Be

Echt een Bastiaan album? Wel nice

A nice, upbeat album for a sunny day. Totally fine but fairly unremarkable.

Great vibe and lyrics. Just not my thing.

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

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

Meh

Nice soulful hip-hop. A classic and while it’s not the greatest of its era, it definitely enhanced it.

Too much Kanye in 2024 but setting that aside this album is really solid. Common's lyrics are personal but still really interesting and creative. The beats are fantastic because whatever else you can say about Kanye (a lot), the dude could make a beat.

Great voice. Not my style of music

3 - It was okay, but a little bit generic for me

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

Good.

Not my music

This one didn't speak to me.

Chill hip hop that still maintains an edge.

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

nah

Really nice.

Not sure why this makes it into the top 1000? Rubbish.

It’s not awful, but the some of the production style is a little too smooth and R&B for my tastes. I suppose, at least, that’s another artist I never need to hear again ticked off the list.

Very accessible. Buttery smooth flow and no edges to take offense at, but I don't see any highlights either. Everything drifts along and hardly anything sticks. The lo-fi to gospel to jazz beats are nice. 3.5/5

Jazz instrumentation and general positivity make it stand out, but there are lots of pretty mainstream early 2000s hip hop elements that just don’t land with me.

-I can definitely see the Kanye production all over this. The first half or so in particular has some amazing songs that build a great momentum, I’m surprised I’ve never heard anything by this artist before -Favorites are Be (Intro), The Corner, GO! and Testify

Maybe a little too smooth and polished, but on the whole, I like Common’s style. I thought the start and ending of the album were stronger than the middle. Pleasant and easy to listen to. 3.5 rounded up Favorite tracks: The Corner, Real People, They Say

Really good album from the “conscious rap” catalog. One of the best of the era along with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Nas. Minus one star because my wife won’t stop telling me how hot Common is.

Not really sure what it was meant to be

Surprisingly great album. I wasn't expecting to be vibing to this. This album slaps

Don't know what to expect here, but I like the bass intro on the first track. If I had to guess I'd say jazz, but the Parent Advisory warning, tell me otherwise. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ We'll see. Hm I like it. It's rap but not the shitty kind. 3 Stars

It was ok, not my type of music

Very odd. I disliked it a lot less than I thought I would. Still no interest in it, but it's certainly more than a 1-star.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way - this album was primarily produced by a young Kanye West, save for two tracks produced by the late J Dilla. In fact, Kanye himself appears for two choruses and a verse. I’m fully aware of the fall from grace Kanye has been through over the years, where his cult of personality has gone largely unchecked as he now reps fascists and the music becomes an afterthought. That all said, I can recognize that at one point in time, the man cared about the music, and once had the ability and capacity to self-edit and produce something of good quality. That I can take away from this album. Now with that out of way, I hadn’t heard about Common before. He’s a Chicago rapper previously known for his collaborations with No ID, The Roots and Erykah Badu. Be is his fifth album, and his first under Kanye’s label GOOD Music. A fair amount of publications tend to acknowledge this album as one of his best works, and I can see why. Common’s flows are impeccable throughout this album, as he pens and weaves his way through socially conscious lyrics that deal with themes of poverty, spirituality, love, racism, and finding optimism in hard times. Occasionally, a track or two will throw in some wit, such as how he claps back against rappers who don’t offer anything meaningful to say on “Chi-City”. Overall, it’s Common finding his pocket to express what it is to “be” in the moment, in the now. All this set to a backdrop of soulful yet punctuated music, sampling R&B of the 60s and 70s recontextualized into something new. Honestly, I have only a few nitpicks for this album. John Mayer does not offer much on his guest appearance in “GO!”, where he just sings the word “go” throughout the song. At least John Legend offers the whole chorus on “They Say”. Also, the version of “The Food” that appears on this album is a live performance from the Dave Chapelle Show. While they do nicely transition from that to the next track “Real People”, they probably would have been better off using a studio version. I had a fun time in general with Be, and give it a solid recommendation.

Interesting religious theme to some of the songs. Otherwise, it sounds like so many of the others.

It was fine.

I don’t get the buzz around this album

Sorprendente.

Rap, 2005 -> 1

Great album!

A masterful blend of soulful production and introspective lyricism, showcasing the rapper at his best. Kanye absolutely nailed the production; rich, soulful samples that perfectly compliment Common's verses.

Forgot how great Common actually is. This album was an important reminder.

whatev

I am a bit disappointed with this record, because it promises so much! Common himself is a brilliant musician (like everybody else in the Soulquarians). J Dilla was and Kanye is an amazing producer. Even John Mayer and John Legend is featured on this. And although the album itself is good, I am left being slightly underwhelmed. The lyrics are not as interesting as say Kanye or Kendrick, and the tracks could have been more creatively developed (I mean, its not like this guy doesn't know a shit ton of outstanding musicians). That being said — its still better than the last ten or so records I hava had on here.

Very refreshing to get some hip hop. Produced by a prime Kanye and decent rap. 4/5

Kan kanske höra något musikaliskt nån sekund här och där. Men mest är det nigga och motherfucka.

Kanye at the peak of his chipmunk powers and some of the last J Dilla on this plane? This album is a love letter to the Aughts: Dave Chapelle, John Legend, John Mayer all on the same disc?!? DAMN. Seriously, Kanye steals the scene with most of his flow but Common is an honourable silver medallist. I knew of this album but had never listened until now. Turns out it was aimed straight at me.

Ok

Earnest

No lo conocia, pero no me convence. No es mi tipo de música.

I been missing out on this album

Heel lekker album, echt wat anders, paar echt vette platen, maar net een paar teveel matige voor 5 sterren.

