Be

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

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

От этого альбома пахнет "ёлочкой" и автомобильным салоном. Jokes aside, неплохая работа, как оказалось, под продюссированием Кайне. Подход к сэмплированию и звуку чем-то напомнил горячо любимого Nujabes'а. Подробно я не изучал лирическую составляющую альбома, но немного вслушиваясь в заключительный трек - понял что здесь она достаточно интересная, "на подумать" и поразмышлять. В целом, это приятная работа, но не думаю что буду его переслушивать в дальнейшем.

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

very nice

I don't usually listen to hip hop, but it's good

Un álbum muy relajante aunque no me gusta el rap era un estilo bastante calmado la verdad que tenías unidos muy repetitivos las canciones un poco sin más no me ha disgustado ni me ha encantado creo que lo volveré a escuchar pero no está mal

Não é muita a minha vibe, mas tinha letras impactantes

rnd good

I am bored by this

I mainly know Common as an actor on Hell On Wheels, which is a top notch show. Musically this album is laidback and chill, if a little one note. Lyrically, I have a hard time looking past the stuff that didn’t age well. Enjoyable enough. 3/5

Va

Surprised me a lot because I didn't think I would like this very much. It was good to listen to but only a couple of songs I will listen to again.

Interesting.

Interesting, but not for me.

i miss the old kanye💔💔💔where is heeeee! i wasn’t expecting to like this album as much as I did, but im so glad i got to listen to it! the artistry is BURSTING through this album🙂‍↕️ favourites: GO!, Faithful, They say

Mixed bag--some of this flowed quite nicely, some was annoying. I really liked the John Legend track at the end; I wish Legend's solo stuff sounded that good. 3.2

Nice album - can definitely tell Kanye helped with this. Nothing quite outstanding but certainly not a bad album.

Immediately intrigued. I liked it, made me laugh. I love the instrumentals. It feels like it should be older than 2005

Funky

Good

Chiar daca nu este stilul meu,un album care mi a lasat oarecum un vibe fain,nu mi am dat seama cand au trecut toate piesele si chiar daca semanau cat de cat intre ele chiar pot sa inteleg vibeul albumului.

Constant dans le style mais original sur chaque morceau, c'était chouette bien que pas toujours à mon goût mais c'est un jugement purement personnel.

This shit is smoooooth Started the thing agitated, now calm It's a blessing to be, yeah Testify was godly, the reveal was legit dope

I have this CD but this is the first time I've listened to it since this cane out. Common is really good. He is so good that generic rappers of a certain bent all inevitably sound.like him. Combining his ability and presence with Kanye's production and this is a very solid album.

Decent listen

Nice lyrics

Good album

Best hip hop so far

just a classic rap album. nothing notable.

Feel like several half cooked songs

Rap

Really good opening track. I don't listen to rap at all but i kinda like this album. So far the rest of the album is too funky and repetitive for me. Not my style really. When I listen to rap I like it little bit more angrier and maybe energetic. Pretty solid album to chill out and even though it's out of my music bubble I sometimes foumd myself vibin' to it.

Refreshing rap style and lyrics that feel a little differentiated than just gangster rap (im rich, I've got a big d*ck, I do drugs, etc.) At the very least I can say that I've never heard anything by common before this and am glad to have the exposure.

Ni conocía a este artista. Buen disco de rap que mezcla el hip hop y soul, muy arquetipico del rap de los 2000s, el sexto de Common y quizas uno de los mas exitosos de él, después de sacar álbumes bien criticados. Cuando empece a escucharlo me sonó un poco familiar y fui a ver los créditos y cache que lo produjo Kanye, y se nota su influencia, suena un poco a él, sin nada nuevo en producción pero con un sello distintivo, no conozco la discográfica anterior del artista pero parece ser que esta alianza con Kanye en la producción y composición le dio frescura. Buenos beats en general, me gusta el uso distintos instrumentos como contrabajo, percusiones, saxofón y pianos, etc ojalá le hubieran subido un poquito más el volumen a los bajos pero bien equilibrado en general. De su rap, letras no muy complejas, pero directas y conscientes, habla de "ser" y del ahora, de lo espiritual y cotidiano. Usa distintos recursos para rimar como coros y multisilabicas. Peeeero me paso que en la mayoría de las canciones me falto algo, dar un pasito más, siempre como al borde de hacerme agarrar la cabeza pero sin lograrlo como en otros discos del genero. Disco bien regular y por lo poco que leí considerado una obra maestra del rap de este siglo con buenas calificaciones. Para mi no alcanza el 4, esta más bien entre el 2 y 3. Creo que alcanza el 2,5 así que redondearé pa arriba. Canción favorita: Probablemente Be (tremendo sonido del contrabajo) y GO!

