Be

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

I'm bouncing between 2 and 3. But I am bouncing, so I guess that makes it a 3? Not my style and the heavy R&B influence grates on my nerves, but I recognize it's well done for what it is. Let's call it a 2.6, rounding up.

“It’s Your World” is an all timer… the rest didn’t age well. Way too much k**y*

Love the sweet soul samples, excellent beats, rich texture, Alvin and the CMs pitched up gospel, and then I realized it's early Kanye before he broke bad. So, now I have mixed feelings. Common sounds great, and while a few of the tracks lack, all in all a good Friday soundtrack.

Actually got to do two laps on this one. Not hitting as strongly as it did when I first heard it. That may be to the Kayne influence not aging well, or the fact that John Mayer was involved, just not getting the same feels as I did as a younger man.

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.

Love it

Eh - not my thing. Kind of mid.

I really would hate to be one of those "remember-when-Hip-Hop-used-to-be-Hip-Hop" guys, but I fear that's what I thought when listening to Common's "Be." Everything about this album just felt right. This is how Hip-Hop should sound. Maybe it's because I was a teenager when this album was released, so I perhaps I have some nostalgia holdover for Hip-Hop from that period. But, if I'm being honest, this was how I felt. Unapologetically.

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

Separating the man and the music is hard for a lot of people. I get it. But Kanye was at his absolute peak here. So subtle, yet such smooth production. Common’s vocal style and bars are a perfect combination with Kanye’s early production style.

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

Sehr nah an dem, was ich eh höre

Not my preference for rap but good overall.

Decent enough but not my scene. Mid 2s

17 year old hip hop head when this came out blew me away. Kanye and Dilla doing all the beats was always going to hit hard. Common absolutely killed it as well. Didn't need to listen to this again for 5 stars but was a beautiful journey to be taken on once more. Brilliance.

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

gott fágað snemm 2000 rapp. kanje er á tökkunum og kveður fáeinar rímur. oft sögð með bestu rapp plötum síðustu áratuga, er ekki alveg samþykkur en á skilið aðra. 3,5.

Clean beats, good production, good rhymes. A classic.

Great album!

noice, chill rap

I like Common - I bought this when it came out some of this album is great but he gets tedious after a few tracks

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

Old enough for me to comprehend. New enough to offer some fresh ideas. The real listening gold comes in the form of Kanye's production. Not to take away from Common's flow - still solid thoughtful and creative after a decade - this album's sound is inventive and warm. And that inspires as honest a performance as you will hear from Common. The man has a total mastery of the fundamentals. 3.5 stars

Didn’t even listen, heard enough before

Ótimo álbum, com muitas referências a cultura negra norte americana e muitos samples de jazz. As participações com o Kanye West são excelentes, uma pena ele ter virado um nazista kkkkk

Surprisingly great album

Music for Microsoft ads. Still better than current rap music though so yet again that's worth something.

Nice listen. Chill vibes and good lyrics.

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!

This sounds like a Kanye West side project with a very uncharismatic rapper making the tracks less good than they otherwise would have been without him badly rapping on them.

A masterpiece. Never would have heard this if I hadn’t done this project. This one feels like a gift.

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.

A fantastic album, for now it is a 5 star album for me, but i have to give it a relisten. The rapping was greeat and so were the beats.

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

I hate handing it to Kanye for obvious reasons, but the production on this is a fairly big improvement over Like Water For Chocolate, and I thought the production on that one was already pretty good! Unfortunately, the songs still don't really stick with me, which prevents this from being as good as it could be.

One of my favorite hip hop albums ever, immaculate vibe and extremely solid in both production and performances

The Kanye West production is really good.

Common's push into the mainstream. This was a really interesting time as rap evolved into something softer, gentler, etc.

smooth

A good album. 4

Las vibes som excelentes pero hay mucha lyric que no me llama mucho la atención y hay temas que no me pinta mucho escuchar. Hay joyitas igual. The food por ejemplo. Y GO! Si no tuviera versos jajaj

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

Cool

VERY 00s.