Apart from the lyrics mostly pretty common and notebly a lot of repetitions. A lot of the instruments also seem to have been generated digitally. This probably is not noticable, if one is focussing on the lyrics. These may be generally good and were fine for the last song. But there the vocals were from my perspective badly performed. At least for me, the breathing seemed to be displaced. There were some highlights, but there are too many aspects below average to justify more than 2 / 5.

Found this more enjoyable than the last one on the list. More focus on backing track, tempo and phrasing 4/5 #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie

Es ist sicherlich kein grottenschlechtes Album, aber es ist halt Hip-Hop und Rap, der mich persönlich wenig begeistert. Common bleibt seinem Stil treu und liefert solide Texte und Beats, die Fans des Genres sicherlich zu schätzen wissen. Dennoch fehlt mir der Funke, der das Album für mich wirklich herausragend machen würde. Die Tracks sind solide produziert und beinhalten auch melodische Passagen, aber sie schaffen es nicht, mich emotional zu packen oder nachhaltig zu beeindrucken. Insgesamt ein eher unterdurchschnittliches Musikerlebnis.

I didn't object to this. I knew the name but couldn't name a song when it came up. Turns out to be fairly proficient middle of the road hip hop from early 2000's. Less of the misogyny and gun, more of the grove and flow.

good as far as rap goes

Great beats and production! I wonder who was in charge of that… Seriously though liked the lyrical content and the flow quite a bit over outstanding production

It was good, some would say (un)Common(ly) good

Hip hop albums always tend to [[be]] the hardest ones for me to review. I figure I've talked about this [[be]]fore, but just in case: I'm a melody girl. It's always what I tend to focus on, more than anything else. Like, I hafta **really** love an album or something to really pay much mind to its lyrics—and even then... The point [[be]]ing, anyway, that when I listen to hip hop albums, I'm mostly focusing on the beats and how the flow interacts with them. It's missing the point of the genre to not pay mind to the words, I know, but that's just how I [[be]]. And these, by man I've many times now expressed my dislike for Kanye West... Are fine. "The Corner" has the best best, and then the rest are just fine. Not even Dilla's beat wows me that much, surprisingly. So... I guess I'm at a 3? I'unno. If I allowed myself the time to really dig into and analyze the words, maybe I could rate it higher, bit with my autistic and undiagnosed ADHD ass... This is the best I can do. Take it or, I'unno, let it [[be]].

Just absolutely stellar production from Ye and Dilla. Easy 5.

Yeah, that’s a 5. Obviously, it kills me to give Kanye any kind of credit in 2024, but as I’ve said; the version of the man that existed in 2004 is the version of the man I want to remember and admire if I ever think of Kanye, and his influence is felt all over this album, whether it’s in writing credits, production credits, or just the reshaping of Chicago rap that came in after College Dropout. Make no goddamn mistake about it, though; this is Common’s album, and he has the final say on everything here. What emerges from this collaboration is something that is distinctly more of his voice than Kanye’s, and that’s why I can sort of look past how much of Kanye’s fingerprints shape this album, because Common is the star here. He’s the main writer, he’s the one rapping, and overall, these are his stories to tell. He tells them beautifully – there’s not a single wasted line here, even when he’s horny as hell on Go!, it’s still delivered with such a confident flow that he just rolls with it without missing a beat. Speaking of the beats… yeah, Kanye cooked on a lot of these tracks, but so did J. Dilla – I don’t know that I’ve ever really heard a J. Dilla beat (sue me, I still haven’t heard Donuts), but the swirling piano that surrounds the outro of the entire album (and really, most of the beat on It’s Your World) is utterly perfect. I can’t remember the last time an album stuck the landing on the ending that hard. I could keep gushing here, but it’s just a fabulous rap album for 2005 – obviously, Kanye’s star power after College Dropout is probably what gave this album a bit of commercial appeal, but the end result is all Common’s, and it’s all great. It’s an easy 5 – it might even be a 10/10 for me, genuinely. I don’t think there’s a skip here. I loved this.

Some really good stuff mixed with meh.

Stories in musical form. This album is upbeat and speaks of current affairs as far as a non black non American can tell, but I didn’t really connect with the lyrics. The best song for me was at the end: It’s Your World. I do like how positive this album was compared to a lot of other rap albums out there.

This is better than the first offering I got on this list from Common. Still not my thing.

Meh record, not my kind of soul.

this guy is good, sad that i never heard of him before

This is my first time hearing Common as a recording artist, I enjoyed the album.

Not a fan of this genre, but still gave a listen. I much prefer reading the lyrics. Call me crazy. Call me old.

Ah, back to a more innocent time when it was all about the music and Kanye wasn’t a neo-Naxi. Love the positivity that Commom manifests here.

curti demais a produção, o som repetitivo não me incomodou de forma alguma da maneira que foi feito

I have never listened to Common before but this album was very enjoyable. It has a really chill vibe that's great.

solid album

anal bum a day 3 LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO! I'm so glad that whoever made the list included this one, Common used to be one of my favorite rappers a couple years ago, and this was my favorite from him. I'm familiar enough with Be to say that it is one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever created. Riddled with Kanye West and Dilla production, the instrumentals are extremely uplifting and soulful. "I was rollin' around, in my mind it occurred What if God was a her? Would I treat her the same? Would I still be runnin' game on her? In what type of ways would I want her? Would I want her for her mind or her heavenly body?" Common's verses are fantastic and his storytelling is inspiring. I can't hear these songs and be in a bad mood. 9/10

4.2/5 excellent production really good rapping and good storytelling

Be was such a great album. Everything that came out of commons mouth you could tell came straight from the heart and I love it. Alongside Common was he amazing production. This album was awesome.

actually insane production by kanye and really incredible flows and lyrics. genuinely goated

Go!

