, another banger. lyrics man 10. intro was enough to make this a fave hah 11. i wanna be a duck. anyway, deep track overall thoughts: on first listen, i'd give it a 4/5. lots of good tracks to come back to, and maybe like 2 that are meh. not a bad track on here tho. has really great writing and sampling.

Nodded the whole time.

Pretty good

Be is pretty much the definitive 2000’s hip hop album

The producer really knows how to make soul beats.

Easy to listen to. Addictive beats. Classic.

Very cool rap album. Fun guest appearances by Kanye. Has a Chappelle Show track, which is always a good time.

Loved it. Didn't know Kanye would be on the album so heavily so it was a welcome surprise.

I love Common, but really this is a Kanye album starring Common. And that's still ok. The production definitely benefits, but it's a trade off lyrically and wears on the concept as the album goes on. The Corner is an all-timer and Be is also fire. The rest of the album is really good but can't quite give it a 5.

I can vibe with this. I didn't get to listen to the lyrics a whole lot cuz of work, but the instrumentals were nice. I give it a 4.

This album is smooth as hell.

Very good album!

Very nice and chill album. Kinda feels like old school rap, but with a modern touch to it. Guy looks like black Binging with Babish.

El álbum de hiphop que más me ha gustado hasta el momento.

If Marvin Gaye's What's Going On was a hip-hop album. It's a great combo of hip-hop and soul music

bueno

Summerfeeling im Intro

First time listening to Common, totally passed by this phase of rap/hip-hop so a great introduction. Will definitely listen to some tracks from this again.

Kanyes touch on production has pushed this to a four - brilliant stuff with great beats, strong lyrics and rapping. Will explore more

I'm crap at reviewing hip hop, so I'll just say this is especially good. Covered some good topics lyrically and it all feels very genuine and moving.

Kyle met Common. He was dope. I thought this album was dope. Hi everyone!

I like common

Great tunes, amazing production from a Kanye in his prime.

Cool album with good rapping but nothing too outstanding. 7-8

I’ve always thought of common as kind of corny but this is so smooth and soulful, he has one of the best voices for hip-hop ever and I’m so glad I listened to this. More hip hop albums should be 43 minutes long

8. Solid album

Rap con buena mediodía. Soft bueno para cualquier momento

Nice, Tamy says it's very important

Good but Common’s delivery is corny and some of the beats sound a little canned. Still a classic and well-produced rap album. 8

Cool beats. Need to listen again, focus on lyrics.

Very good flow/lyrical content coupled with some timeless beats

Really enjoyed this, despite not generally listening to hip-hop/rap. Felt like a chill summer day in the 90s/00s. Words like smooth, chill, groove, soulful etc come to mind. Favourite song is The Corner. Makes me wanna go discover more hip hop.

Cooler Old-School-Vibe, aber nicht so mein Ding, zu Gangsta und zu FTP.

I've never really listened to Common before, though I've seen plenty of his movies :). I really like this album.

Rap usually isn't for me. I have a difficult time relating to the lyrics, my experience typically doesn't match with theirs. I end up judging rap by the how the music and vocals combine. This was a pretty good album. I have heard of Common, but never listened.

Wow. This was unexpected - I've never heard of Common before, but his style is square in that intelligent lyrical/spiritual/social questioning style that really does it for me. Sounds east coast style, but Chicago in origin. Really enjoying this. Going to listen a 2nd time and then branch out to his other albums. This will be going into the liked songs for future rotation.

Underrated

Inspirational--especially given the times now (Jan 2021).

The lyric flow and DJ work are very evidently first rate but I didn't give this close enough attention. Very shallow in the genre, I'll need to revisit this.

My favorite track might be "The Food" live from Chappelle's Show even though the fidelity is lower.

great hip hop album

What an absolute jam! Creative, varied, passionate, and original--definitely one of the better rap albums I've heard. And to have Kanye and John Legend in there? Awesome!

Classic early 2000s Chicago productions, poignant messages

Good r&b album. I like the beat.

Fantastic hip hop record with Kanye in the back.... what more do I need to say?

