Be

все тут есть в этом альбоме, но по мне чуть задушнил старина, включил канье веста хотя ты не канье вест , ты как бы круче (как эмси по крайней мере)

This album was smooth but in like a "I have nothing to grab onto" sort of way

I enjoyed the rapping, but the background music being smooth-jazz-ish mostly ruined it for me.

Lowkey decent.

Produced by Kanye and J Dilla, was never going to be bad. Enjoyable listen

Gets you in a vibes mood

Fine.

nice rap

Solid album! Nothing super stand out though.

Any album that involves The Last Poets has to have something going for it. Pleasant enough, but could have done without Kanye popping up, even if this before he really lost the plot.

Man has some sharp delivery. Quite soulful in places. Almost a Daisy Age album.

Not bad

Enjoyed this far more than the other album by Common

I started off really enjoying it but the last half about me enough to lower a few stars. First song was bloody great though.

OK as background music. For Starbucks or the lift.

Pretty evenly split between 2/5 songs and 4/5 songs. Overall, pretty solid hip hop / rap.

It's ok for what it is. 3 feels quite generous though.

Not bad.

Pretty good but some of the beats are distracting(Testify) but it was a pretty thoughtful album and Common has a smooth voice. Too much Kanye though would be a 4+ with less ye.

Good album. Not really in the wheelhouse of what I typically listen to, but I appreciate the work.

Nice album, nice vocals-especially from John Legend. But nothing to make me want to listen to it again.

Objectively solid hip-hop album, just not quite in my wheelhouse. Some legitimately great songs on here though, and I love Common’s voice. Best Track: Faithful

Solid lyricist with actual story line, theme and thought. This is the opposite of the random phrase mumbling that is nothing more than boasting like a brain dead rooster just strutting around. Solid 3 stars.

The flow is nice but not exactly my style. The best tracks were the ones featuring Kanye. All in all, a decent album.

Not sure what album I'm on, definitely 100+. I'm running out of things to say. I like Common, seems like a good human. Didn't realize he came up with the shambolic mess that is Ye, Mr. West, Yeezee, Kanye, or whatever we're calling him these days. He loses a little bit for me with that, but I guess you don't get to choose who your contemporaries are. I usually say that for me to like rap and hip hop, it has to do something interesting musically. This just about gets there.

I liked it. I had Like Water for Chocolate in my collection growing up and loved it as one of my all time favorites. This is a great album but i kept comparing it to LWFC and just felt it was not as good.

Feels like a both a high point and a dying gasp for backpack rap, like the genre had been wrung out and this was all that's left. Technically excellent, souful, committed, and nothing new. I bet Kanye's beats hit harder 20 years ago but having heard them for those 20 years, it feels...not dated, but not fresh, either. Kind just a normal part of the soundscape. Solid album, victim of its competency in that it doesn't do anything interesting because it does everything perfectly well. 3 is too harsh and also maybe a bit too much.

Cool to hear Kanye wests production on this. Feels like he is gone and this was a fun trip down memory lane. Nothing I particularly love here but it’s easy enough to listen to. Would listen again

I enjoyed the Kanye beats, wasn't as grabbed by Common's rapping. "The Food - Live" was probably my fave on here

This is a genre I can't get behind. Well-produced but not for me.

Hahaha, I can't believe this is on here! Common (Sense)'s corniest, most embarrassing album... and I still kind of like it.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would

Cool, classic, bouncy - nothing in excess. Not too mindful, not to brash, not too political, not too experimental, not too whatever. Just pleasing. Should hip hop be simply pleasing? Not for me to say

4 but minus .5 for Kanye & minus .5 for common’s acting career

this is one of the whitest hiphop albums to come out from a black dude

very good

Not a huge rap fan so this was very interesting for me to explore. Hope to learn a lot along the way.

Nah. Not bad, but can't call it "masterpiece". But I understand why others like it. Like, it's not half bad.

This album isn’t for me and I’m certainly not the target audience. Having said that, it grew on me as it went along. I really liked It’s Your World and its message.

I like this one better than the previous Common album that came up. 3/5 #162

I found it enjoyable but nothing that grabbed my attention. Could probably do with a few more listens.