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

A solid rap album.

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

The Corner is a nice song. Not my usual genre of listen but gotta admit, album is full of catchy rhythms. A few of the lyrics are a little strange, but I guess that's par for the course for the genre.

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

It's alright

lets say 2/5

Meh

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

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.

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

Already listened ❤️ Great production that really suits his rapping

More Common with Dilla beats!

Chill beats and good stuff but didn't hook me

Wat een heerlijke zachte stem en harmonieuze plaat met goede teksten en heerlijke ritmes

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.

Feel-good and prime Kanye-collaborated. I feel Shad owes Common a beer for the inspiration.

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

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!

3.5

kind of blown away by this one. common's flow is terrific and he is lifted even further up here from the production of kanye west and j dilla here. every song on here is great and common's sensibility really lands with me. it's a shame that a lot of the people involved here have subsequently fallen out of peoples' good graces (kanye, john mayer, a random appearance from dave chappelle) because this is a truly great record!

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

This was fantastic. It was produced by college dropout era Kanye so this makes sense. He is an awful person but he was a master of the craft for a time.

Unreal album. Kanye when he was Kanye. Shame.

Loved it

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.

‘Common’ a word I’d use to describe most of Len Houmous’ 14 wives. 3.1

incredible album with a guest appearance by adolf hitler

This is a truly honest hip-hop album—I get it now. It’s easily one of the best in its genre. “The Corner” is a masterpiece. (A surprising statement coming from someone like me, who usually listens to progressive rock…) It’s genuinely calming. I think I’ll turn to this album whenever I’m feeling upset. During “Love Is…”, I actually found a sense of peace. Thank you, Common.

Excellent vibes, never heard of this artist

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

Good album. I enjoyed it. Prolly not one I’ll go look for often since it’s not much my style of hip hop normally but I did enjoy it.

舒服的饒舌

Rapsy. Ale takie se

Näyttelijänä tämän kaverin tunnen, hyvä levy

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

The peak way to listen to this album would be through the speakers of a 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible, driving down a bustling city street.

Absolutely loved it. Beautiful lyrics.

No interest.

I don't really care about this album, but gotta give it an extra star bc the math guy gave Mariah Carey a 1

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.

Woah really enjoyed this more than i was expecting!

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

I have no real complaints, but also nothing really sounded essential to me. It was all very nice, and maybe that’s the problem. It was lacking some edge. And I have to admit that it’s jarring to hear the Kanye of that time period in 2025 context. Good album, not great.

This is what we lost

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

Absolutely essential listening.

A good hop Hop album, but no more or less to me. Solid Soul samples, some conscious and soulful raps to fit. But it’s a little too slick and doesn’t aim to push the boundary. Just a bit too mainstream sounding, but also not much to dislike here either.

too corny for my taste

yeah it's a good rap album, nothing special for me

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"

I would subtract a half star for Kanye’s involvement if I could.

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

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

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

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

I liked this a lot better than the other Common album I had. It’s less soul and more hip hop. I remember the song “The Food” from the Chapelle Show. It was my introduction to Kanye and it was inspiring back then. Common’s social commentary is lucid without sacrificing flow and the beats are solid here.

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

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

Solid listen but still prob don’t need to go back for a while

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

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

Too much fucking Kanye for my tastes

While I’m not usually a big hip hop fan I actually locked into this pretty quickly. I liked the melodies and beats chosen for the underscore. The lyrics were good. Would listen to this again. 3.5/5

Good beats and good songs. Not all were a hit, but had some stand outs

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

Good HIp Hop

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

Not something I'd have chosen but he's good and I like the background plinky-plonky tunes. Didn't really listen to the lyrics as I was reading a book.

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

Good beats and good flows. I liked that some of the songs had some inspirational lyrics. Really enjoyed this album a lot.

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.