This was awesome, great music, great rap. Liked the Kanye parts too

4.2

First few tracks are great. Faithful was annoying as chipmunks were singing. Best track is The Food. Lots of good stuff here. Not really my normal sound but high 3.5

I'll admit-- I've never listened to Common. But, man, am I glad I did. Soulful, direct, this collab with Kanye is truly symphonic.

Impressive accessible hip hop

Impeccable, peak production from Kanye West. Contains the track performed live by Common and Kanye on Chappelle's Show.

Looks very strange, my mom asked my to pause the music cause is too dark

Really good beats and raps.

A hidden gem of an album, I’m not even a hip hop fan but this surprised me!

really good low-swear Christian rap. Good stuff.

Common is skilled, but a huge part of this album being as good as it is owes itself to Kanye's gorgeous production. Love the actual Chapelle's Show rip on "The Food". Album slows down from "Testify" to "Love Is...". Favorite tracks: "The Food", "Go!", "

Classic kanys production, decent lyrics

Common with Kanye production. Classic soulful samples over hard hitting conscious lyrics about everyday Chicago tales. Can get a bit too positive for me at times but it’s all superbly done nonetheless. Standout Tracks: The Corner, Testify, Chi-City, They Say, It’s Your World

Great artist. 'Testify' got an amazing tune

Rap / Hip-hop 2005

2nd Common album from the generator. Good beats, surprisingly enjoyable. Too bad Kanye was involved 3/5

"Be (Intro)" takes me back to high school. The rest of the album was pretty good. Not totally my genre but I respect the art and it was not unpleasant by any means.

Go!

Common an apt crtique.

Recht trocken, ganz nett.

I begrudgingly must say, Kanye is a pretty damn good producer and rapper. This record is very well produced, and the strong tracks are very good. Same-y at times, but overall a really solid hip hop record. Not something I will put on much, but I respect the creativity, production and flow of this one.

I like most elements of this but my brain is left wanting for something catchy and dynamic, can't help but compare it to kanye albums that I like better, I'd rate my enjoyment a 3.5/5 if I could

3.5 I didnt know the guy from Framework, rapped.

Good flow

норм.

Thoughts before listening: I think this is the 2nd Common album on here. I mean I like Common well enough, but having lived through his era as a musician (he's seemingly more of an actor these days), I don't necessarily remember him being a big enough deal to warrant 2 albums. There were a lot of other rappers in his same scene that could have been included instead of putting Common on here twice. Also, I believe I was a little underwhelmed by the first album I heard from him, but I do remember this one being a bigger deal at the time. Review: Okay. I like that the jazz and soul based beats here quite a bit (I think Kanye is to thank for that), and Common is definitely in the general hip hop realm that I always preferred. I think it was called backpack rap with more socially conscious lyrics and not "gangster" rap. That being said, Common still has plenty of sex obsessed lyrics that make this an uncomfortable listen for a 45 year old father of a daughter. I also don't really like Common's flow all that much which feels too rigid and dry. I'll give this 3-stars.

Good.

This is okay but nothing special. I listen to it and forget it almost immediately.

Meget sejt.

Not my fav but not bad

This is a good rap album. Not historic, but good. I'm a fan of Common. Pitchfork: 8.6 Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs Be (Intro) The Corner GO!

😀👍. At first I didn’t like the album but it got me at “GO!”. To me, this sounded like Drake and Kanye West. But it definitely was better than Drake.

Enjoyed it

You have to say ye is a good producer

"Be", "The Corner", and "Real People" are first-rate raps, and the background melodies held my attention. But the third track, "Go!", lost me, as the lyrics seem forced and repetitious. The other tracks seem to drift along ... nothing surprising.

Sort of like an update Smoky Robinson with a bit of rap-iness. Not really my schtick, but not bad.

Solid production overall, but the more soulful bits don't do much for me Fav tracks: The Corner, They Say

The beats reminded me of earlier Kanye and lo and behold, he produced this album. I was really charmed by the synth in the intro, in isolation I think I'd have guessed it was from a steven universe song lol fav songs: Love Is..., Real People

A very enjoyable listen. Really solid production that almost felt lo-fi so it was pleasing to the ears. Lyrical wise nothing stood out too much but it wasn't bad either. Some of the samples used were great choices as well like the Marvin Gaye sample in 'Love is...'. Definitely a stronger album in the 2nd half though. 3/5

Enjoyable, good beats, a bit jazzy/funky at times.