Maybe I am just not a rap guy, maybe this album isn't actually this good. Anyways, it's simply a bit boring to listen to, it's like a sip of warm water.

I’m not into rap

Seemed rather good. Hip hop isn’t my thing but I enjoyed a few of the songs, especially the title track and “They Say.”

this really took my by surprise

Not for me

Quite liked this.

Whatever.

Be is mature, smooth, dignified even. Common is a fantastic lyrists. 7.9/20

Really solid hip hop album with soul backing.

Be (intro) is probably my favourite Kanye beat of all time, and that is saying a lot. (Number two is probably jay-z - this can’t be life). I never got past the opening on earlier listens of this album as it’s too hard to follow. It’s such a perfect track. But after keeping this on rotation several times today I see my mistake. It’s a great album from Kanyes golden era when everything he touched became gold. I’ve always liked common but never loved him. Although he is technically a great rapper his voice register is rather monotone. But Be is a treasure trove of soulful jazzy hip hop productions topped with good lyrics and delivery. Such a nice vibe.

Great album, fantastic beats. I forgot how much I love Common.

Good album, I feel like Kanye's is too present in the whole (obv, bus too much) Still, good message, solid rapping.

Not too bad. Pretty good. The religious references really bring it down. For me anyway.

Is it because I never finished my Ph.D. in 20th century literature that I can't fully connect with this album? Obvious sarcasm here. You've read the top reviews in this section, so you already know who I'm laughing at with those words. Glad that such an insufferable app user didn't go further than 20 albums or so. After all, that maths dissertation ain't gonna write itself, right? 🙃 That said, and even if that lame review makes me want to bump this record's grade a notch or two, *Be* is admittedly a somewhat overrated album in my book. Potential hot take here (hopefully not as ridiculous as the one of that poor misguided maths student): a lot of people who love this album probably need to explore the fifteen years before its release to find smooth-sounding, intelligent hip hop that still managed to *pack a punch* in spite of its potential use of laidback, jazzy and soul-infused moods. Music by ATCQ, De La Soul or Mos Def for instance. In comparison to those acts, *Be* sounds way too polished as a whole, even streamlined to a fault. And it's so loaded with sacharine layerings that listening to it can become sickening in the long run--with a sugarcoated presentation that can even become borderline-annoying for cuts like "Faithful" or "Love Is..". Yet the trouble does not really stem from what's in the music. It rather comes from what you *can't* find in it. I understand why some folks missing the "old Kanye" enjoy this record, since it allows them to enjoy Mr. West's production chops without having to bear with his grating persona as a rapper (which has since worsened to cringeworthy and even politically concerning proportions I don't need to elaborate on here). The thing is, without Kanye's abrasive persona (at least when the latter was still bearable to an extent), the soft-sounding production and instrumentals on this record come off as a little devoid of personality and lacking in genuinely thrilling dynamics. Admittedly a little ironic in hindsight, huh? There are still clear stand-out tracks in this album, however, which explains why the ride it offers was enjoyable for a lot of rap fan in 2005. There's the enticing "Be (Intro)", and also "The Corner"--probably the most solid cut in the tracklist when it comes to painting a vivid picture of the state of society through rapping. Not to mention "Go" and "Testify", whose scope might not be as sweeping as the one of "The Corner", and which yet both shine thanks to their many hooks. Said hooks are more lackluster on the second side, unfortunately. First single *The Food* is nice enough, for instance, but even Kanye West's interpolations can't make it that much of a stand-out track. And speaking of Kanye, some of his trademark chipmunk flourishes have aged like milk. It was a sonic phase that suited well West's off-kilter, loony persona when he was the center of attention in his own early albums. But for someone else's record, using those sped-up vocal samples doesn't exactly feels like a marriage made in heaven. Common's flow, as skilled as it is, is a little too demure and aloof for such zany musical aesthetics. And the second side is where this discrepancy is felt the most. When Common's steady pace covers jazzy laidback elements, the whole thing lacks clear dynamics (which is where it is "streamlined to a fault", as I said earlier). And when that steady rap flow is interrupted by a hysterical high-pitched vocal snippet, either one or the other sounds out of place. The music becomes *too* dynamic, in a way (read "messy"). It's a neverending conundrum. The tail end of the record is fortunately way much stronger and more cohesive, thanks to the last two cuts "They Say" and "It's Your World". The latter song even serves as a moving conclusion nicely wrapping up the topical overtones found here and there throughout those 42 minutes--overtones which started with the introductory track praising self reliance and self-confidence against all odds, and paving the way to the emancipatory message gracing the last minutes of the album. Conveyed through a preacher's voice, along with all those moving vocal snippets of children having dreams about their successful lives as adults, that message has lost none of its potency today. So even if it's the official name of the "intro", "Be" is first and foremost the hidden name of that last song, and it's affecting that its contents rhyme so well with the one showcased on the first track in the album. In spite of that nice touch, *Be*'s topical program never strays too far from a somewhat predictable surface level, though. And from time to time, Common's reach also exceeds his grasp. Case in point: "Testify". It is a courthouse yarn that's admittedly vividly told, but the ultimate twist in its final lines comes off as either pointless or unwarranted. And for a song supposed to suggest how mature, thoughtful relationships with "ladies" should be handled, *Go* also misses the intended mark somehow. Having lyrics comparing love interests with cars--not once but *twice*!!!--... well, that might be a little cringeworthy, right? Not gonna elaborate on notions of male gaze and the objectifying of women... I just find it interesting that for both songs, said women are the topics of the lyrics, and that the subject Common chooses to explore there is not exactly shown under a truly "reliable" angle, let's say. Of course, he doesn't paint all women as "hoes" the way Snoop Dogg does. But what's the worst? A provocateur/entertainer no one in their right mind can take seriously on those topics? Or a Philistine that's a little out of his depth when tackling said topics, thereby taking the risk to convey regrettable conceptions while claiming to be thoughtful and on the "right side"? The jury's still out on this one. Long story short, there's apparent wisdom on the surface of *Be*, but its waters might also be a little too shallow in some spots to elicit the sort of deep emotional response Common aims at eliciting. Of course, some funny punchlines bob up that wise surface from time to time, sending some needed jolts at appropriate moments (I like this one: "They ask me where hip hop is goin' / It's Chicagoan"). But as said earlier, those jolts might appear as too far in-between compared to the ones found in the other hip hop albums I consider as truly essential (either released before or after that album). But maybe it's because those records do better than just *be*. They come alive. And in the end, whether you're wise or raucous, whether you play the gangster card or, conversely, the "conscious" one--in other words, whether you're a jester, a tough guy, or a preacher, that's what great rap album should do. *Come alive*. *Being* is not enough. You have to know *what* you want to be. Ironic that it's the very message of this record, and yet that Common doesn't fully apply this message to himself in my eyes. 3/5 for the purposes of this list. 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums left to review: 142 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 369 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 218 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 275 (including this one)