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

Started well, but a little too much R&B for my liking, and I was bored by the end. 3 stars.

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

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

A third hip hop album that is sort of ok. Unlike the other two, the artist doesn’t seem to be a Nazi, the lyrics aren’t full of misogyny, the music part has more of a soul sound and less of the rubbing a balloon sounds, and he’s from Chicago, so I’m feeling generous today.

I enjoyed this a little more than expected. I went into this album with a negative mindset, mostly due to the Kanye hype, but if I’m honest I quite enjoyed it. It won’t be on high rotation, but I’d be happy to revisit it. Of course I need to mention that Kanye West appears to be a controlling antisemitic, misogynistic narcissist, but he has some good tunes!

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

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.

Nisam očekivala da će mi se ovo imalo svidjeti ali stvarno nije loše. Tu mi je negdje skoro na nivou onog rapa koji mi je sasvim ok. Dobar vibe. Najgore je kad se Kanye i John Legend pojave (ne samo iz ličnih razloga). Ne znam da li bih samoinicijativno opet slušala ali mi ne smeta.

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

The Corner

Our boy Common from Silo. Loved this, surprisingly. Not by style, but enjoyable enough for a second listen. Would be better without Kanye though...

It was alright. I enjoyed some of the musical moments, like the opening of the first song.

Shite

This is not rap that holds much appeal for me. I like more of a sharp edge to my music. This was soft.

04/04/2025 Never heard of this before. It was okay.

Great jazzy instrumentals. Very 2000s album.

Kanye’s amazing production (feat. Common’s mediocre rapping) ”Let be,” as Shakespeare would put it.

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

This was decent but not quite managing a 3

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

I don't think Common is for me. The production on this album is consistent and solid as all hell, except for common. I'm just not crazy about his flow. Kanye and J Dilla as fucking incredible though.

Didn't really pay much attention to this album so don't want to rate it too low a score. Must say I liked the musicality of this although the lyrics did not seem to hit home.

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SHITTY HIPHOP IN THIS LIST!

I wonder if Common and Kanye still talk.

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

Dope

Really good beats, definitely enjoyed, listening to it, appreciate the messages of the song. And the throwback to Chappelle show, definitely want to save it on Spotify and listen again.

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.

Finally some Chicago boys! Kanye on the beats and Common on the mic is a killer combo. If only this album could've come out 2 years later, adding Lupe as a collaborator would've completed the Chicago trifecta. The intro is one of the best of the era imo. Plus this album can have goofy verses like those on "The Food" and then drop flawless bars on Real People all supported by a light and breezy jazz beat. It blows me away how Common effortlessly addresses the traumas of living in south side Chicago, acknowledges his own temptation to pass on the trauma, and still challenges himself to humanize his abusers and the abused all in the same song. "I wonder if the spirits of Bob Marley and Haile Selassie Watch me as the cops be tryna pop and lock me They cocky, plus they mentality is Nazi The way they treat blacks, I wanna snap like paparazzi" ... "Told to go beyond the surface, a person's a person When we lessen our women, our conditions seem to worsen" It's Your World is also one of my favorite outros. Rap isn't my go-to genre, but no genre can amaze me lyrically as much as rappers. My dad argues that Sondheim is the best social commentator, but there's nothing that inspires me more than the most abused members of society challenging everyone to be better. 5/5

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 reminds me a lot of the early 2000s in a great way. The contrast to what was the prevalent production style at the time really grabbed me; I think there are ways in which these lyrics feel old AF, but in contrast to a lot of the gangster rap we were coming out of, I found the album comparatively tame and perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much.

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.

Toinen päivä peräkkäin samanlaista kuraa.

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

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

Ei uppoa.

Tykkäsin kaikista RnB ja soulsampleista. Paljon melodiaa räpin lisäksi joka teki tästä kieltämättä miellyttävän kuuntelukokemuksen!

i like Chubb Rock better

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.