This album was honestly pleasant to listen to. I had never heard of Common before and the sound very much reflects the release year. Kayne is featured alot with supporting vocals on this album. Its a shame Kanye lost his mind and was surrounded by people who didnt care enough to give him the help he needed. A modern Brian Wilson. Album was good though

Don't have loads to say, was pleasant enough but didn't make a huge impression on me.

For all these inspired Kanye beats, I can’t really get past common himself here, who seems to be trying to make the Bush era To Pimp a Butterfly (derogatory) and the best writing he can do amounts to stuff like: “So many raps about rims I’m surprised fellas ain’t become tyres!”

Not really my thing, but I appreciate it

Be advised, this is only like half a Common album. You can feel the Kanye West all over it, and being a longtime fan of his *music*, it's the only thing I could really focus on to the point of where I felt I was a bit unfair to Common. On the production point it's done well and up to standard. Not Kanye's best especially at the time, but far and away not his worst. Common himself raps nicely with some great lyricism at times. Maybe I'm missing something as I'm not a PhD mathematician, but it's not a bad hip hop album, and deserves it's place on the list due to Common's legendary status.

ok

Laid back hip hop, reminded me of US3 or Guru. Clever and smooth.

A decent array of backing music on this album that is a bit more creative than some in the genre, and nothing overly offensive, some fairly “nice” social commentary type stuff. Some decent snippets of early days Kanye in there too. Overall pretty easy to listen to apart from the indulgent last song. Still not really my style but I appreciate it and I think it’s far better than many hip hop entries on here, so it’s just about a 3.

I enjoyed the songwriting!

3.5

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

I listen to a lot of current Hip Hop, but if we are being honest, Hip Hop had its most innovative and stromg period from around 1985 to 1995, with tons of legendary albums being released each year. However, 1001 albums seems to focus entirely on early 2000s Hip Hop which can be considered as Hip Hop's Dark Ages. While this is a pretty good album, there are literally hundreds that are way better and more relevant.

The Good: B The Bad: F The Ugly: come on… isn’t it o Be vious? I tried… I failed. This album was presented to me a week ago, only today did I find the time to listen to it… and I did not like it. There are things on the album that aren’t bad, so it is possible that me having been working for 13 hours is a massive influence in the way I consumed this artists endeavors… I will give the B a C… as it didn’t make me want to kill the album off…

Remember 2005, when a progressive, socially conscious artist could collaborate with Kanye West and nobody thought twice about it? Yeah, me neither.

Enjoyed this album! Lyrically it was really strong and a couple of different sounds in there but also some of the beats and backings were one note

Good for the gym. Didn’t love the way he talks about women

6/10 - nice relaxed RnB

Not my favorite of the 2000s hip hop albums I've heard, but still pretty good. The music compositions were a little too sample-reliant for my liking. They weren't boring, though, so that kept it engaging. Kinda interesting how much Kanye is on here. The tracks have a sound like his, and he has featured vocals on at least a few of them. Seems he produced it, which makes more sense. I can't really pick out anything bad about it; it's just more that I didn't really love it or find it better than solid/good. Not sure I'd listen to this one again, but it was a decent listen for me here. Overall: 3.2/5

Ну норм

Competent. But none of the songs really land with me. I won’t return to the album.

Common is an excellent rapper with a smooth, entrancing flow and I love J-Dilla’s beats. This one is worth revisiting.

I liked it

Rap isn't usually my thing but I enjoyed this one. It flowed nicely.

Kanye West producing is god

Album bastante genérico de hip hop, esta bueno

Strong start, tailed off a bit

Ok, but not my cup of tea

Its not bad, some of it is very chill and enjoyable. Bit too long.