RnB bien mais pas top

Melodically rich, great production - so far, this is the most enjoyable hip hop album on this list.

Initially had some positive feelings about this album. But then on "Faithful" Common tries to imagine if he would "still be runnin' game" on god, if god was a "her." Lonnie Lynn, a man who has won every award available to a musician on god's green earth, wants us to join him in imagining if he would: -Get jealous about other men worshiping his woman (god) -Whether he would be more into god for her mind or her "heavenly body" -If he would still want his ex when he is "wit' her" (fucking god)

I don't quite know why -- but I didn't love this. Don't get me wrong, the material is phenomenal and a breath of fresh air, and it's by no means a bad record. I guess maybe it just feels a bit stale, or sedated, or something. Or maybe it's just a little too hopeful to grip me, which I guess is something for me to get into in therapy. Fave tracks: - Be (Intro) - The Corner - GO! - Testify - Chi-City - Real People - They Say - It's Your World - Part 1 & 2

I enjoyed this. Old Kanye is pretty smooth. Common is a cool character. Way better than modern rap.

Ok Robert Sims!!

Chill hip hop album. I remember when he was Common Sense. Don’t think it stood the test of time

banger conscious hiphop og boom bap rap. Mit første indtryk var at det lød lidt ligesom J-cole og tror også han har draget stor inspiration her. Teksterne er awesome og det er kanye west der har produceret det meste af albummet.

It's a good modern hip-hop/rap album. He mixes in plenty of elements of soul, R&B and hip-hop. Solid production by Kanye back when that was a good thing.

Makes me nostalgic for the early Adult Swim era of Hip Hop.

Liked the album, disliked the features

Day 126 Few enjoyable songs on here, really liked Testify. Not sure I’d come back to the full album in future 6/10 Highlights The Corner Testify They Say

Compared to his previous album, it’s clear that Common learned from past missteps, tightening Be into a lean 43-minute runtime with no bloat or filler. Once again, I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected. Common doesn’t fit neatly into stereotypical hip-hop or rap conventions; his beats and soundscapes feel organic, creating a relaxed, effortless vibe that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries.

This was much more enjoys than expected. That's due to the music bed underneath the songs being so jazzy and soul filled.

I’m not able to contextualize this, so it’s interesting to read what other people who are much more knowledgeable than me have said about it. It’s a decent listen, I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t one of those albums that immediately grabbed me and that I had to listen to again. I guess part of the problem with this project is that with a new album every day, if something doesn’t have an immediate impact, it’s probably not going into rotation so that I can grow with it. Oh well.

I liked the music... and some of the sampling (which is part of the music.) It was an easy album to listen to and I would probably appreciate it more if I dove into the lyrics and knew what the songs were about. Is this Common's best album? I did read that "The Corner" was one of his best songs.