Ganz ok, immer wieder nett mal n Rap Album vorgeschlagen zu kriegen, aber das war jetzt keins was ich mir kaufen würde. Mittelmaß

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

Ugh, this album just feels like a montage from when Kanye was grounded and had friends. Pretty amazing that Kanye's production and features overshadow Common. Really enjoyed this album though. Feels like a snapshot of a beautiful era of Chicago hip hop. I do appreciate Common's POV too. I can feel a little 'pastor dad' haha but hey, he's doing what he can to make the world a better place. Can def feel the positivity and love. "I want to be a duck" is so wonderful 😂 PS: CHILL PHD dude! Lolol. 4.5

Good but i dont care i probably wont listen to this again probably should maybe i will maybe i will force myself to like it.. fuck it.

Common has always been an artist who is out of place and time. He feels like if you took grandmaster flash and stuck him in a time machine and brought him like 40 years ahead. Idk, he just has this old man flow. And idk if it's the samples he uses but those also just feel older. He's not bad just not a rapper I'm ride or dying with.

One of those early 2000’s albums that transports you back to being a kid sitting in the backseat of the car on a summer day with the radio playing.

Well alright, Common…get it!

JAPIERDOLEEEEEEEEEE JAKIE TO DOBRE

Unfortunately Kanye only produces exceptional albums. Didn’t love the inclusion of the live version of The Food, disrupted the listening experience. Slow motion better than no motion.

Un common-ly good

WTF, Kanye two days in a row?

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

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.

I'll be honest it straight up didn't occur to me that there might be hip hop on this list I've had all old mostly white men so far. I only know common from that one song he did with Joss Stone lol. This is good midday listening so far, GO! is familiar actually. Oh i was having a great time and then Kanye rocked up saying Dave Chapelle's name. Ffuckin jumpscare. Ahhhhhh it's fuckin good tho. Look i don't know enough about rap to analyse this too deep but I really fuckin like it. It's your world is so good man. I'm not gonna let it repeat but I might come back and listen again in a bit. I need to remember that I like hip hop more often.

Grand

This is closest I can get to listening to Kanye these days without feeling icky

Pretty good! It was a fun listen

When this album first came out, I overlooked it. My friends were really into Common at the time, and since I was always trying to find something new, I just passed on it. Looking back, I wish I had given it a proper listen. One thing I’ve always liked about Common is that he has a smooth flow and doesn’t come across as arrogant or overconfident—something that turns me off with a lot of rappers. The production from Kanye West is excellent, mostly sampling 70s soul and funk, which gives it a dusty, vintage sound, while still being rooted in modern hip hop. It’s also worth noting that J Dilla produced two tracks on the album, which only adds to how solid it is overall.

☆•~putaria lírica ~•☆

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.

Solid jams! very listenable and fun. At least 4, maybe 5 if I relisten.

This felt very nostalgic, even tho I’ve never heard it before

good production, nothing really boring, good album overall

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

A pleasant sounding hip hop. Easy listening

Really enjoyed this, especially "The Corner" and "Testify." I'm sorry I didn't know this album when it was released.

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

ha all the intellectualish rap from a certain point had to have those jazzy beats I guess. Anyway its pretty good production, feels timeless, and the lyrics are coherent and good.

A classic, maybe a notch down in quality from the first two Kanye West records (which are, I think, the touchstones, for the obvious production similarities) but still a fantastic piece of work.

Raw and powerful lyrics. I enjoy the gospel elements and funky/jazzy moments. A lot of repetitive instrumentals and looped samples, which is typical of rap albums but still annoying at times lol.

I like this one.

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

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

Amazing.

I bought Electik Circus when it came out and played it a good few times. This is quite as eclectic but still streets ahead of most of the hip hop dross we’ve had to listen to so far!

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.

I can’t believe the top review for this record (as of March 2025) is from someone complaining about someone trying to use their PhD in Mathematics as justification for not liking hip-hop. Lame.