Alright

Enjoyed Testify, well produced album by an absolute madman

Ye

for some reason the hiphop reminded me of hamilton which reminded me of jonathan groff which reminded me of glee so thanks common for the reminder to watch glee 😁😁😁😁

I love me some socially conscious hip-hop, but Common has always slid just a little too corny for me. Testify rules, though.

I liked parts of this

I only knew him as an actor and turns out he made a soulful and interesting album as well. I liked most of the songs.

Flawless is a good word for this album, in the sense that every note and word feels polished and produced to go right the pleasure spot of white people who like hip hop. Whether that’s the chicken or the egg is up for debate, but everything down to the album’s cover feels polished and lab-tested to be Common’s big comeback album with critics and fans. Which isn’t to say it’s bad. Kanye’s production feels rehashed from his big hits at the time, but they were hits for a reason. And Common is an excellent rapper, even if I find this a little toothless compared to “Resurrection” or “Like Water for Chocolate.” I wanted “Be” to be legendary, but it’s just kind of pleasant and forgettable (though that live recording of "The Food" from the Chapelle Show felt electric when we all watched it for the first time, and I like that they included it here instead of recreating it in the studio.) But all of this is a shame because of these three things: 1) Common felt for a moment like the epitome of socially conscious rap, the promised one after so many years of gangster rap hitting the zeitgeist which left little room for your Tribes Called Quest or Souls De La. 2) I saw Common live around this time and he was pure fire. He was alone on a stage and it felt like watching lightning. 3) There’s a moment on Jeen Yuhs where Kanye and Most Def freestyle what would become “Two Words,” and it’s also fire. In theory, Kanye linking up with all these guys should have been legendary.

I preferred the other one. This felt like an effort to make a modern ‘what’s going on’. I’ve never really liked Kanye West either

Solid

I liked the first half of this album. It was a nice change to hear a rapper who is talking about creating a wholesome future rather than destroying and living nihilistically. Unfortunately this whole album is tainted by the production and guest appearances by Kanye, a despicable human being. I hope Common has realized that not all relationships need to be maintained.

3.5/5

One of the discoveries I’m making that I’m really happy about is learning I actually do enjoy hip hop. It’s still not my favorite I have always been and likely always will be a rock and roll guy but it’s a genre I’m learning I do have an appreciation for. All this to say I liked this album, it’s upfront but not overbearing in its production it’s lean. Common is obviously skilled at what he does and the lyrics are solid. I enjoyed this album, didn’t love it, as I said I’ve never felt hip hop/rap is my thing but I enjoyed it.

6/10… rap / hip hop

Hip hop again. Dr. Octagonecologyst from yesterday was fun. This, on the other hand, doesn't do much for me. Whereas that is entirely possible this is due to me hearing that insufferable fuckstick throughout this album. And the reverence for even old West has always baffled me a bit. Were people new to sampling and hip hop then? Polished goo.

This one starts strong but kind of peters out and then ends with an extended... audio collage? Common is an upper echelon rapper, there's some pretty great pre-psycho Kanye production, but it just doesn't carry the momentum for me. I end up wanting to like it more than I do.

As already stated I am not really a fan of this genre, but you know what I quite enjoyed this album and I would listen again!

This was pretty OK. Do I ever want to hear it again? Not particularly.

Different

Common makes 90s rap to raise a family to. But Be is no Outkast, no Mos Def, no Roots. Definitely no Jay Electronica (who is not on this list and should be. Go listen to Act II: The Patents of Nobility and enjoy the new colours you can see afterwards). Three for the zeitgeist and for this solid counter to the Marshall Mathers LP

It feels very superfluous writing these as the musicians are obviously out making creative endeavours and I am not. But allowing for that Common’s writing shines through but sadly he is a very limited performer. Large parts of this album kinda felt like a bored and slightly condescending university poetry lecturer droning on about the work of someone far more insightful

Starts great, but some tracks are hit & miss in my opinion. Think this is a really solid album to get into hip hop if you think hip hop is only gangster stuff. Great album but I think there is better stuff out there and it feels slightly overrated. Also love all the Phd comments :)

I enjoy Common's positivity and themes, but I wish he would not hang behind the beat so much with his delivery. Some nice guest work from Kanye right before he became a star.

Decent, hadn't really come across Common before, will definitely give it a second helping and look for more stuff.