nice hip hop grooves, produced by Kanye. Not one I'll go back to very often though. 67/100

Really like the sampling and beats. I like the more laidback hip hop, it gets less repetetive than the gangster thing though the laidback stuff still hits the themes as any other laidback hip hop(from the hood,love family, God, bad habits, still hard but gentle, protect his daughter) It's a nice album, nothing groundbreaking but nice

Didn't mind it but quickly became background dull noise. Another "rapper of the month" putting out same dull urban crap.

Classic.

High 2

Some people really like Common. I am not one of those people. Solid effort, his lyricism just doesn't work for me on a consistent enough basis to warran more stars.

Great ahh akbum

Production quality going crazy, and the rhymes are out of this world

CAN YOU SAY CHI-CITY?! Such a pretty album.

love the sampling - this is GOOD music, and you can tell it's old Kanye producing it. extremely solid album, with extremely solid bops. fight me.

I really liked the beats, the lyricism was top notch on this album. The only thing I don't like is Ye being featured and the producer.

3.92 rym qualche base sembra interessante, ma musicalmente non è il mio mi spiace non riuscire a entrare nel conscious hip hop, ma per me dei testi assurdi non bastano, ho davvero bisogno che la musica mi dica qualcosa

Even what Kanye and Chappelle have become in the last 19 years can't diminish how fantastic how excellent this is. A classic.

Strong music. Good album

The lyrics are considerably more thoughtful and creative than most popular hip hop. But the beats and the flow are pretty average.

Like this one better than the other on this list

2.9/5 listened 2x. good but nothing to come back to listen to.

Sharp, poetic and the start of a wonderful MC

Early Kanye was great. Nice 70s sound too, enjoyed it

Really well produced, not very exciting though.

Common: The Wise Old Sage Of Rap

I'm not big on hip hop, but this is solid & I've always appreciated Common for being a more mature & sophisticated artist. And I gotta say, I liked that Kanye was present on this album. 4 stars.

High 4

Awesome album. Took me back to Freshman year

Yes. Yes. Absolutely yes.

Some songs have some real nice samples and instrumentation, like the intro, Real People and It's Your World. I don't even mind John Legend while I usually find him a try-hard.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Klassikkoalbumi vailla turhia fillereitä.

Not my jam, but good.

This was really great. I thought the guy had a great voice and the last track was very wholesome imo

Not my thing.

Super good album really enjoyed it. A teir. Rhymes are super retro, feels like 90s hip hop which is a great vibe. Beats are great and that Kanye feature is out of nowhere and super fun to hear. Very early 00s.

No

Not my bag but pretty goo. Common is a great actor, too.

I'm not too familiar with Common's music but he's always struck me as a man of many talents. This album confirms it. The marriage of hip-hop, R&B and soul is smooth, and the songs have substance - in terms of both music and words. Whole album is solid but the clear standouts are The Food, They Say, and the Baz Luhrmann Everybody's Free (To Wear Suncreen)-esque It's Your World.

I was going to give this 4 stars, but the Ph.D. student in mathematics review was so cringeworthy that I'm going with 5 to offset it. Truly a really fun hip hop album on its own merits, either way.

i just want to be dead, admittedly unseen, intimately unknown, i just want to be infinitely asleep this album fucking sucks btw

I really liked this! Testify sent chills down my spine with the punchline, GO! Is a classic. I totally dig it.

Dope beats and lyricism, positive vibe, don’t love it

This is why I wanted to do this. Great artist that I have never heard of. Vocals sound similar to JayZ. Great.

Social consciousness and M Gaye vibes

4.5

Damn, I love Common... this genre of Conscious Hip Hop appeals to me a lot, but I've never listened to this one all the way through. This is a phenomenal album. 4.5+ tier for me I think.

I miss the old Kanye, straight from the GO! Kanye, producing masterpieces Kanye… Never listened to Common before I am ashamed to admit. Intro is my absolute favourite of the album and absolutely slaps. Kanye production felt all over. Looking forward to make this part of my rotation in the coming weeks and really nestle into the album

I listened to the album a lot in my late teens and still listen to it from time to time. I love the beats. Such a good mix of oldschool sampling and more modern production. Creates a nice mood for me. And I like Common's voice and his way of rapping. I haven't paid much attention to the lyrics so far and now I've found that he's very good at telling stories that create very vivid images in my head.

