Customer Reviews

Be

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Common Sense has been around for awhile. He has always been known for having good rap lyrics and for having pretty good CDs. I was first introduced to Common on a track entitled "Take It EZ". This track was pretty good and although I had heard the CD, I never purchased "Can I Borrow A Dollar?" Common's next CD, "Resurrection", was also pretty good. "I Used To Love H.E.R." gave Common new found respect and he also bumped heads with the infamous Ice Cube. The title track was also a good track as well. From there, Common would release, "One Day It Will All Make Sense" and once I heard the track with him and Lauryn Hill, "Retrospect For Life", I then decided that it was time to purchase a Common CD. The CD was pretty good and I liked Common's versatility with his lyrics as well as a track with him and Erykah Badu entitled "All Night Long". His next CD, "Like Water For Chocolate" spawned "The 6th Sense" produced by the great DJ Premier and his best commercial song to date, "The Light" featuring Bilal.

At this time, Common was dating neo soul singer Erykah Badu and this would influence him on his next CD, "Electric Circus". This CD was unlike any other CD that Comon had released to date. The vibe seemed to be real mellow and you could tell that Common was "in love". However, I also thought that Common just wanted to try something different. Rappers seem to be afraid to step outside of their box for some reason. Although, Common had a hit with Mary J. Blige entitled "Come Close", many Common fans thought that he had lost his "fire" when it came to his lyrics and his overall style.

I have to admit that I had doubts but I knew that Common was just one moment away of proving me wrong and all of the nonbelievers wrong as well. That moment would come on Kanye West's "College Dropout" CD. Ladies and gentleman, if you have not heard this verse please go buy Kanye's CD IMMEDIATELY!

Common spits nothing but flames on a song with him, Talib Kweli and Kanye entitled "Get 'Em High". My nonbelieving ended at that moment. Then at the end of a Dave Chappelle episode on Season 2, Common and Kanye performed a song that I would later find out was called "The Food" and Common ripped that track as well. I knew after those 2 moments was that the Common that I had known all of this time was still here. Once I found out that Common had signed to Kanye West's label, GOOD Music, (Getting Out Our Dreams), I knew that Common was here to stay and that his best music was yet to come.

Now some people can argue that "Resurrection" is better but in my opinion "Be" is the best CD that Common has released to date. The buzz was started early on this CD with the first single, "The Corner". Kanye is featured on the chorus with The Last Poets and Common tells you about the streets of Chitown and the streets in general over 3 quality verses. On the next single, "GO!", Common, Kanye West and John Mayer, YES John Mayer, collaborated on this track after they had seen the movie Ray. The final product has Common going through a slew of what we will just call "Fantasies". Common is very clever with his lyrics and wordplay and "GO!" ends up being a brilliant choice as a second single. On "Faithful", common goes back to his "Electric Circus" side but he is breaking down plenty of points of views at the same time as he wonders if he would treat women differently if God was to be known as a woman instead of a man. After hearing this song a couple of times, you may even change your train of thought about women in general. "Faithful" also contains John Legend and Bilal on the voclas as well. "Testify" is definitely one of the best songs on this CD as Common takes you through a brilliant tale of deception about a case. This woman that is distraught over her man being charged with serious crime deceives everyone about her actions and as Common ends the track youeventually find out that she is the one that actually committed the crime, AKA the Queenpin as Common calls her. "Love Is" will remind alot of people of "Come Close" without Mary J Blige actually being on the song. The track is still brilliant as Common still isn't afraid to express his sensitive side eventhough Ms. Badu is now out of the picture. "Chi City" demonstrates how Common is still one of the best lyricists in the game as he rips the Kanye beat to shreds. DJ A- Trak and DJ Dummy deserve an A+ for the scratches on the track as well. "They Say" features Kanye and John Legend on the track as the three collaborate well together. This song seems as if this will be the next single if there is a 3rd single on "Be". "Real People" and "It's Your World" have Common tackling alot of issuses and he has you thinking about what he is saying at the same time.