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

Legal

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

I'm a STEM guy, but I'm quite partial to a bit of hip hop. Perhaps it's because I'm also a vaguely rounded human being? Anyway, this was fine, but not too exciting. I liked the soulful production, especially when a bit of brass came in, but I'm not desperate to listen to it again.

Enjoyable but potentially forgettable

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.

Not bad but I only connected with a couple tracks

I really liked this. I've always thought I should listen to more Common, and now I know I should.

It turns out I've enjoyed all the songs on this album without realizing they were all on the same one.

Fun! Final song was great. Purely not giving it 4 stars as I’m saving that for the albums that really blow me away but this was incredibly enjoyable! Loovvveedddd the bass in this especially. This was just what I needed for a warm day

Better than i expected

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

It opens with some bass riffing, it's got me. Great lyrics, superb flow, inventive beats, this album matches the clever defiance of old "conscious" hip hop with the brash thrust and musical vocab of anything that's come since - timeless? I miss old Kanye. Favourite tracks: The Corner, Testify, Love Is..., The Food

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

Pretty good album but the intro is the best intro song I can remember. 3.5/5 but goes down to 3/5.

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

Consider the extra star a professional courtesy

I wouldn't have listened to this in a million years, if it weren't for this challenge. It was quite a ride!

Enjoyable. A bit samey

Gimme something without Kanye West on it.

Better actor than rapper

Je sais que j'ai dis que j'aimais pas le rap l'autre fois, et effectivement, y'a beaucoup d'éléments que j'aime pas du rap: l'incessante vulgarité abrutissant, le style «gangster», la perpétuelle vantardise et rabaissement des autres, les instruments réduits à une note de bass, un default setting drum loop et la mauvaise utilisation de samples de vraie bonnes chansons. Bref, la liste est longue. Par contre, ici, ont est vraiment ailleurs. Je me concentre rarement sur les lyrics, mais le flow est comme du beurre sur chaque tracks et les rimes sonnent juste bien à l'oreille. Les back vocals rajoute énormément au niveau mélodique, ce qui manque habituellement en hip-hop. Mais SURTOUT, l'instrumental est TRÈS solide; ont sens l'expertise derrière le mix et le sampling est très bien dosé et incorporé avec minutie. L'esprit soul éclipse grandement l'attitude gangster qui me rebute habituellement, et n'importe quel album qui incorpore du sax et des trompettes gagnent des points dans mon livre. Ok, bref, 5 étoiles, je peux pas juste écrire cette review toute la journée

First listen. and I liked it. I also think math is hard, yet I successfully complete it daily. Smooth rap, the lyrics were not for me, but it was still an enjoyable listen.

Great flow. Good background singing and instrumental. Strong lyrics and delivery. I liked this and feel it had a strong base and did a lot with it but I can't point to anything specific that I loved.

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.

Great blend of R&B/Soul and rap. I’m not usually a big fan of modern rap, but I like old school rap like this. It’s like Motown meets rap. Well done, sir!

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

I didn't think this was too bad, actually. I even enjoyed a couple songs.

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.

chill hiphop

Okay.

This album was very good! It was cool and laid back. Didn't really seem to do anything GROUND BREAKING for me, but I enjoyed it. All the features throughout were well done (especially Kanye's). The rappers voice is so SMOOTH and the female singer is really really good. Actual rating...3.5 Liked Songs: "Be (Intro)" , "Faithful" , "Testify" , "Love is..." , "Chi-City" , "The Food"

liked songs: Real People, It's Your World This wasn't bad. I liked the songs that had more jazz undertones. I hated The Food; yet again, Kanye proves that he's a shit singer. 2.5

Enjoyed this, quite chilled out hip hop but don't think it stood out massively

Hadn’t really listened to Common before but really enjoyed this album

This album was amazing, absolutely loved it.

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’ve just got an Honours Bachelor of Commerce so what do I know.

I enjoyed this one.

Rap, which reaches nearly a 3..