I'm working towards getting a PhD in Music Education, and I'm not going to use my degree to justify broadly hating an entire genre because it isn't Prog Rock. I could absolutely use my degree to rant for 48 hours straight on why Polygondwanaland by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is one of the most complicated (and one of the best) albums of all time, but that's not on this list. This album is pretty okay, but there's definitely better 2000s rap on this list, including the other Common album. I love a lot of the beats on the album, especially stuff like The Corner and It's Your World Part 2, but I feel like it's really obvious that Kanye produced this album. To a degree, it almost feels like he's trying to re-create The College Dropout for most of the runtime and it drags the album down for me a little. The rapping is pretty okay as well, but I feel like he said a lot more interesting stuff on Like Water for Chocolate.

This was really good!! Obviously I’m ideologically anti-Kanye, but I hear the early Kanye influence here and it’s unfortunately cool. I love the bookend songs and found the lyricism to be really clever.

Good flow and beats.

"Produced by Kanye West" when he was still sane. And you can tell since this is some good shit. The samples are top-notch. Rap isn't my genre: it's normally very boring to me but the instrumentals on this record are so nice. Complimented by a mix of Kanye's and Common's vocals and you got yourself one hell of an RnB/Rap album. Favourite tracks: GO!, Testify 3.5/5

You can be do what you want to do - en vrai c'est sympa Playlist pick : They Say

Never listened to Common but was pleasantly surprised. Very Kanye-esque. Enjoyed the groovy jazzyness. 3.5/5.

Sounds like it should just BE (wink) a Kanye album. The sound is very much Kanye esque Bout half the album sounded like 'Heard em Say' Decent enough. Other than Go and Testify which i thought were shite

Das Intro hat mich gut abgeholt. Soulig.

What makes Be great is that it understands restraint. The album is only 11 tracks on its original release, and it wastes almost nothing. The beats are soulful, warm, and crisp; the writing is thoughtful without becoming sleepy; and Common sounds like he has stopped reaching for abstraction and reconnected with clarity. This is conscious rap without the lecture tone that ruins lesser albums.

fav songs: love is... they say soulful, reflective, polished 60/100

Mid

Ye behind the scenes. Common in front. Nice tunes.

BE is such a good album Rating:3.5/5 GEMV (15.05.2026) - missed 29.04.2026

Solid

I suprisingly enjoyed it actually. Laid back and chill

Esta bueno aunque es medio repetitivo.

🙄

Very 2000s hiphop

Solid but not my favourite

Solid rap album with R&B elements. No standout tracks.

really good lyrics, really nostalgic vibes

5/10 As a Humanities PhD (well, in a few months), I find this to be a perfectly adequate album. The music is far better than the lyrics, although the non-stop midtempo beats so prominent in R&B/rap of the 2000sis a bit dull. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with this album, but I don't think it's particularly good either. It's perfectly fine.

Decent enough, definitely an album I wouldn't have sought out on my own. Sounds like a roadmap for Kanye's early work. Nothing more special than that

Super chill. Really reminiscent of the 2000s.

cool!

Det är bra. Bäst är Faithful, Testify, Chi-City och Real people.

Jag hade Be högt upp på den första sammankomsten för årsbästalistan 2004. Det hade jag antagligen inte haft idag. Det är inte dåligt men ingen aha-upplevelse heller. Det finns en del fina spår. T ex inledande Be. Hade gärna sett att jazzinfluenserna fått ta större plats. Det blir en vanlig trea till Common.

Soulig hiphop. Rätt skönt att lyssna på, särskilt första halvan. Något utslätat och uddlöst. Stort plus att han bytte artistnamn från det urtöntiga Common Sense till Common.

No es es meu estil de música però està xulo i m'he guardat cançonetes. Sobretot m'agrada sa músiqueta de fons, sa lletra sa veritat que no m'he fixat massa però bueno, ta bien

I’m sorry i jus couldn’t get into it

This was good, sort of washed over me, can remember any standout tracks etc.

I liked it well enough, but it didn’t grab me. He’s clearly a gifted storyteller with a powerful voice, but after a while I found myself wishing for more flexibility and nuance. There was an opportunity to do more with the musical references & samples. I was drawn more to the songs that had guests like The Corner and They Say.

Not my genre of expertise. I found it to be an enjoyable enough listen but it left me a little flat. Nice groove but I prefer hip hop with more grit and edge. To me this feels like the smooth jazz of hip hop. The lyrics are generally positive which is great but they felt a bit pedantic. The artist should show rather than tell and this feels more like just telling. For me it was fine but I wouldn’t necessarily listen to it again.