There is nothing negative that I can say about this CD at all. Common could have had more than 11 songs on this CD, that is true but if he would have had 15 tracks on this CD and 4 of them weren't good like many artists do today then it's just like having 11 quality tracks. Now Common could have included the slammin' "The Corner (Remix)" with Mos Def & Scarface but that's another story. Simply put this is Common at his best. If you do not have "Be" in your music collection, it will be hard for me to call you a real fan of rap and hip hop music in general. You can also catch Common on Kanye West's "Jesus Walks (Remix)" with Mase and on a nice track with Kanye and Malik Yusef entitled "Would You Like To Ride" which cleverly uses a nice A Tribe Called Quest sample.

James' Top 5
THIS IS A REAL HARD TOP 5 SONGS TO PICK BUT I WILL TRY:

1) The Corner
2) Testify
3) GO!
4) Chi City
5) The Food or Real People

Wow, Common's "Be" is such a monumental comeback after "Electric Circus". For as much as "Electric Circus" sucked, that's how good "Be" is. This is truly a four or five star album.

This is Common back at what he does best. Dusty, authentic, scratchy, old 70's R&B/Jazz samples with straight-ahead rapping. Tremendous production from Kanye West gives us some of the best beats heard on a newer hip hop album.

This has a great atmosphere to it, a tight compact theme. This is taking hip hop back a few years, but that's fine because there hasn't been a whole lot of outstanding hip hop in the last few years. This one sounds like it'll age nicely. Highly recommended.

Common - Be

I've recently just crossed the last genre boundary in my musical universe. I've become an unabashed and passionate hip hop head. After years of ignoring or actively hating the music, I'm just clicking with hip hop in a way I never have before. Perhaps it's living in Brooklyn, one of the great hip hop centers in the country, or working with young people and staying "relevant" but a music that I couldn't take for a long time is now one of my favorites. I like it all...underground, gansta, and mainstream. And of all the mainstream MCs Chicago's Common may be my favorite.

Common is often considered a "socially conscious" MC. Basically this means he's deep in the tradition of black urban griots typified by the Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron. Common's material is taken from the streets of South Side Chicago, Stoney Island Ave and Cottage Grove especially. But his view of black city life is deeper than most gansta rappers. Though there is crime and violence in Common's lyrics, these are transcended by themes of love, self-determination and deep honesty. Be represents a return by the MC to form and perhaps even his strongest CD to date. Be features productions by Kanye West and the late great Jay Dilla. Kanye in particular give his particular lush production to the CD. Kanye may indeed be the Phil Spector of Hip Hop and your response to his work may be tempered by your feeling about Spector's wall of sound. Kanye reaches for something similar, which smooths out the edges of this work. Still, it's impressive work and fits Common's updated 70s imagery well.

This CD is short but packed with powerful songs, stories and images. Highlights include the opening track, with a marvelous instrumental by Kanye that mixes funky seventies jazz and funk with a lyric that mix social commentary and spirituality. The Corner actually features members of the Last Poets in a poetic picture of life in a Bronxville corner. Faithful is an arresting track, which posits what might happen if God were female. The track becomes a beautiful commentary on sexual and spiritual fidelity. The Food is a track which was performed on Dave Chappelle's show and features both Common and Kanye. It takes the gansta perspective and turns it on it's head, showing the gansta as a family man trying to make it.

My favorite track in the final track, It's Your World. Common tells stories from the hood. His characters are failing, crack heads, unwed mothers, people for whom the "dream" of seeing California is as unattainable as going into space is for most of us. The track then continues with the voices of children talking about their dreams and then finishes with Common's father given some of the most beautiful and poetic advice I've heard on record. It never fails to move me, often making me weep. The contrast in the track between the world as it is and the world as it could be is deeply poignant.

Be is not quite a perfect album. A few tracks I think fall a little short of Common's poetic abilities. Go for instance is a catchy track, but doesn't say anything new or interesting about sex that hasn't been done by so many other MCs. Also, the album is very short, clocking in at only a little over forty minutes. But these are small complaints. This CD is one of the best of 2005 and a triumphant return to form by one of mainstream rap's most talented and insightful poets. This is the album to get if you think hip hop is boring, intellectually simpleminded or drivel. It's smooth and good to the ears and yet full of deep images. Common is the Gil Scott Heron of our time...high praise indeed.

I could not think of any words that better describe this album. A lot of people were disappointed with Electric Circus, and Common really came back strong with this effort. As much as I think Kanye West is conceited and overrated when it comes to rapping, you cannot deny that he is one of the best producers in the game right now. It seems like his production style would get old, but it never really does, and he puts forth some of his best efforts on this album.