- Wel leuk - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM - 0 nummer al toegevoegd aan MMMM

Bieng certaines chansons sont répétitivess et les autres des masterclass 3.5 mais reecoute nécessaire

I loved the Intro, which was a promising sign. Reading the featured artists in the first track were Kanye and John Mayer felt like a double-whammy of "problematic" (though to very different extremes) and as I know nothing about Common, I looked him up. He seems like a great guy who genuinely tries to make the world a better place and then gets called hokey for it. I think this is probably more a warm summer day album, than a dark dismal UK winter day album, but I enjoyed it regardless. I like that it feels like a positive, uplifting album thanks to the lyrical content. And yes, I like the production. If only Kanye had stuck to producing records like this instead of becoming what he is now. Should be a 3.5 but I don't think this is quite a 4 for me, so: 3/5

Love the intro. Probably my favorite era of Kanye production, I love the sample and background vocals. Not sure if the vocals and production always work together as cohesively as I want tho

I'd say I'm pretty good at math. Sure, I don't have a PhD, but I'm a sophomore in high school taking- and having an A in- Precalculus. With that out of the way, this album is a pretty solid example of 2000s hip hop. The beats are good, and the flow is solid if not the best. The songs are well made and fairly enjoyable. Lyrics are excellent in that they don't rely overly on hedonistic and boastful tropes common in some rap from the period. Unfortunately, I found the album's sound a little repetitive and unengaging toward the end. It's far from terrible, however- even for this typical "intelligent kid" who nearly always has the answer and does consistently well on tests.

It's okay. I liked The Corner song.

I had high hopes, based on the cover alone, that this was going to be a smooth bass-y modern lounge thang, similar to John Legend, but it’s not. I love the idea of what this could’ve been. Common as a rapper is definitely of his time. His voice sounds irritated and doesn’t emote anything except urgency and confrontation, even in the more chill tracks…much like Kanye. The music slides into that old school R&B and Soul sound, which I love…like Kanye. Go! is nice. Testify is a good song. Chi-City is great…I love that this album is generally about Chicago. I guess if he wasn’t seemingly trying to rap like Kanye, I’d enjoy this more. I’ll still take Common over Kanye any and every day of the week though.

I discovered Common back in 2007 . I love his flow and the instrumentals he picks up. However, to be totally honest since I really struggle understanding the lyrics and I have no time reading them somewhere my fool appreciation is quite limited ha ha ha ha.

C'est certainement un album de rap des années 2000, oui

Smooth listen, very Kanye coded. Has made me curious enough to search out older Common albums to see if there's a difference.

It’s good but I’ve got better Common albums. Kanye’s production is also good, but the vintage soul sides idea was hardly as revolutionary as many have claimed.

It Be OK, but nothing really grabbed hold of me apart from the monologue at the very end and Go!

I liked it pretty good, but I don’t have a PhD in Maths, so maybe that’s why. 3.7/5

This was okay, started out pretty strong, I liked Be and Real People, maybe there was a third that had the more jazzy feel. Honestly though the rest of the album felt pretty much the same. 2.5 rounded to 3 only because I feel like the lyricism might feel stronger after a couple listens.

This was pretty ok, just an average 2.5-3 star hip-hop album for me. I understand why people like Common and I don't dislike his music, it just doesn't draw and keep my attention like other, similar, artists....

I liked some songs better than others - enjoyed it more than I thought it would - nothing felt amazing but was catchy - between a 3 and 4

Pretty good. Strong 3 or weak 4 for me.

...Or not to be? That is the question.

This album is warm and smooth but didn’t wow me, nothing really jumps out or hits especially hard. It’s like the easy listening version of rap/hip hop. Common is thoughtful and steady throughout and I like the laid back vibe, but not something I’d go back to.

These rap tracks are clean and deliberate. The music is funky, soulful, and intoxicating. The backup vocals provide a medium that Common builds-on to tell his stories. I had never listened to Common before today, but I will be looking for more of his albums to explore.

I've never listened to a Common album before, this was really good. Old school rap cadence paired with smooth jazz beats. Has a hipster coffee house feel. I liked it. But not something I'll revisit.

Meh, pas trop mon style mais pas pire

It's cool. The album starts very strong, it can't sustain that but it's a good hip hop album.

I don't listen to hiphop

Kanye is my favorite hip hop producer. To some that would sound like a controversial statement. To me it’s so uncontroversial that I think second place (RZA? Q-Tip?) wouldn’t even touch Ye at first. That being said, I’ve never listened to this album and am prepared to love it.