"I wanna be a duck!"

The first couple of seconds made me think that this was going to be funkier than it turned out to be .. it’s a cool 2000s hip hop album .. just not my cuppa tea.

Surprised how turned off I am by the Kanye-stank that's all over this, start to finish. Past that, there are some nice soul samples, but Kendrick and others have spoiled the rap game too much for me to really get into this. It's a 2.5 for me.

Awful

Haven't heard this before but very impressed. "My mother gave birth but she really never had me."

Sick beats and lyrics that have aged ok

Gets an extra star for not being filled with pointless filler and skits like most rap albums.

old school hip hop, laced with clever lyrics

Kinda groovy

My favorite Common album, just unreal laid back vibes with fantastic rapping. I promise I won’t go full Kanye rant but he really did his thing on here

I just didn't get into it. The first song intrigued me, but then I couldn't make it to the end.

Rating this album is like rating a type of beer I don't like (Ciders). It may be well crafted, but not to my taste. I did enjoy the first song BE "The present is a gift and I just wanna BE"

Not really my genre. The first attempt I got in about 3 songs and just wasn't feeling it. My second attempt, many hours later, was more successful. It wasn't bad, but I don't feel like there were any standouts for me as well, and the collaboration with Kanye was "rougher" as per the latter's style, which I am less appreciative of. While I probably wouldn't object to hearing some or most of this album again, I am not putting it into my playlist.

Not something I would normally listen to but really enjoyed it. Closer to a 4 than a 2.

I love the arrangements on this album and how he blends hip hop, gospel, and elements of jazz. Very much feels like a rap album from 2005 in the sense that it laid the groundwork for so many later artists of the 2010s and beyond, as well as contributed in taking rap beyond the barriers of the genre. I love an album that takes risks and this is one of them.

Haven't heard this before but very impressed. "My mother gave birth but she really never had me."

Pretty decent album, although I think the Kanye stuff was a bit weaker. 3.6

Very smooth and interesting stuff. “Testify” and “Be (Intro)” really caught my attention, but the album didn’t drag throughout.

Thoughtful lyrical oldheads unite 💯 This is solid, it’s a good, summation of what Common is all about. Except there’s so much Kanye on here. Constantly. Hard working 3

3.5

Not something I would normally listen to, but wasn't bad.

Haven't heard this before but very impressed. "My mother gave birth but she really never had me."

Possibly the most 4/5 album I've ever heard, it's very good, lots to love. I would likely listen to it again. However, it just lacks some certain things that would make it a five. It's missing some spice.

Outside my usual wheelhouse but I enjoyed it. A strong 3. “I’m back like a chiroprac’”

This is the kind of rap that makes me want to try more rap. Probably not something I would listen to very often, though.

This is probably my favorite Common album and a gleaming piece of 2000s hip-hop amid a very uncertain era for the genre. Kanye's soulful and golden-age production works beautifully in fully realizing Common's wholesome, thoughtful, and open attitude which was ever-so-slightly missing from previous releases. The opener is one of my favorite songs of all time and never fails to fill me with goosebumps. The way the beat builds up to this orchestral and epic piece under Common's incredible depictions of life and all of its grievances. One of my favorite lyrics of all time is "...If Imma do it, I gotta change the word through her" talking about his daughter. Lyrically he perfectly sets the tone with this opener. Everything that follows is just as enjoyable and well conveyed. Be that the more socially conscious 'The Corner' featuring The Last Poets, or the incredible live rendition of 'The Food' from the Chappelle show. I always enjoyed how Common uses that backing sample on 'Testify' to tell his twist-ending story. 'Chi-City' has such an undeniably slick 2000s-era hip-hop beat, it's almost an era-defining beat. The closer 'It's Your World' nicely wraps up those themes of "Being" with a great spoken word portion. I really think this album boasts some of Kanye's best production ever and Dilla does an incredible job with this closer as well - love the way the horn and string samples collide on it. As much as I love Common's 'Like Water For Chocolate', I find it bloated at times and I think the beats here complement Common's conscious, bright, and understanding rhyme style way more. He does have one of the best voices in the genre.

If you make me listen to this genre, then this is the album I would select. I enjoyed Common's voice more that I imagined but wont be listening again.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Be by Common. The themes are extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of the English language, most of the jokes will go over a typical listener's head. There's also Common's hopeful outlook, which is deftly woven into his personality - his personal philosophy draws heavily from the streets of Chicago, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of this music, to realize that it doesn't just sound good- it says something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Be by Common truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Common's existensial catchphrase "Be," which itself is a cryptic reference to Descartes Discourse on the Method. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Kanye and Common's genius unfolds itself on through their headphones. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a Common tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Best Songs: Be, The Corner, The Food Worst Songs: Faithful, Testify

Better than expected. Very good

Wow this is fantastic, one of if not the best hip hop album I've got so far. It just has such a warm feel to it, like I'm listening to it and I just feel so calm and immersed in the music. Not a lot of albums can give that feeling.

4.5

Common's kinda mid, sort of average.

Not my thing but didn’t actually mind it. Catchy and smooth.

This was an okay album, and every song sounded like it would playing during a cinematic shot of Las Vegas in a movie, or towards the end credits. I would say that it was maybe below average, but it was okay.

Rap isn't my thing albums produced by a nobody with a Napoleon complex doubly so

My 10-y.o. came home while I was listening to this and needed to comment "There's a lot of swears in that."

Meh

Easily one of the best hip-hop albums of the 00s.

One of the best 2000s rap albums

Not bad.