1) Be (Intro) - I know this might sound crazy, but this beat is one of my favorite beats that I have ever heard. Kanye's production here is absolutely awesome. There is probably no better way to start off an album, the instrumental alone is classic, but Common's lyrics on top of it make this track amazing. A great way to kick off the album.

2) The Corner - The intro leads in very nicely to the first single, and again, another sick beat laid by Kanye. Here though, Com's lyrics outshine the beat, especially the first verse.

3) Go! - This one features John Mayer, a somewhat odd combination, but his vocals are very minimal and only on the hook. I like this song but my only problem with it is that much of the track is the hook being repeated again and again. Another verse by Common would have made this track better.

4) Faithful - Kanye goes back to the well here with the high-pitched vocal samples and Common explores the question of whether God is a male or female. John Legend and Bilal appear at the end and absolutely kill their background vocal part, a nice way to finish off this track.

5) Testify - Again Kanye comes with a nice beat, but this one is all about Common. He tells the story of a murder trial that has quite an interesting turn of events at the end. This is a great showcase of Com's storytelling abilities.

6) Love Is... - As the title suggests, this one is about love. It seems like it's getting repetitive, but the beat and lyrics here are both nice as well.

7) Chi-City - This is one of the standout tracks on the album to me. The beat is a bit different than most of the prior beats, a bit more rugged, and Common drops absolutely great lyrics here. This takes it back to the days of Can I Borrow A Dollar? and Resurrection, some classic Common right here.

8) The Food (Live from Chappelle's Show) - At first I thought that a live version wouldn't be as good as a studio version, but I was proved wrong. Kanye laces a nice beat and Common complements it with some nice lyrics. My only complaint here is Kanye on the hook gets a little annoying after a while.

9) Real People - This is a rather odd beat, the best comparison I can make is that it reminds me of some 80's TV show theme song. That sounds corny, but I like this beat as well. The beat isn't the story here though, Com's verses are. He drops some great lyrics and this is really a showcase of Common at his lyrical best.

10) They Say - This is another standout track. Kanye laces a crazy beat, I love the piano. Common spits two verses, Kanye spits one, and John Legend does the hook. Com's second verse in my opinion outshines all the rest. John Legend comes through as usual with a soulful, brilliant hook, and Kanye drops a verse that would sound better if he weren't spitting it on a track with Common, because Common is simply the better rapper. Overall though, a great track, one of the best on the album.

11) It's Your World Part 1 & 2 - The final track on the album brings the album to a close nicely. Not the best track on the album, but solid nonetheless. At the end Pops shows up as well which is always welcomed at the end of most of Common's albums.



Even though this album is only eleven tracks, it still will, in my opinion, go down as one of the best albums in quite some time. Too often now people substitute quality for quantity, but a short album can be great if you put the time and effort into each track, as obviously was the case here. Illmatic was arguably the greatest hip-hop album ever created, and it was only ten tracks. Be isn't quite in the class of Illmatic, but by modern standards, it could be considered as a great album. The replay value is very high, I am still listening to this the year after I bought it and I plan to be listening to it for a long time as well. We can only wish that all albums released nowadays could be given as much thought and effort as this. Common really created a gem here, and if you thought Common was over the hill after hearing Electric Circus, you were wrong. Like the man himself said, "Heard The Corner now they say that n*ggas back."

I would argue that Common is in the class of "great," inspired and inspirational Hip-Hoppers. Hip-Hop is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be motivational, insightful. It's supposed to make a statement. It's supposed to "be" something that lifts the people even if it's only through its sonic, musical abilities. Common's Hip-Hop has always and continues to do just that.

Be (Intro)-Produced by Kanye West, it has a throwback appeal to it and it's short, but the words say a lot.