5/10

passingly familiar with this album..."GO!" takes me back testify is great, i like chi-city, the food album reminds me very much of the blueprint and the black album (jay-z, 2001 & 2003 respectively)

Not bad, could take a few more listens to really appreciate it.

It was OK I guess. Not that great, but i've heard far worse.

Um trabalho inteligente ao mesmo tempo que acessível. Ainda que bastante mainstream, influência de Kanye West, não perde a identidade. Mas, não supera a força e o impacto a Like Water for Chocolate

Meh

Generally, not a fan of hip hop (no I don’t have a maths phd) but I actually quite enjoyed this melodic album.

Rap is not my thing, but that's ok. I do like the music and the production, even if the actual rapping part just doesn't send me. 3 stars.

wow it's a hip hop record that is not unlistenable, finally

Quite good! Some real gems here (especially the title track), but many songs are held back by sparse instrumentation and production.

It's certainly not bad. I kinda like hiphop. But it didn't sound particularly unique. A solid 3/5.

I wish the beats were a little more distinct, flows as well all just a little too similar but for what it is it’s great. It does feel like Common kinda just coasted off this for the rest of his career though.

3.5 stars

It doesn't really slap. It's kind of slow and dated, but it's more thoughtful than most of today's music.

Я не великий прихільник хіп-хопу нульових, втім цей альбом має якусь позитивну енергетику. Слухати були приємно. 3.5

хороший, добрый, черный

I really liked this album. The rap mixed with Jazz really worked for me and I enjoyed it more as it kept going. My favorite song was Real People

"Easy-listening" rap. I enjoyed the soul elements and I thought Kanye's feature was great. Common has a nice flow, but he doesn't compel me to much further listening. I enjoyed "Real People," which I think Kanye produced.

An okay 2000s rap album from the guy who's now better known for those Microsoft commercials. Nothing bad about it just doesn't stand out.

uplifting, varied and elegant. Favorite songs: Chi City & the Food

Not a rap fan, but the music was nice and his voice pleasant.

A few pretty good tracks but overall not an amazing album

Not really my thing, so not the best way to start this challenge. "It's Your World" probably the best track that stood out.

An enjoyable album - good beats and a nice tempo with a smooth lyrical delivery and content that you could almost play to the kids. Kanye unfortunately makes an appearance - but no marks deducted for this as it was a good few years pre Nazi. Ultimately tho there are no real stand out tracks and nothing that really resonated.

Here we go, another hip hop album 'Intro'. But this isn't meaningless repartee about guns n pussay. A double bass with piano, gliding strings, and Isley brothers guitar (might be a synth). Indeed Mr Common even namechecks Coltrane here, a nod to that jazzy bassline. It's a great start. It's a clear precursor to Kendrick Lamar, lyrically and musically, and if nothing else deserves credit for that. But there is not nothing else. There's also the excellent vintage soul pacing, tight sampling and raps with stories to tell. It's very consistent to the point of being samey, but the lack of surprises is made up for by the smooth grooves.

Favourite Track: They Say

I never thought I would say this about a hip hop album, but if it were just the first 5 tracks, this album would get a 5/5 rating. Those first 5 tracks all hit different. I was really feeling it. The rest of the album didn't come anywhere close to that bar.

I like common (casually). I thought I would like this album. It’s ok! It’s lovely just not for me. Love “Go” ofc and “Real People” “They Say” is absolutely the standout.

Standouts Be Chi-City Real People

I’m probably not the audience Common had in mind for this album, but I still really enjoyed it. Before listening to Be, I had never heard of Common, but his rhythm, flow, and lyricism immediately stood out. He’s often described as an “intelligent rapper,” and that comes through clearly here — his storytelling feels purposeful, powerful, and genuinely engaging. The album blends sharp production with thoughtful writing, and it’s made me want to explore more of his back catalogue. Favourite track: Testify – an outstanding track. Least favourite track: Everything on the album is worth a listen. Album artwork: A simple, standard cover.