A new artist to me, but I really enjoyed this

Loved this when it came out, but as time goes on, I find myself less and less impressed with Common (don't get me started on his acting)...

The album has a mix of gospel, blues, soul, jazz and hip-hop. Common’s poetry of life in Chicago, Black history and culture gives a positive vibe to hip-hop, that makes Common a legend. Not many hit songs, but the lyrics are attention grabbing.

Pretty easy classic, KWest beats are top tier, gets a little lyrical miracle at times

3 Stars (8/15)

Ok this is a hard one to review. My first impression is that I really really liked it and thought it should be 4 stars easy, if not 5 stars. Its production is fantastic and songs are great. However I don’t like or condone the use of the N word, epically with the hard R. That makes this an album I would never listen to again personally. I’d also remove a star rating because of it. Then I find that Kanye produced this. I also have a hard time separating someone’s personal life from their art. That loses another star for me. I guess that leaves me with a three star album which is just a me thing. Without those two digs at it, it could be a phenomenal album for me. Instead I’ll never listen to it again.

Very of its era. I did not love it but it was a decent listen.

a bajillion times better than the first common album we got

can absolutely hear the 2005 kanye production in this one, even before he popped into the album. 3.5

actually really liked the sound of this record. very nostalgic.

Couple good songs on that album I liked, while others were easily forgettable

Ni tan mal, pero tampoco me llama tanto como para empezar a escuchármelo de continuo 😦

i've never been a big kanye listener but his production really shines through. a bit too god worshippy at times for me personally but solid overall.

Very lyrical but really liked it!! Just not an instant re-listen

Random thoughts: * 2 Common albums on 1001. I didn't realize I was missing a major artist of the past 25 years. * I did like this Common album better than the previous one. I enjoyed the Kanye influence and reminded me of the classic Kanye. * I enjoyed "Go!" and "Chi-City". "Testify" was weird and caught my attention both times I listened to it. I'm not sure how I feel about it though. * I wonder how Common feels about Kanye now. * Outro speech was weird. I didn't care for that much. * Overall, was pretty enjoyable and good. I'd definitely listen again.

rap meh

Lots of samples. Makes the music derivative. Good beats and interesting fills. I don’t relate to the lyrics which means little replay value, but I can see why this lands with it’s target audience. Solid overall.

I'm not a rap guy. However this is some of the best rap I've ever heard

Qué género tan sobrevalorado es el hip hop y cómo me molesta que la gente lo ponga al nivel del rock, el soul, el jazz o el blues. Musicalmente, nunca un álbum de hip hop será mejor que un buen álbum de, por ejemplo, rock.

Lekker albumpie straalde niet echt in iets uit. Maar wel lekkere luister

Not bad, but can't give Kanye a high rating

Have never heard this, nor anything by Common. It was a pleasant surprise. The tracks I liked I really enjoyed. The ones I didn't annoyed me. There are more tracks than I like than I dislike.

Prime (and pre-nazi) Kanye West production sounds excellent across the album. Common has some moments of real lyrical talent on the album as well. However, overall I didn’t take too many memorable songs from this album.

Better than I though

Still not massively my thing, but much more listenable to than, say, Method Man.

Favorite part of the album was on the first track when I thought it might be a jazz album. It all went to shit when I heard "yeah!".

Nice flow!! Great opening track. Not heard him before but this is goooood. Feel like you can really hear Kanye’s production in it, but such a good flow and vibe. Tight, good production, writing. Less inclined to the more R&B songs and much prefer the harder, rap flow. ‘The Food - live’ 🔥 (3.5)

Best Song: They Say. As much as I hate to admit it, Kanye's got a decent feature here, and the vibes are immaculate. Worst Song: Testify. Although I really like the chorus, the way the female vocals compete with Common's vocals during the verses sounds really busy and clumsy in a way that makes me feel like I can't focus on either part properly. Overall: About the same as the other Common album on this list. Something about his style and delivery feels relaxing and welcoming to me, while also not being so revelatory that I think to come back to it ever. Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type music.

Not a bad rap album. Actually had music that wasn't terrible and the lyrics weren't annoying. 3/5

I dont like rap.so to be fair 3 stars freom someone who should not rate a genre he does not listen to. The middle.