Ok

Common! I had never heard his music but knew him from Hell on Wheels and Silo. Decent.

I really enjoy Common's lyrical style and this album in particular has a bunch of old school Kanye West beats that are super fun. Definitely a different time but a classic

Some decent tracks, good production. He's a good rapper even though I've hardly listened to him.

Pretty not bad

Was okay. Kanye and John Legend made this much better. 3/5

At first I thought it would be a cheesy 2000s album, but it got better as I listened. I thought it did a good job at portraying social economic issues within the US and especially challenges that African Americans face. The end was inspiring, and well executed.

Really solid. Chill with great flow

It ok, just not for me.

OK

Really gorgeous album - smooth and sultry hip hop, before Kanye went off the rails, featuring J Dilla and John Mayer. Who would have thought!

It's fine. Not great.

I shouldn't have read who the producer was before listening to the album because I love Kanye's style and it definitely contributed to a higher rating. It's a solid album but it doesn't really stand out. I kinda wish someone else was rapping. Not a fan of the lyrics as well.

listened on 12/08/25 whilst updating my tv show tracker

Having your hip-hop album be solely produced by prime Kanye (before he went mental) and J-Dilla pretty much guarantees it's going to be fantastic. Common is the only issue. Even though he's solid on this, he's far from my favourite rapper. Saw someone else describe it like someone's dad rapping, and that's a good way to explain it. I just feel like he never flows too well when he raps, it's always a little clunky. This is as good as he gets though, and the amazing production distracts from him enough.

Das ist wirklich nicht meine Musik

I wonder if Common still fucks with Kanye

My kind of rap. A decent groove underpinning the record.

Not a rap fan, but when done well it is good listening, and this was done well. Done very well in fact. I really enjoyed it. Musically it wasn't what I would expect to be with those vocals, but as a whole, they actually fitted very well. Would I buy it probably not, but you never can tell. And a very high 3 it is.

Hold the back page. I like an album from this genre! Was fearing the worst once I’d read that Mr Common was a rapper and the album was produced by Kanye West. But…it was more than bearable. In fact, there was nice music! The vocals were really good and not too offensive lyrically and it felt like a nice R&B mood.

Be Common. Fell asleep. It sounded less offensive than other Rap albums when I was awake. But due to its lack of draw on my consciousness. 1 star.

It was just okay. I didn't feel overly moved or excited about any of the songs

The intro on “The Food” really didn’t age well, did it? I had a Common album a couple months ago. It was long and pretty forgettable from what I recall. I also questioned some of the lyrics that seemed homophobic in nature. This is better. I didn’t hear anything that was controversial but I might’ve missed something. I did enjoy the part where he questioned how he would treat God if God was a woman. I thought that was a step up from the stuff I’d heard on the last album in terms of self awareness and open mindedness. Some of the instrumentals here are really fantastic. Whether they were samples or original, I don’t know. But I really could groove to some of them and that’s always a plus. I do think he gets a little self important and vain at times (he compares himself to Jesus at one point…? Or at least someone does; surprised it wasn’t Kanye honestly…). Overall this was a good listen. He’s got a lot to say, and evidence of growth is always welcomed. Three stars. Standout tracks: Testify, Chi-City, Real People

THIS CAT RAPS AS SMOOTH AS A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH.

I just don’t like rap and I can’t get any enjoyment from this. Wonder if that’s a Common opinion?

This was a pleasant enough listen but a bit too pop-rap to be truly mind-blowing for me.

A good album, not my usual style of music but I really liked it.

The intro (be) was my favorite track but I enjoyed a lot of it. Rap and a lot of music in general can feel misogynistic a lot of times. And this didn’t feel as demeaning when I listened to it. I loved the rhythm of it

Kind of boring, not gonna lie. The most fun I had with this was reading that PhD mathematician dude's review - Shakespeare could never. Got jumpscared by the "Uneven Compromise" sample origin on "Chi-City".

Another set of bangers, really good

I like this album. This is the era of hip hop that really pulled me where there were lots of samples and overall influence from soul music. And the fact that mid-2000s Kanye is all over this album is 💯 The longer I listened to this album the more I liked it. This is one of the few albums I've felt like that about on this list

The flow is CRAZY

This is a great record. Very easy to listen to for the non-hip-hop folk as I think I am. Really it prob /should/ be a 4 star rating but it loses a point for being so over-the-top Kanye. I feel like this is an OK Kanye record that has Common on it sometimes haha

Pointless rap

Super produziertes Album: aber mehr als einen Song dieses EVERY-TIME-GOOD-FEELINGS_VIBE-SONGS auf einmal halte ich meist nicht aus.

Some solid bangers much enjoyed

Fun to listen to! Good beats

Amazing! Really really enjoyed and will be listening again 4.5 Kanye production is FLAMES as always Favs: GO!, Testify, the food, they say

perfection, i have nothing else to say. no standout tracks because they were all 5/5

A poetic rap album littered with classics and yet it feels outdated, artificial, and pretentious.

I like that his lyrics are more centered around promoting social justice and personal growth as opposed to just booty, bling and drugs. Super refreshing when he emerged back when and the beats stand the test of time.

Top tier rapping and killer beats, unsurprising when it's Kanye producing in his prime. Great showing

I feel # #this is a slow burn. It’d probably take a few listens to really appreciate it. That being said, I listened to it once and have some initial reactions. This definitely feels dated, I didn’t look up when it came out but I’d guess around 2004. It’s definitely backpack rap, that’s not a bad thing, but that style just gets old after a while. It can be a bit preachy, focusing more on the message than the music. And that message oriented music across an entire album can be exhausting. Plus sometimes it veered into corniness. The beasts were pretty solid, some songs sounded like they were produced by Kanye, or a copycat, but this was definitely a Chicago album so I’d be willing to bet Kanye worked on it. Overall an enjoyable album that I won’t be throwing on all that often.