Good of its kind, I guess. I must say that The Corner is quite good. But. Overall I found the album tedious and kept checking to see how much longer there was to go until it was over. The long tail of It's Your World is really good. It makes a good counterpoint to this, which i wrote before getting to the album's conclusion: Serves as a good illustration of why I gave up on hip hop in the late 90s, as a genre that seemed determined to resist rhe temptations of imaginative self-reinvention.

I still feel a bit cynical about this album... I remember enjoying the grooves. And I remember being moved, as many pundits were, by his choice to be funky but "conscious," rather than making more songs about money, misanthropy and misogyny. Queen Latifah, BPMD paved that road for him, and for others. And that's a rich history. But then I remember the Wu Tang Clan of that era, and just how compelled I was by their cruelty, sorrow, chaos, rage, suspicion... and Common's version of "conscious" feels a little light. He's had a long-lived and high-profile career in Hollywood. To my mind, he gave up on hiphop pretty quickly to begin it. And more power to him; "you gotta get that bag," as the youth say.

Having only five stars to utilize makes rating these 1001 records difficult. This album is another entry into the three-star rating which is turning out to be the broadest category for me. Three means, "I don't love this but I don't hate it," or "I don't love this but there are enough good songs on here that I can't trash it," or "I like this but probably wouldn't listen to it again," or "I like this and might listen to it a few times a year," and on and on. As it happens there are a lot of records I don't dislike, so they can't get shunted into the two-star category, but I don't really love so they can't be up in four- or five-star territory. This record falls into this three-star category: "I don't love this but if I had heard it when it came out I probably would have." I like the jazziness of it in particular. Not a fan of hearing Kanye's voice, and I probably wouldn't listen to this again, but listening to it this time was really enjoyable.

This is a decent record. I've always found Common to come off a great deal less profound than he wants to be. His beats were really novel for the time though.

3 out of 5. Flew by in a pleasant way.

preachy but not bad 3.5/5

It was reminding me of Kanye West and then he started talking about chi-town and Kanye started rapping, so I guess Chicago rap is a thing. This album was pretty good, but I preferred Kanye’s debut to this.

Kinda cool not my type of music

La verdad es que me gustó mucho, principalmente porque es un hip hop muy musicalizado y bastante variado dentro del género. Me llamaron mucho la atención los coros en varias canciones, ya que les suman muchísimo y les dan un toque muy especial; se nota claramente la impronta característica de Kanye West como productor. También destaco las letras, ya que hablan de temas bastante fuertes y que están muy ligadas a vivencias personales de la cultura afroamericana, transmitiendo bastante dureza y sentimiento. Mi canción favorita fue “Faithful”, aunque también destacaría “GO!”, “The Corner” y “It’s Your World - Part 1 & 2”. En conclusión, le doy un 8/10.

01) Be (Intro) - 7,0 02) The Corner - 7,0 03) Go! - 7,0 04) Faithful - 6,5 05) Testify - 7,0 06) Love Is… - 7,0 07) Chi-City - 6,5 08) The Food - 7,5 09) Real People - 6,5 10) They Say - 7,0 11) It's Your World (Part 1 & 2) - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,86 (69/100) Current ranking: 528/880

It was ok. Maybe slightly better than the other Common album that we have had but nothing to give it more than a 3.

It’s alright

Good album - flows very nicely. Favourite track: The Corner

It was ok. I actually quite liked the start and the end, but the middle was just not as enjoyable.

I think decades of seeing Common acting has made it hard for me to immerse myself in his music, I'll get a flashback to hard times on the railroad when he delivers a line a certain way

I enjoyed this one

Kind of generic mid oughts hip hop. Great production amd fun to listen to, but I can't ever see having a hankering for this one.

As much as this is Common’s record, Kayne’s fingerprints are all over it. If possession is 9/10ths of the law, Kanye is guilty as charged. A Sunday afternoon feeling. -TomB

Hmm leuk maar niet iets waar ik vaak naar zal luisteren.