It's nice but I think I liked "Like Water for Chocolate" better, if nothing else because more of the beats and such stood out to me compared to here where there were some big highlights but not all around consistency like that other album. It's also funny-sad to get reminders that even as far back as 2005 Kanye was rapping about going to mental institutions, which speaking of, his production is nice but eh I prefer the work in the last album. I might comeback to both back to back to compare them in the future

Fine. A bit incongruous to see how much influence Kanye had on this given what a horrible person he has revealed himself to be. Some pretty dated gender politics on display. Nothing especially groundbreaking happening here.

It's just not catchy enough to be so preachy, and the chipmunk soul thing just ages less well every year

This is one of those albums that really, REALLY grew on me after a couple of listens. On my first listen through, I found a lot of the songs same-y and annoying. After like the fourth playthrough though I generally liked every song. The only ones that I didn't really like were "Faithful" and the end of "It's Your World." Also, listening to Kanye in any capacity just makes me sad knowing how terrible of a person he is now, so as much as I like the song "They Say", I just can't truly enjoy it fully. Besides that, I enjoyed very much of this album. A few days ago I mentioned growing a lack of interest in Jazz music and that upsetting me greatly, I'm glad to say that the opposite is true for Hip-Hop. I've pretty much enjoyed all the albums I've rolled so far, this being no different. "Be (Intro)", "The Corner", and my personal favorite "Chi-City" all absolutely SLAP. I kind of want to rate this one a 4, but I also skip a few songs per listen, and unfortunately it's getting a Kanye Tax, so it's a 3.99/5. Realistically this is a 4 though.

je sais pas trop quoi en dire, pour du 2005 j’ai pas trouvé ça révolutionnaire non plus mais c’était tout de même un bon album qui s’écoute plutôt bien! assez répétitif quand même, et k**** w*** boo👎

More musical than a lot of this genre. Closer to Gil Scott Heron than Dr Dre

Pretty average. The couple times Kanye showed up, he completely overshadowed Common. Overall a nice album, but a little boring

Common s'interroge sur ce que c'est que d'«être» un homme. J'ai bien aimé l'aspect collaboratif. Un album sage sur tous les plans.

It’s hard not to hear this as part of Kanye’s greater history. At the time one of the big strikes against Ye was that he couldn’t rap (source: me) and needed better ghostwriters or maybe just a mouthpiece to present his productions, lyrical concerns, etc. Enter Common, fka Common Sense. I always liked Common and felt he was maybe the sole credible link between the Native Tongues crews of the early 90s and where hip hop was going in the 00s. He had a believable left-of-center perspective and actual flow, charisma, etc. Hooking up with post-Blueprint and Dropout Kanye, becoming part of the pre-GOOD Music troupe alongside John Legend, et al, well, it was a nice moment there leading up to MBDTF. “The Food” was so great I made an mp3 from the Chappelle Show live performance a year before, which is more or less what they did for Be. It’s a great capsule of time well lost - Kanye the underdog producer backing up Common, Chappelle putting his fist up in a Black Power salute, the Sam Cooke sample, Common and Ye telling somewhat relatable stories of poverty. Today, Common is perhaps better known as a reliable supporting actor and everyone else...

I like the music and he’s got really good flow but there was nothing catchy about it. No hooks

Not bad, enjoyed it more than I expected. Wasn't paying too much attention, so I have no idea what he was saying.

Surprisingly good. Would never listen to it but it was real chilled and relaxed. Enjoyed it. 3/5

fun Je vais y revenir

Ça s'écoute ben, bonne vibe mais j'trust pas Judge Sims.

Meh. Better than the same old rock, but Common is a bit wordy trying to say what he wants to say. Lyrics aren't very profound or emotional. Some songs were good, this deserves 3.5 stars rounded down. - Hard to rank rap against all the rock that came before - Most popular song 'Go!' is majorly underwhelming - Kinda corny by modern standards, does feel like of course a couple white guys liked this rap album

When I saw that this album was produced by Kanye West, I knew it would probably be a pretty decent album. I'm not a tremendous fan of either him or his music, but I was excited to see what Common Sense could do with a Kanye-type beat. I would say this album held up as a pretty good hip hop/rap album. My favorite was the live performance from Dave Chappelle's show of the song Common (otherwise known as the Kanye feature song). That performance was a great listen, but an even more fun watch. Overall, I liked it. It's not the best rap album I've had on this generator, but it is not even close to being the worst.