The Corner-Produced by Kanye West and featuring The Last Poets, here Common is talking about the "corners" that are riddled with crime, with drug infestation but all corners have a story. Interpreting the song, it's as if Common is asserting that no matter what one may generalize, those on the corner have a story to tell. They have success stories. They have reasons for what they do. This was his first single, which failed to really make any gains on radio, but the accompanying video was great. Contains elements from you Make the Sun Shine as performed by The Temprees. A

Go!-Produced by Kanye West and featuring Kanye West and John Mayer, this is one of my favorite cuts. It's the perfect blend of throwback soul and soulful rock. John Mayer is one of my favorite Pop/Rock artists, and his singing the "go's" adds a dimension to the song. Common's spitting during the verses is on-pitch, on-point with the perfect emotion given to it and the right timing, which some rappers struggle with. This was the second single, and it performed better than The Corner. It has an energy to it where it's danceable, and it's sexual, but not too, too sexual. There are so many elements to it that it's not what the song's all about. It contains a sample from Old Smokey. A+

Faithful-Produced by Kanye West and featuring John Legend and Bilal with elements from "Faithful to the End" by DJ Rogers, this is simply a musical masterpiece. The song raises some interesting aspects as it connects faithfulness to God with faithfulness to a woman from a man. It raises the question of if God were a woman, would we treat women the same. Couple that interesting perspective with two of the most, current soulful singers, John Legend and Bilal, who give an impassioned breakdown during the bridge. The song makes you think. It's listenable, and it's just, simply tight. Common also spits the rap with the right fire and energy. It should've been released as a single. It actually was rotated in Chicago on Urban stations. A++

Testify-Produced by Kanye West and containing elements from "Innocent Til Proven Guilty," the third single from the CD which has one of the most innovative lyrics and unique videos of any Hip-Hop songs in the last year. Hearing the song with its percolating tempo, the wise use of the samples, I never paid attention to the lyrics until the video was released, and I realized how tight the song was as it uses irony/suspense to great effect. It should have been a breakthrough hit on radio, as the song is simply tight, but it has managed to do pretty well. A+

Love Is...Produced by DILLA and containing elements from "God is Love" as performed by Marvin Gaye, this slow jam talks about love being something that is expressed not only in affluent, priviledge communities. It's everywhere. Even if it seems as if it's not there, "love" is everywhere and the fact that it is needs to be respected by everyone. Common interprets the rap just right, and the song is laidback especially compared to the "go-get `em (ness)" of the previous cuts, but it works. A

Chi-City-Produced by Kanye West with interpolations from "Since I Found My Baby," the song talks about aspects of Chicago which can be applied to any city in general. It's a great song, overall speaking truth about aspects that are forgotten about. The vintage beat is also pretty tight. A

The Food (Live)-Produced by Kanye West with elements of "I Never Had it so Good" and "Nothing Can Change This Love" Kanye and Common performed this on The Dave Chappelle Show, it does not even really sound live, but as with all of Common's songs, it's saying something about how life is...the food that needs to be put on the table and doing what it takes to get it there. It makes you think about inner-city, struggling lifestyle in a different way than just as it being negative or to be shunned. A

Real People-Produced by Kanye West, the title says it all as Common talks about "real people," the people that are so forgotten about, that are swept underneath the table and that fall underneath the prominent radar, but the "people," the important people. He even makes mention of Bob Marley and other legends who are passed watching over the condition of society. It's a great song with a vintage, throwback feel to it. A

They Say-Produced by Kanye West, featuring John Legend and containing elements of "Ghetto Child" as performed by Ahmad Jamal, this is another tight song. It's modern with a vintage twist. The verses are tight. The hook is catchy. It's making a statement. Kanye turns in a good rap as well. A+

It's your World (Parts 1 & 2)-Produced by DILLA, James Poyser (Mariah Carey, Anthony Hamilton) and Karriem Riggins with elements of "Share What you Got" as performed by The Modulation, this is an autobiography of Common's life, his struggles, but it's inspiring and motivational. During Part 2, Common's father, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, gives an encouraging, deep spoken word. A+