A damn good album. Common may be known better as being an actor and popping up in movies like John Wick and Wanted. But homie is so, so talented. This album is so damn good and is SUCH A VIBE.

Yeah some of this was pretty OK.

It was alright, but i'm not big on 2000s rnb so it just wasnt for me

One of my favorite hip hop albums. Strong lyricism, strong production. Good album flow.

Flows quite smoothly, but not overly interesting.

This was okay, but I just couldn't get into it. It was like a spoken word fusion of jazz and rap. I admit that my mindset wasn't the best for listening to this style of music. I was distracted and couldn't give it the attention that it deserved.

There's a very good argument that this is the best hip hop album ever made. Incredible production by Trilogy-era Kanye and the late J Dilla, fantastic writing throughout, and some of the most powerful songs ever made in general. Thank you to Ruff Criminal for putting me on to both this site and this beautiful album.

Nice rap

Paia. Deve ser bom, mas não tava no momento

this was so groovy. am i allowed to say that word in 2024?

the guy’s got a pretty good flow. quality hip hop.

Not my kind of music but it was actually a good listen. Quick, too. I dug it.

Gear: Grado Hemp Artwork: sympathischer Kerl! Sollte man nicht meinen, dass der es auf John Wick abgesehen hat Mix: Bass-Intro ballert, Vocals smooth und mit Soul, rundum bekömmlich gemischt Musik: wirklich erste Sahne Hip-Hop - die R'n'B-Abstecher versauern es mir aber leider doch etwas Wertung: 🦤🦤(🦤)/5

I love Kanye west!!!!

This was a VIBEY chicago rap record. Had fun

Not my style

It’s fine nothing earth shattering here. As I drove my hip hop loving son to school I asked if he ever heard of this guy and he said I think so, sounds familiar. As he got out of the car he leaned back in and said, oh that’s Kanye on this track. The only song that stood out to me was They Say.

This was fairly good - the production was good, although sometimes it felt a little too smooth for my tastes

Ну ок

No, this is nothing for me.

This is good as hell! I love this and I am only 4 songs in. Just finished! Very good! Some more current songs sample this album! 5/5

de lo mejorcito de rap que escuchado. bien chill y vibras a un Kanye temprano. soul?

Mood: Very peaceful (had just listened to the Nick Drake album) Setting: Still driving home from my parents house I've never actually listened to Common before. I was not expecting to love this, especially having just listened to Nick Drake right before but I actually thought this was very solid.

Pretty solid Common record. Used to listen to it back in the day, and I don't love his style, but its a super well made record

This is a new listen for me, I don't think I could name a song by Common. I'm only two songs in but this album is awesome. Loving the song 'The Corner'. This is clearly very influenced by College Dropout, or perhaps these kinds of samples were already popularized? Update: I just realized Kanye is literally on this song. That explains it. Update 2: He's on the third song too???? Is this a Kanye/Common record?? College Dropout era Kanye is continuing to bleed into every corner of this record, and I'm loving it. I'm a day late so I'll keep my review brief, but this album rocked. I love this soul samples era of hip hop. 8/10

Top-shelf rap. Well-crafted.

Solid

Enjoyable listen.

This was a great throwback

JAAAAAA 4/5 eller 5/5 det er skidegodt

Solid, but not as good as Like Water for Chocolate. First couple tracks are the best ones

I like Common's flow quite a bit and I really appreciate the music in the background for being pretty interesting and good sounding. The standouts for me here are Intro, Testify, and Real People. Overall, pretty good 2000s hip hop.

One of my all-time favorite albums. Kanye and J-Dilla at their peak as producers, Common returning to the top after somewhat of a slump with Electric Circus to deliver an incredibly tight, enjoyable album from start to finish with some of the sweetest melodies and strongest beats of his career.

Best oke

Good music.

Du bon hip-hop qui se démarque de ce qui se faisait à l'époque. Ça sonne beaucoup plus recherché que la majorité du bling era qui était plus populaire. Ce n'est pas l'album hip-hop qui m'a le plus impressionné, mais c'est définitivement à réécouter. 7/10

Good album.

Bit the same but I liked it.. Love de kanye song

Solid album. Not much to note, good classic mid 2000 rap. 6/10 (3/5)

4 for Testify. She's shaking, looking like she took it the hardest A spin artist, she brought her face up laughing That's when the prosecutor realized what happened All that speaking her mind, testifying and crying When this ***** did the crime The QUEENpin

My introduction to Common was when he was hosting a furniture making competition show. I enjoyed this album equally as much as I did that show.

This is a really deep album. I appreciate the flow of his vocals, and there's a lot of poignant commentary. Good beats, good rhythm. Fav tracks: The Corner, Be (Intro)

5/10

So smooth and commanding

Not a huge fan of this one, I am just not crazy about his voice / flow. Also something about the production rubbed me the wrong way, either too much compression, too much high end, or something like that. Some songs also had annoying chipmunk vocals, or annoying back up singers. Also fuck Kanye

Nice beats, good storytelling, some content was great, some not so much. Listens: 1 Fave Tracks: Be, Testify Rating: 3

This is a huge contrast from Like Water for Chocolate from 2000 which had a more indie underground aesthetic and chiller vibe. This is much more accessible, and you can tell it's produced by Kanye, with a sample style reminiscent of his other Kanye works at the time. This album puts more emphasis on the sample and production, which sounds fantastic. His rapping is a bit weaker here on many tracks, but you can still hear his incredible talent in "Be" and "Faithful". With a richer cleaner sound, several hits and collabs, creative ideas in all the cuts, and a suitable 42 minute runtime, it's by far one of the best and accessible albums of the period. I was impressed one after the other with the engaging diversity. Excellent track ordering with a powerful opener, some strong follow up tracks to keep engagement, and an emotional satisfying closer. Only a few complaints. "Testify" had an annoying sample but it still sounded cool and fortunately was the shortest song. "Love Is..." and "Real People" were pleasant and had good lines but didn't add much. "Chi-City" is the weakest, skippable but not bad. Really, no complaints about any of the others, which puts it at near the top of mid-2000s hip hop.