I liked it.

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.

Not my preference for rap but good overall.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Cool

VERY 00s.

A solid rap album.

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.

Chill beats and good stuff but didn't hook me

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

3.5

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

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.

舒服的饒舌

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

i like Chubb Rock better

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

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.

Un common-ly good

Grand

Pretty good! It was a fun listen

☆•~putaria lírica ~•☆

I like this one.

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!

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.

Legal

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

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

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

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

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

Better actor than rapper

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.

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!

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

chill hiphop

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

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

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"

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

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.

Chill. Bassy and cool, but not my thing

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

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

Common is very talented and the album was decent for sure

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.

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

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.

Like this more than I thought I would, but I still cringe at some of the language.

No-one can honestly say that there aren't some genres they like less than others. For me Rap is one of those. However, this albun was a very pleasant surprise for me. I can't say that I really heard the lyrics, but I really liked the overall musical sound of it all. I shall listen to this album again

Ok

Technically a great rapper but this music has always left me cold. The best verses on this are by Kanye

7/10 definitely not the typical music id listen to, a few songs I like the sound of and whole album has a nostalgic feel which I really like. Not a huge fan of the kanye participation for obvious reasons but i can appreciate its a greatly produced album

Meh.

Similar in sound, themes and rhythm as other hip hop recordings on this list. It is good to hear this point of view while at the same time maintaining a realization that I am not the audience.

Nice and relaxing

Instrumentals and beats were on point actually.

Seemed reasonably unemarkable to me.

An easy enough listen but I couldnt quite find reason to give 4 stars. Thought it could have been a Jay-Z produced album to begin with but clearly heard Kanye’s influence later in the album. Loved the last track.

Tydelig Kanye produktion. Det her er hiphop messigt mere mig. Det er melodierne som bære oplevelsen. Så det var ret let at komme igennem.

Motown Rap. The more Motown, the better.

Rap/pop sur samples

I've never even heard of this, but then I'm not that well versed in hip hop Got a bit nervous with some Owl City esque sounding keyboards on Be (Intro), thankfully that didn't come back. It's maybe vaguely in the Kanye pop-rap realm (unsurprising since he produced it), where I tend to prefer stuff like ATCQ, MF DOOM, but I like Common's voice enough that it kept me engaged. Kanye is/was pretty genius at sampling too so that helped keep my attention as well To be fair, I am a hipster with a humanities degree so it's unsurprising that I like this Highlights: Go!

Started out promising, but ended up just being OK. Plenty of other 2000s acts blow this out of the water

Background rap influences by tu pac and kanye

Feeling bad I laughed at: "I was rollin around, in my mind it occurred / What if God was a her?" Highlights include: Be(Intro), Testify, Chi-City, The Food - Live, Kanye's verse on They Say Good album, but I am not used to rap lyrics/production being kind of saccharine? I could see this pairing well nice with a sunny day, but some of the lyrics are a bit corny.

great instrumentals great voice thoughtful reflective lyrics nice best tunes: go!, faithful, love is..., chi-city, real people

My first Rap LP listen, ever! The samples give BE a 70's vibe. I like this. Some off the song ends are super cold. Strong; The Corner & They Say

I know who Common is but not much about his music. I did not realize how long he's been around. On this one, Common has a smooth voice and there was a nice groove that seemed to run through the whole album. Ye produced and it sounds good. He definitely had some talent back when he was still on his meds. Definitely a good way to spend some time and worth a listen.

I appreciated this, but nothing on the album really got its hooks into me on a first listen. It seems like an album that would reward multiple listens, though. Hope to return to this in the future.

Hooked me at the start with the Intro's heavy groove of 70's soul. Unfortunately, that influence seemed to wane as the album went on.

Once is enough

Generic

Good chill hip hop, but of Kanye mixed in with him in his prjme. 3.2

Quite nice, quite pleasing, but nothing absolutely new.