To sum it all up, when I hear artists like Common, like Jay Z, like Nas, like Kanye West and a few others, it lets me know that Hip-Hop is not dead, that there is still hope. Common gives, commands and demands respect for those who live a hard-knock life as he tells the story of so many of the silenced while also motivating those people that it's their world, that they can "be" all they want to be.... that these "real people" can "go" anywhere they want no matter what "they say" if only they remain "faithful" and "testify" to their intrinsic greatness. As an aspiring teacher, this CD reminds me that it needs to be emphasized and known that as Jesse Jackson stated "genius" is everywhere. God does not just put genius in rich areas. The ghettos are full of unheard geniuses. The tightest aspect of this CD is that it could be used in classes, in college classes and its lyrics can be analyzed like classic poetry. How many modern Hip-Hop CDs, I'm talking about the whole CD can you say that about? I also must say that I think that Kanye West and John Legend should team together and cut an entire collaborative CD...one of the best producers/rappers teamed with one of the best lyricists/ rappers teamed with one of the most classic but modern soulful pianist/vocalist would be a musical masterpiece. It's also good that Common has experienced a commercial renaissance with the CD having sold around 750,000 copies and well on its way to Platinum as only one of his efforts have achieved. It's a great CD for anyone to have because it's speaking "truth" through and through.

This is the album that makes you stop hating hip-hop for all that it's become and start loving hip-hop for all it's done.

This is an album for lovers -- lovers of other people, lovers of rap music, lovers of humankind.

I just saw Common perform many of these songs at a concert at the House of Blues here in Chicago.

The sound was incredible.

The vibe was priceless.

The sheer quality of the music was awe-inspiring.

This is a brilliant album from a brilliant artist who has found his voice, found his sound.

If you get teary-eyed listening to this album, reminiscing on A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and other phenoms of the past, know that there are many others like you.

This album is a thing of beauty and I'm happy to give it my highest recommendation.

I think you'll agree.

Look, let's be real here:
If we compare Be to Like Water For Chocolate or Resurrection, it's straight middle of the road. Half the tracks on here (Kanye or no Kanye) would be fillers AT BEST on those records.
However...
If we compare Be to the monumentally atrocious "experiment" that was Electric Circus, it's an instant classic. The second coming.

This is where many make the mistake of presuming this is Common's best work, kids who just got up on Common because they heard him on The College Dropout.
But trust me, anyone who knows anything, or remembers the lyrical creativity and cleverness tattooed all over Ressurection, or the soulful vibe that covered Like Water for Chocolate, would look at this album and find Be absolutely and extraordinarily mediocre.

Tracks like Testify and Faithful are perfect examples. The lyrical content is lacking. The creative "twist" at the end of testify is amusing at best. Faithful itself, though I enjoy an allegory as much as the next, fails to carry any sort of punch because of the juvenile theme it tries to push as being "introspective". Tracks like I Used to Love H.E.R. or The Light put tracks like this to shame.
Now you can talk about the tightness of production on this record all you want, and that's fine, but it only boils down to a flashy front that completely lacks substance. I'll admit, the intro/first track (s/t) was an incredible start. I expected big things after this, and picked up instead, only a noticeable decline from that point on.

Disappointing.

I have listened to rap for almost 20 years, and have seen the cycles it has gone through, becoming annoyed with each and every one. From the introduction of the chorus, to everybody wanting to be a gangsta (which is still around today, to some degree), and so on and so on up to the modern cliche of rims, wood grain, and being a pimp. Enough already.

The good thing about these cycles is that, in each and every one, some rappers refuse to fall victim to the cliche and release an album that is appreciated that much more because it truly moves away and above of its peers, determined not to be mediocre and to not drown in the fad of the day. "Be" is one of these albums. Kanye West's production fits Common's style perfectly (although Kanye does try to bring the album back down to the cliche level by rapping in a guest appearance about, you guessed it, rims). The lyrical content is unique and thought provoking. The beats are tight enough to make you nod your head, but not overpowering enough to take away from the rhymes. Overall, "Be" is simply a great album.

While I'm sure this album will be appreciated in the years to come, it needs to be appreciated now more than ever. Appreciated for having the courage to break away from the sure money, from the materialistic, misogynistic, nonsense that is put out all too often today. This is a modern classic. Only time will tell if this becomes a true rap classic. Pick this one up. You will not be disappointed.