Testament to Kanye honestly. Hit or miss on the trax but when they do hit they are a spectacle for the ears

Off to a strong start, then it gets lost in Kanye rants where lyrics take priority over sound, except the lyrics are mid. Thankfully, it finds its way back to more creative sound in Testify

Be is a meaningful step forward from Like Water for Chocolate, and the reason is mostly Kanye West. His production here sits in that sweet spot of his 2005 peak — warm, soulful, sample-driven, and immediately alive in a way that gives Common’s flow a cleaner and more inviting frame than the more abstract Soulquarians textures of the earlier record. The beats are genuinely strong, the storytelling is thoughtful, and the whole thing moves with a confidence and concision that demands respect. At barely 35 minutes there’s no wasted motion and no indulgent detours. And yet the fundamental equation doesn’t quite change. Common’s delivery, for all its intelligence and craft, still fades into the background rather than cutting through it. The music underneath is doing more work than the rapping on top, which is a problem when the rapping is supposed to be the point. It’s not that the flow is weak — it’s that it never generates the kind of urgency that makes you reach for a record again by choice. This is a genuine 3 rather than a charitable one. The quality is real, the improvement over earlier work is audible, and the record absolutely earns its place on the list. It just doesn’t earn a place in regular rotation. Better than much of its genre, not quite compelling enough to demand return visits.

He's a good lyricist and, probably, because of the soul sound, it hasnt aged itself out. I assume what is missing for me is that emotional feeling in his work.

Pretty conflicted on this. A lot of the instrumentals were good and it had a decent flow, but some of the lyrics were abysmal

It was good. I’ll spare you my favorite track

Solid, lean album with iconic Common lyrics and beats

Not bad as far as rap goes

A lot of gems! You can definitely hear the Kanye production

I got both Common albums in the same week. This one is better than the first one, but it's still mostly meh.

Be is chill and thoughtful, but sometimes feels like background music for deep thoughts instead of centerstage.

3.5

3.5

I was putting this one off, considering my rating on the other Common album. This one I really got into it at the beginning especially with the Jazz influence. In fact, when this leans further into the Jazz side, rather than the R&B side, I really find myself enjoying the album, "Be (Intro)", "Real People" and "It's Your World". I also liked "Go!", and "Chi-City" pretty well. But there are more than enough tracks that I really couldn't get into and "The Food" being my least favorite. I probably should go back and reassess "Like Water for Chocolate", but it feels a little bit daunting considering it's about an hour and a half long and I didn't give it a really high score the first time. This one's about half as long and I liked it a lot better (7.25)

I took a maths degree and failed it twice. Failed it harder the second time around which is probably why I prefer this second Common record a little bit more. Beats are better thanks to Kanye and has a bit more of that chipmunk soul. I find Common to be a pretty average rapper (I’d grade him ‘Be Minus’) so the one track that Kanye pops up and raps on near the end is easily the best of the lot.

Common has bars! It’s a solid record.

i kinda glazed through this one but i would love to listen to it in community at my next bbq. it’s got a lot of flow and is kinda soulful. first ever common album

Light rap

Good sounds in the songs but didn't go beyond that for me

- Feels weird to be listening to uplifting, conscious rap and then there's Kanye the creep all over it. - Smooth vocal flow. - Some soulful/funky grooves, though they didn't really go anywhere, so it kind of lacked the forward momentum that I wanted instrumentally.

A solid 00s hip hop album with Kanye's fingerprints all over it, though it doesn't hit the same as some of Ye's own albums.

Pleasant and upbeat with great production.

Decent Music.

3.5 ?

Not an album I'll go back to as it's not my thing but it's a well done album. You could hear Kanye's production throughout for better or for worse. I'm okay with it as long as I don't have to hear him sing.

Good stuff. Didn't really know him before, but he's talented.

I never really got into Common back in the day because I was too busy listening to NWA and Death Row kind of rap and I thought ¨backpack¨ rap was lame. Who knew his positive messages would still hold up 20 years later? Holds up much better than Kanye's reputation, that's for sure, but can't blame Common for that.

2026-03-07...

Common Be uncommon. Rappers, and hoopers, and lots of naggerin’ throughout. Very contentious subject matter in most songs, which is what gets him on The 1001 Must Hear List. Hippity hop still not my style but this album is listenable from start to finish. (2.7*s) I wanna BE free to BE me!