Not bad, but not an album that belongs on a list of the best 1001 albums of all time, either. 3/5

I think someone in the comments referred to Common as someone who writes “dad rap”? Is that true? I’m not a dad, I’m not even a guy, but I didn’t mind this album. It was easy to listen to, because there wasn’t a bunch of cussing and yelling. Will I listen again? No. Did I listen to the whole thing? No. But the fact that I listened beyond the first song is really saying something, because I don’t like rap. And you know what, I don’t care if that makes me “uncool” or “a wet blanket” or “no fun at parties.” I know my truth.

I never considered myself a fan of Common. I’m not a fan of hip-hop or rap in general, but for some reason I specifically never liked Common. I think it might have been back when Glory from the movie Selma won for Best Original Song at the Oscar’s, which felt like it won because it was close to Eric Garner’s death, as well as the Oscars So White controversy. I remember hearing the song and thinking it was ridiculous that the song won since it was basically just a chorus repeating the word Glory over and over again. Now this was a decade ago, so I was younger and stupider, but it made me think Common was this straight edge, social justice rapper who was more notable for his activism than his songs. I was low key dreading doing this album as it popped up. Fortunately, this was not as bad as I thought it would be. However, I wouldn’t call it great. The album has great production and it’s nice to hear Kanye West before he completely lost his mind. And I didn’t know John Legend was singing around 2005. I mean, I was nine at the time this came out and I really didn’t know John Legend until All of Me. I know, I’m really ignorant. Anyway, most of the album is good Chi-rap. It covers all the bases lyrically; rapping about the problems facing the black population in Chicago with a semi-positive outlook. Most of it is good, but nothing particularly mind-blowing. And Common does like rapping about the cops a lot. I mean, I sympathize with him, but it’s a little repetitive. Overall, this wasn’t bad. I take back that beef I had with Common a decade ago. Favorite track: They Say Other hits: Faithful, Testify, It’s Your World, Go!

Decent outing.

Kanye DNA. nearly 20 years later it's still solid.

Pretty solid outing this one. I enjoyed this after having never really listed to common before. Can hear the Kanye influence for sure. 3.5

The beats are nice

Buena intro, me gusto mucho la primer canción. La segunda y tercera, también están bien, cumplen, pero fuera de eso no tengo nada más para destacar, en general me pareció bastante meh.

It's fine but I don't have a lot to remember or say about it. 5/10

decent but nothing special, a standard rap album

Cool stuff. Not so common after all.

Probably should be a 4. I enjoyed it but don't see myself going back to it.

I know this one is considered an R&B classic but I just couldn't get into it

7/10

Is that - wait - yes it is - *wholesome vibes* I hear coming from these hiphop tunes? I will never be a hiphop convert, but I can appreciate these beats much more than their vulgar counterparts.

I like most of the songs, but wouldn’t want to own the album which is what makes it a 5 for me. I would skip a few of the lesser known songs.

i think if i had been way into this at the time I'd probably love it, but as it stands it's just fine

Great album, not usually a fan of hip hop and rap but this was poignant, varied, and sounds great

At first i thought it wouldve been amazing because i previously knew the first few songs, but i feel like it was just okay overall.

I'm not honestly the best judge of rap but I enjoy the complexities of the backing tracks. I'd give it a solid three stars. Got a nice groove but I didn't find myself liking any of the songs for repeat listening.

Other than "Testify", it's a decent album. Testify is a pretty bad song though.

Pretty good

Unaufgeregter Rap welcher in seiner ruhigen Art zu gefallen weiss.

One of the most innofensive rap album I've heard. Good tracks, but nothing's really awesome either.

This was a very good album, but I can't say any tracks was a total stand-out or will stay with me for a long time. Still, a pleasant listen and the beats were nice!

This is definitely it’s not you it’s me. But also didn’t hate it.

Beats

I've kind of always liked Common, but I've also never really listened to him. His rhymes are very deliberate, at times this can be cool, but it can also get sort of boring. Still liked this album, but I'm not going to put that many of these songs on a playlist. Best Song: Chi-City Worst Song: Love is...

Nothing stuck with me on this album.

Nothing mind-blowing, but some killer lyrics/production and pretty consistently solid. 3.5/5

Good hip hop, a little aged but good lyric and samples.

I appreciate it but just not my thing

I am the wrong guy to be rating rap/hip hop. I’ll just say this seems quite adequate for the genre.