Excelente disco, se agradece su escucha, con momentos muy disfrutables. Las aportaciones de K.West, J.Legend o J Dilla le dan un soplo de elegancia que lo convierte en uno de sus mejores obras,. A destacar : Be, The say, It´s your world, Go, y sobre todo Faithfull y esa joya que es Love is. Otros discos de 2005: Illinoise, I am a bird now, The great destroyer, Gimmie fiction, el segundo de Franz ferdinanz, Some cities, Arular, Late registration, Chaos and creation in the backyard, Confessions on a dance floor, Alligator, Picaresque, Tender bottons, Oceans apart...

Ok

3+

Day98 - common and kanye sound really good together. the music and beats are good to bad the lyrics are lame

I am definitely not the target demographic for this album, but I still thought it was very good. There's a lot of skill and artistry put into these tracks, so much so that it is almost invisible. 4 stars for me, plus an extra star just to spite the mathematics PHD guy.

A few ups and downs. Some tracks on here I really enjoyed. Will I listen to again: 45%

Listened to this while playing Scholars of the South Tigris. I bought this album back when it came out and liked it a fair amount...but I also liked Kanye back then. Fortunately, this album aged better than Kanye did...a solid 3.

It's the same thing with each rap/hip hop album I hear: burdened by awful hooks and choruses. Some of the rapping is really good. The beats are great in some of the songs. I love how Common raps about love in one song and the next he's talking about getting head ain't cheating. Haha. I don't know... Maybe rap just isn't my genre. Because I couldn't see myself ever putting this on and grooving to this. Maybe another rap album or artist will hook me in but come on Common. It ain't you!

A poor man's Kanye.

Langweilig

cool

This has always been one of those flawless albums I "forget" exists. In many ways, that's because when I was first getting into hip-hop, this was a typical ✨introduction✨ album. Plus, with time, Common has become a bit of an Award Season Man™️, which I think makes his classics easier to push out of your memories vantage point. Most of all, though, I think this album was very purposefully trying to fly a bit under the radar, at least as much as it could. But it's an album produced largely by Kanye in his prime as a producer, and the two songs that aren't Kanye are by the greatest producer in the whole genre's history, J Dilla. And every single song just hooks me. They're both gorgeous, like flowers in my ears, but also complex while still remaining actually fun to listen to. And the same goes for Common's rapping here. Always technically proficient, most of his discography is filled with unfit bravado or annoying holier-than-thous, and therefore boring. While both of those issues are still present here and may be the albums sole flaw if you look at either to closely – "Go" is a bit awkward, many songs are preachy, most notably "Faithful" and "Be (Intro)" – they're mostly forgivable because Common's storytelling is peak here, arguably the best in the genre's history, and it's only elevated by the context of the production. In many ways, Be is the Platonic Ideal of a hip-hop album: socially conscious, poetic, insightful and observant storytelling, with angelic production and a varied vibe throughout that could be rock a party and a church equally. Sometimes, that idealism can be its own Achilles Heel depending on your mood, but even then, I imagine it's hard to straight-up hate this album, because try as I might, I really can't see this as anything but perfect.

8.5/10

3.5 stars rounded up

Common is simply a talent. I love his work, particularly this album. Dilla's influence shapes things....Kanye's popularized it. (And he got more lost afterwards).

I love this record. Great production all round, just a joy to listen to. Had it on repeat for 5 days now. Favourite tracks: the whole thing.

Oh no i dont like rap

Common sure is a really good rapper. But his preachy religious lyrics and Kanyes pompous production with lots of R&B just aren't for me.

Rap isn't my preferred genre of music. But I'm a shitty mathematician so I enjoyed this.

I have not heard of this album or artist before. I don’t listen to rap mainly but I found this music to be kinda good. Though there were no songs that stood out to me so I probably won’t listen again.

nice

I say this for most rap/hip hop albums, but I'm not a great person for rating these. It's not my area and I just don't have a wealth of knowledge to compare accurately. However, in the limited experience I do have, Common is one of the best with the lyrics and flow. The best way I can describe it is that it feels real. Deducted points for Kanye though Favorite track "Go" 3/5

Good R&B vibes, nice beats

All time album.

Disappointing. I really like his flow, but this just feels a bit clinical. Not quite underground, not quite shiny pop hip hop. Stuck in the middle of ideas .

Common releasing a mid 00s album produced by J Dilla and Kanye was never gonna be mid

Common's lyrics are great, but the music doesn't move me. It’s a good album, but not one I’d come back to. 3/5.

S'alright

The music was really good but I wasn’t keen on some lyrics so decided to skip to next recommendation

Solid!

I love this album, it might be partly nostalgia but the beats are so good and the lyrics are lovely and a lil cheesy. This is above a 4 but not a 5

HipHop / Rap - No!!!!

The first track was really fun but did not leave much of an impression afterwards

enjoyed the beatzz

That was actually a great record. I really enjoyed listening to it. Thanks be of the better hip hop albums.

This list is really making me appreciate rap a lot more.