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

As a polymath with PhDs in maths, physics...only kidding it was a very good album if that is your taste stylish and very well produced 😁

GOOD Music!

“Be… eternal” This is one of the most soulful hip-hop albums ever. You get prime Kanye on production, with clear J Dilla influence and Dilla himself appearing on a few tracks. The beats are warm, rich, and full of life, and Common is rapping beautifully over them, calm, wise, focused. It’s an essential hip-hop record. It feels comforting, but it isn’t soft or empty. Common is talking about purpose, love, faith, growing up, responsibility, and what it means to live right. It has that feeling of walking through a city at night and thinking about your life. The opener, “Be (Intro)”, is honestly one of the best hip-hop songs ever made. It sets the tone immediately: hopeful, emotional, and powerful without trying too hard. The ending of the album is so brilliant. The final track, “It’s Your World”, is perfect. The first part feels hopeful, like anything is possible, like the world is open for you. Then the second part switches to a spoken monologue talking about struggle, pain, limits, and harsh reality. Dreams meeting the real world. It doesn’t lie to you. It says nothing is easy, life hits hard, but you still have to try. Hope and realism together. Soulful beats, great message, amazing rapping, no filler. A classic.

nah, 2005 rap esp. with kanye nnaah bruv

ehh, so so

Klassiker. Stabila låtar som håller upp än idag.

Still, I tried, but not my thing.

Surprised myself in enjoying this album even though this is not my type of rap. I could probably listen to some of these songs again like "The Food"

This definitely has Kanye's hallmarks all over it, and Common rises to the occasion. Great lyrical hip hop, steady hard beats. Kanye I hope you get yourself help before its too late, because its hard to hear what you did and what you were capable of at one time.

It sure was nice of Kanye “Nazi” West to let Common do some rapping on his own album! Common sounds great, the lyrics are easy to get and the production is very YE. Honestly as good as Common is on this album it just made me sad to listen to that old Kanye production. Sorry to make this review all about him but his presence over shadows Common on every track. “Testify” is the most egregious example. That sample is SO LOUD during the verses. But every song bumps and damn it I loved it! Also Kanye = Anakin Skywalker. You were the chosen one!

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.

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

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

Not bad. Hadn’t heard of him before. Had some Kanye on there.

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.

I listened to it a couple of times and although nothing really stood out to me I still really enjoyed it. Very nice beats and lyrics. I never listened to this when it came out so it was nice to hear it now. Interesting to hear the track of Common and Kanye on the Dave Chappell Show.

2.5

E bueno, 4.5

Chill. Bassy and cool, but not my thing

Meh. 2/5

fire

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.

- gute Platte, war ziemlich fix durch irgendwie - insgesamt nice Beats, guter Flow

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

Liked this more than I thought I was going to. I'd listen again for sure.

Pretty good, very chill nostalgic vibes. Possibly would relisten

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

Common is very talented and the album was decent for sure

first listen very cool, very thoughful

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

One of my last reviews was a rant about the huge amount of American rap records in this list. This is another case. But on the other hand, I liked this one more than I thought. Good bases, a positive vibe (not an abuse of swearing words and cringe gangsta attitude), and clear singing for a non-native speaker. Not sure if I'll listen to it again, but who knows!

Just not my thing.

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

Some bangers but some lows too. I thought the good ones were really good but the bad ones were realllyyy bad

really good, extremely underrated as i never heard about it. just gave it a 3 to be consistent. i feel like it deserves a 3.5

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

reflections, sex, faith, community and black pride. this album is confident, conscious and full of deep thoughts. it's always nice listening to hip hop writers who occasionally throw listeners with real antidotes to ponder for weeks. if that wasn't enough to convince you, this entire album is produced by kanye west. say what you will about his insane views and personality, but you'd be lying if you said he couldn't make a beat.

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.

It was fine.

Not even the best Common album I've heard. Y'all are acting like it's some great achievement of his when it's really quite mediocre.