The Corner was a good jam. The rest was a little heavy handed with the social messages

3.36

Good, but nothing stand out to me. No track rattles around my head afterwards

It was alright

Good production but likely won't relisten.

när det rappas är det jävligt bra men sen kommer töntiga soulbitar emellanåt. en stark trea

3.75

ganz nett mal zwischendurch zu hören

Another rap album, a genre I don't really care for. But I listened to it three times and I kind of like some aspects of it. Rap delivery always seems quite samey to me, and I guess the critical thing here is whether one can go with the lyrics and gain from them. To some extent, that's going to be (at least in part) dependent on the cultural references. One thing I'm really not able to form an opinion about is the extent to which this album was influential on other artists.

Never got the hype surrounding this, I thought he peaked with Like Water for Chocolate. Once he dropped the Sense he was really just Common...YEAHHHHHHHHH

ну опять же, классный и мелодичный, но мне нехватает времени и языковой беглости понять его на 100% поэтому середнячок

This will be my second, and subsequently last, Common album to review. I really didn't care for Like Water for Chocolate, so I don't have high hopes for this Be. However, I see that Be clocks in at just over 40 minutes, which is considerably shorter than Like Water for Chocolate's runtime, so that's already a big positive. Let's see what this is all about. Well, I'm not a STEM guy, but this album wasn't really my jam. From an objective standpoint, I think it's good, but I didn't really enjoy listening to it. The album has a really cohesive feel to it, and the production work and beats were really good, but nothing really hooked me in. The songwriting was pretty good, and there were some clever lyrics, but I'm just not a big fan of Common's rapping. I don't think he's bad, he's just not my cup of tea, and I wish that wasn't the case. This album was fine, but it's not the sort of thing I'd listen to again.

oh yeah. The Kanye West production is pretty clear. This era of hip hop is not always my favorite, but I can just imagine this playing at a bar and it would bang. Okay but Faithful is amazing. I really do like this, I'm just not the biggest fan of this sound. Maybe it will grow on me more

Kind of a Kanye album with a worse rapper. Some good tunes but it proves that Kanye is kind of the talent here

Solid stuff!!! Think I’ve heard this before but enjoyed it. Kanye makes great beats unfortunately!

Gorgeous vocals over Tom and Jerry type beats

Very chill, but not a masterpiece

stands out for being a thousand times less gross than most of the hip hop on this list

Beats are AWESOME. I'd listen to a worse rapper with these beats tbh. 2005 Kanye complaining about the media LOL Fav Track - GO!

I like how he looks more than his music

Liked the arrangements, production, and sampling (thanks, Kanye?) but the songs didn’t grab me.

I get a little annoyed with people praising Common for being conscious rap. He’s not that different from a lot of other rap artists. There was one song maybe on here where he mentions police violence. The rest of it was just 00s-era hip hop, nothing special. I do like Testify and The Food. The rest was common.

enjoyable

Solid collection of tracks. Flow and beats were easy to listen to. A decent album overall.

I didn't listen to much of this. Wasn't bad...not really my thing though. 3/5

This album was a disappointment. It started strong, but the quality faded fast for me. I needed more Common and less Kanye here. Liked Songs Added: - Be (Intro) - The Corner

No tenía ni idea de su existencia. Empieza bien al menos. Me he guardado un par de canciones GO! y Faithful. No sé si lo volveré a escuchar, hay tanta música pendiente, pero debería.

I'm sure I might have heard this before, but it is catchy.

Never heard of this, Kanye and Dilla on production, rooted in 70's soul. I would say it's very consistent, but not monotonous.

I preferred this one to “Like Water for Chocolate,” just a vibe.

Better than expected. Felt more genuine.

"As high as the stakes get when paper get low..." I liked this one significantly more than Like Water for Chocolate. Reasonable runtime (not bloated) and a nice sound, with nothing I strongly disliked. Interesting sounds on "Be (Intro)." I also liked "Testify." I might return to this one, maybe. I believe there have been references to the film The Matrix in both of the Common albums that have come up here (here in "They Say"), which makes me think Common saw it and was obsessed. Maybe that was all of us for a time after 1999.

Pretty nice experience however some songs are repetitive.

Not bad

Good