Common has a lot better albums but this a fun listen.

just call it an exhibition of Kanye West’s beat making and production— he stole the spotlight whether it was his beats or bars. Kanye really carried here while Dilla’s holding it down. it’s just hard to take yourself out of the thought that this album is an early display of Kanye’s experimental work. it added a whole other dimension to Common’s flows… which i liked at times. felt out of place and forced other times. i kept having to pause and really get a feel for their choices because even today, it’s so refreshing!

One of the very few hip hop artists I can appreciate (at times), but I never listened to this or any of his albums before. But as it always is, with hip hop and me, I can't enjoy it for more than 15 minutes. Honestly, I'm not someone who listens to lyrics that much, I'm mostly engaged with melody and song structures, which most hip hop tends to lack. Even so, although still not my cup of tea, this hiphop album is quite melodic, and Common's rapping is comforting rather than confronting (unlike his lyrics, which is a compliment too), so 3/5

Ah yes, I love this Kanye album feat J Dilla and that guy named Common who talks the whole time. Maybe I’m being a little too harsh, I actually enjoy listening to this album. 3/5

Solid

It's pretty good. -1 for K*nye

Even though i’m not a mathematician, hip hop isn’t my genre. In fact, I’m probably what the PhD maths guy would describe as a hipster with a humanities degree, and I didn’t much care for it. It’s very smooth, and a wee bit shiny but it’s too jazzy for me, and I found it quite annoying. I have no idea if it is technically good or not, but it sounds like it probably is. It just doesn’t speak to me.

Bit too slow and not aggressive enough for my tastes in hip hop, but not a bad album.

Enjoyed it! Intro was sick as fuck.

Felt like having a new Kanye album. Have never listened to him but instantly see the hype. Excited to listen again, very leisurely but infectious flow. And only 42 minutes a lot of hip hop albums are far too long this was perfect.

What the hell, sure. 3.5

3.5/5

When I first listened to this, I hadn't really had any serious exposure to Kanye's discography. Now that I'm coming back to this after that, the production is almost instantly recognisable. I'm going to assume this album has high ratings because of the Kanye production, but I'm coming to this as someone who listened to most of Common's early discography before Kanye's. I find Common really toes the time with the "lyrical spiritual miracle" type rhymes. Not that the lyrical content is like that all, but his flow comes across too try-hard if that makes sense. The emphasis on the rhymes in his songs is almost like he's looking for validation at being a technically good lyricist. It's particularly present on The Corner. I think upon second listen, I agree with my initial rating. Kanye is a great producer and I think Common is a good rapper (even if he's not my choice). While it might come across as a Kanye side project, I don't think it would be as good without Common. For example, Go! and Faithful wouldn't have been out-of-place on College Dropout. It does make me wonder what Kanye is like in the studio, if he's domineering or if his production style is so distinct that it's just hard to downplay his role on a project. Not a release that I'll come back to but it's a good entry point to Common and I think an enjoyable listen for any fan of Kanye's early work.

Spoko, od czasu do czasu fajnie posłuchać takiej muzyki

Always avoided Common because his aesthetic seemed kind of corny to me. I've been sleeping on this it's great! Solid production from early era Kanye West on this. And Common is a more than capable MC. Crazy that Common got to work with peak era J Dilla and Peak Era Kanye West.

Not my usual genre of music at all. Pretty easy listening hip hop with a jazz feel and laid back grooves and decent lyrics. Pleasant.

Used to like it a lot more when I was younger. Still a classic tho.

Good, but I like his earlier stuff better

Fine

You know that meme of the woman pulling a face after trying kombucha for the first time? When I saw that Kanye West was involved as a producer on this, I initially pulled the sour face, but then I saw that J Dilla was also credited on a couple of tracks so, well, maybe face? This is straight forward hip-hop/rap, but the usual barrage of mf’ing n-words is refreshingly low, and the backing music has a sort of 70s soul feel to it. As expected, the two J Dilla tracks are excellent (‘Love Is’ and ‘It’s Your World’), the latter featuring a chorus of kids saying what they want to be when they grow up, from astronaut to obstetrician including duck and first African American female president, something that could have been sappy but is actually quite sweet in context.