Not awful but not for me. 3

I’m not a math major but I think this works better when you don’t pay attention to the words. I added the title track to my Generator playlist.

Very smooth record. Lyrics are great, production’s great, just gets a little too stale at times for a 4

I listened to The Corner about a billionty times when I was in undergrad. I still love that song, but it might be the only one on this album I really like. The chipmunk backing singers get a bit grating and I find the hiphop/R&B balance tilts too far towards the latter for my tastes. Great album cover though.

I usually dislike modern R&B, but this one weren't annoying and kinda fun, but not enough to really enjoy it

Great music and lyrics. I can see how this hit home with so many people.

Really good.

common? the actor? not bad. good production.

I think it was a good album, Kanye's influence as the producer can be easily heard. It is soulful, but it felt like a spark is missing, to be counted as a memorable album.

This is produced by Kanye and the first word of the first song is "Ye". Coincidence? I think not. In my mind, when I listen to this, I am watching a street skateboarding video.

Its rap its geil. Hört sich nach was gutzes an

•standouts: the corner, go!, love is…, they say •runners up: be(intro), the food •favorite: the corner

Não entendo muito de rap. Achei um álbum bom e bem produzido

Can't believe it's been 20 years. I remember seeing Common and Kanye on Chappelle doing The Food. I hate to say it, but the best songs feature Kanye. Yuck.

I'm not a huge hip-hop fan, but Common is Chicago's poet. His lyrics are super smooth. It's too bad Kanye went crazy because those two could have had some amazing collaborations.

Chill rap

Overall Rating - 3.36/5 (6.73/10). I like this better than most of the hip-hop I've had thus far.

Great sound and voices. a bit repetitive in some songs

3 1/2 stars

This seems like exactly the type of thing I'd enjoy, but did some reason I didn't really like it. Nothing bad, but nothing that really made me want to listen again

Pretty solid mid 2000s rap album but personally feel like it’s missing a big banger or two

Ok

Decent, but a bit '...meh'

More thoughtful RNB... but the chip on shoulder is a little to in the face fir casual listening

It was good for the genre but not my type. Did like Kanye on it.

Not a huge rap fan outside of a few 90s albums, however this was a pleasant listen.

Pretty good. Solid music. Enjoyable. Really like the sprinkling in of Kanye West.

I don't really have anything to say about this album as far as the "1001" list. There's at least one other Common album I got on here. I think the beats and samples are good, they seem to draw from jazz and it certainly makes the songs easy to listen to but not necessarily groundbreaking sounds. The rapping is similar it isn't bad it just doesn't stand apart from contemporary acts. Albums like this make me question the curation of the list and not because I think it's bad but what was the criteria that sets this album apart from other hiphop in the 2000s? It feels arbitrary and that I'm just listening to 1 specific person's subjective taste and nothing else. That could even just be what this list is by definition. I'm 250 albums in now and I'm wondering if it's worth continuing.

I didn't listen to much hip hop and I didn't hate this, but it also didn't convert me. Common has a lot of smart and poignant lyrics that I appreciated.

At least it's Kanye composed. Klasikinis Love is... Milijoną kartų reiteruotas. Repčiką lyginant su moterimi. Naujausia iteracija J. COLE Fall off albume. Kalbėdami apie "old Kanye, chop up the soul Kanye" turi omeny kompoziciją kaip Common Be. Best tracks: GO!, Testify. Worst tracks: everything else. Common ain't got no bars. Gerai pasakoja istorijas, bet net girtas jo nepavadinčiau "žodžių kalviu". Galiu suprasti albumo svarbą muzikos žanro istorijoje, galiu suprasti konceptų pradžią, bet negaliu gerai vertinti. Du patikę gabalai yra tik dėl Kanye kompozicijos. Didžiąją dalį darbo albumo metų atlieka kompoziciją, bridge, hooks, intros, leidžia pakvėpuoti. I mean I'd do the same with ye beats. All in all. Overhyped, overproduced, overrated turning stone in hip hop story telling story. 6.4/10

7/10 - Favorite song: faithful

Not something I’d gravitate to but vibes were high

Not that familiar with Common but this was good enough. Stand out track was Testify (I even paused the album to watch the music video for that one) but I’m not sure that isn’t in big part due to the Honey Cone sample, which is amazing. I feel like it’s the samples I’m going to be humming today rather than Common. Wouldn’t object if someone else put this on but probably wouldn’t select it again myself. Will search out more Honey Cone though.