Classic...that's not a word critics use lightly. Unfortunately, this game hasn't seen an overall flawless album since...EXACTLY. Peep the quick "classical" lineup: Illmatic...classic. Midnight Marauders...classic. Reasonable Doubt...classic. These albums embodied everything we as music journalists look for in an album; a rhyme-readied MC with an open mic, loose lips and a conscious mind of the jewels he's about to drop over production that'll make your head nod, and your heart well with the type of pride and emotion that at times is unexplainable. Be (G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen), Common's latest effort, backed heavily by Mr. Roc-A-Fella himself, Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music label...is a classic. Let's be real, Hip-hop has been lost in the matrix for a minute now since the greatest alive retired, and just like Morpheus, another bald headed orator-who has been shunned by others because of his change of lifestyle, which was evident on his gravely misunderstood Electric Circus album (E. Badu, what up!)-has presented the music to give listeners the blue pill that will take us on a journey unlike any other heard in a while.

We know that the Hip-hop nation is more than familiar with the sinister single "The Corner"-which gave hardcore Common Sense fans a perpetual hard-on that Lonnie Lynn Jr. has returned to his Resurrection days. But before you take it back to '92 like Starter caps, know that Be is more a culmination of the various stages that Common has bestowed on us since he first touched the mic, rather than a resurrection. With that in mind, Common does stay true to his proclamation of love, peace and the heavens above on tracks like the aptly named "Love Is" and "Faithful," where he bravely declares, "I was rolling around and my mind it occurred/what if God was a her?/Would I treat her the same/would I still be running game/on her/and which type ways I would want her." Moreover, Common returns to his days of witty wordplay fueled by vigor that's just as thick as the Windy City air in December on Kanye's jazz-influenced gem "Real People," and on his hometown ode "Chi City"-where Com cocks hammers at his gaudy contemporaries "In the middle of chaos and gunfire/so many raps about rims/surprised niggas ain't become tires") and vehemently proclaims, "they ask me where hip-hop is going/ it's Chi-Ca-Going/ poetry's in motion like a picture now showing."

Along with his vivid lyrical wizardry, Com plays the role of storyteller, painting pictures of extravagant court trials ("Testify"), sexual fantasies (the John Mayer-inspired second single "Go") and teenage introspective on "It's Your World." On the latter he actually interviewed a wayward Chicago prostitute about her path to decadence, manifesting itself into the song's second verse, "she said it was her toes but I can tell her soul hurt/she was cold turk/growing up she got to know hurt/very well in a world where self-hate is overt"

Yet, Common's versatile rhymes are only half the battle as Kanye, who produces nine of the CD's eleven tracks, creates, arguably, his best work ever-which only heightned anticipation for his "Late Registration" album. But, not to be outdone by Yay's excessiveness, Jay Dilla creates smooth melodic joints that easily hold their own on this complete album. Let's just hope-for Hip-hop's sake-the recent string of bootlegged copies of Be, doesn't hurt Com's chances of seeing platinum success. Still, if us critics look back, some classics don't necessarily become Billboard favorites, they just stand the test of time. And Be will make the grade.

Most of the songs on this beautiful CD were produced by Kanye West and feature his trademark sped up helium vocal samples, retro sounds and hip hop beats. Very soothing, laid back songs which are short and to the point. Listening to this CD, one could almost believe they were listening to some 70s soul classic, and not a hip hop CD..

Opening track `Be' starts with some deep bass, and is a string laden rap about self assertion.

`The corner' is a slowed down rap featuring helium vocal samples and The Last Poets, really cool.

`Go' is more upbeat and features john Mayer on backing vocals.

`Faithful' is a stunning rap featuring (again) helium vocal samples John Legend. Here Common raps about staying faithful to his partner. Towards the end some great choir like backing vocals take over. Beautiful!

`Love is...' is a beautiful mid tempo ode to love which samples Marvin Gaye's `God is love' to good effect.

`Chi-City' has a breezy, summer-y feel. A bit jazzy. This is followed by the live 'The food', and the retro sounding, horn laden `Real people' which sounds familiar but surprisingly features no samples. Dealing with racial issues.

`They say' is a beautiful retro sounding number featuring great backing vocals from John Legend, and magical piano playing weaving in and out insistently. Very Gaye-ish!

Closing track `It's your world (part 1 & 2)' starts off as a midtempo light breezy rap with soothing Gaye-like backing vocals which slows midway where we hear lots of kids saying what they want to `Be' in life. This then transforms into a beautiful spoken outro set against a piano backdrop with soft percussion, featuring lyrics of encouragement and assertion; telling you who to `Be'! My favourite track.

A masterpiece!