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I was going to. Great samples, beats, and felt very melodic in places.

Not my thing

hey isn't this the guy in John Wick 2

Decent album, with a couple of bangers. One of Common's better albums for sure

Would normally give this 2 stars, but maybe Common is growing on me? I used to be pretty anti-Common for whatever reason. I think I had a slew of his music downloaded and he would come on on repeat far too often.

Actually quite enjoyed this one

I can see it was a great album for his time.. I enjoy it but it didn't make me want to listen to it gain 3/5

Listenable, but not outstanding

Hipster humanities graduate here. I’d say this is a good hip-hop album for people who don’t usually like hip-hop (like me). It’s quite a soulful album, sonically and in the emotion behind the album. The storytelling and character building is also great on songs like ‘Testify’. Never going to be my favourite album as it’s not my genre, but it’s a good listen.

Despite the 3 star rating, I did rather enjoy this. It’s just that rapping as a vocal style isn’t really my cup of tea. That said, the heavily soul-influenced production (by Common’s fellow Chicagoan Kanye West no less) is great, especially on the title track/intro, which is probably the highlight of the album musically. I enjoyed the album lyrically for the most part as well; it has a generally positive vibe despite not shying away from discussing real social problems/issues and different aspects of the black American experience. My rating could quite possibly go up with further listens.

Fav: They Say (3/5)

Throwback soulful music with a rapper whose style and lyric have impressed.

Great ‘oldschool’ hiphop.

Just fine.

I haven’t listened to Common before. . It’s not bad. 3.5 stars

Sixth album??? I didn't know Common made so much music, I know him purely as an actor. The rapping isn't too bad though.

It was a bit out of my typical stuff i listen too so it was a new experience

🤷‍♀️

This was pretty interesting. I would like to listen again to pay better attention to the lyrics but even as inactive listening it was pretty good.

I can’t say I’ve ever called myself a Common fan, but I’ve spent time with this record before. I can’t say I’m surprised to see it pop up on this list. Common feels like the least offensive version of hip hop you could play for someone looking to get into the genre (in a good way!). The vocal samples in the hooks (like “GO!”, “Testify”) root his songs in classic R&B vibes and that make this an easy entry point for the hip-hop curious. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of Kanye West fingerprints all over this record and I don't love that. Even still, I'd consider a vinyl copy of this one. 3.5

Some good stuff. I remember when Common, Chapelle, and Kanye was a cool trio. Sigh

I liked the lightness and strong rhythm-y base tracks

Not my usual style of music but I didn’t hate it. The grooves and lyrics kept drawing me in.

Uma boa surpresa. Não sou tanto do rap, mas gostei de algumas

I enjoyed this very much, thank you for sharing random generator person. Tom. Not listened to this before, really enjoyed it. I will definitely listen to this again.

Thought after the first couple of tracks I was gonna to enjoy this more than I did. Common definitely has a little more to his style than similar rappers but it never progressed to something really interesting. Another 3!

Solid rapper isn't he? Some nice riffs and thoughts on life. Didn't mind it one bit.

Common can definitely rap and he has a good voice for it. I'm not sold by this though, it feels over produced to the point that it loses me. Not sure that makes sense. Some of the Kanye bits are pretty decent, back when he wasn't mad as. I definitely preferred the previous album of his we had. This was more mainstream sounding. 2.5 but 3

I honestly expected this it to be R&B. I'm not sure why I thought Common was a singer and not a rapper. But. Here we are. The backing tracks are fun, and very much of a piece. They all have that shag-carpet, "brown" feel to them. At times I found them distracting, particularly where there is a vocalist on the loop that the rapper is trying to rap over. Too many people talking. I had to skip the last 30 seconds to a minute of many of these songs, as they just repeat the chorus endlessly. It's fine. THREE STARS

pas mal, franchement c’est bien

Eh