Thursday, August 20, 2009

Common - Be (May 24, 2005)

Common - Be

Told you it'd be hip-hop.

Common used to love her... and was loved by her, up until Electric Circus. Electric Circus was definitely Common's most exploratory album (even more exploratory than the shitfest that is Universal Mind Control). And as most exploration albums (Mos Def's "The New Danger" and Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak" spring to mind), it wasn't met well. How could he come back from Like Water for Chocolate with Electric Circus?

Simple. Common had made one of the best hip-hop albums of all time (that just happened.) and wanted to explore other genres. And as such, it was not well recieved. It also can be credited for the end of the Soulquarians, a group consisting of Common, Questlove, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, D'Angelo, Mos Def, Q-Tip, James Poyser, and Talib Kweli.

With no Soulquarians to fall back on for his next album, Common enlisted the help of fellow Chicago native, Kanye West (who was also the protege of Common's main producer from the 90s, No I.D.). He also called back J Dilla from the Soulquarians to be the only producer not named West.

Be was insanely well received, gaining a perfect XXL rating from XXL. It also earned himself the Lyricist of the Year award from BET and four Grammy nominations. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200, despite not having very successful singles.

But what is my opinion on it? (I'm glad you asked.)

1. Be (Intro)
Produced by Kanye West
Not so much an intro, more of a one-verse wonder, with an awesome beat. I love how the bass, keyboard, piano, drums, etc. all come in one after another, allowing Common to drop a one verse that gives you an idea of what Be will sound like (yes, I realize that's what an intro's supposed to do, tell everyone else that).

2. The Corner (feat. Kanye West & The Last Poets)
Produced by Kanye West
Probably the hardest song Common will make that isn't a diss towards Ice Cube. Kanye drops by (he'll do that a lot throughout this album) for the chorus. The Last Poets sound as good as a group of acclaimed black poets who arose from 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread (yes, I jacked that from Wikipedia) can sound over a conscious hip-hop song about street corners (which is to say, pretty damn good).


3. Go! (feat. John Mayer & Kanye West)

Produced by Kanye West

Common pens a song dedicated to sexual fantasies, bringing John Mayer and Kanye West along with him. Common's guest only provide the chorus (well, Kanye produces too) for what was Common's biggest single from Be (it was also the only Billboard 100 charting single).

4. Faithful (feat. Bilal & John Legend)

Produced by Kanye West

Kinda sounds like "Go!, Pt 2" except it's not about sexual fantasies, but whatever. Sounds pretty good, even though if it's a bit long.

5. Testify

Produced by Kanye West

A quick song with tons of story. A woman manipulates a judge and jury to get her partner convicted of a crime she did. The beat stands out in the album

6. Love Is... (feat. Luna E)
Produced by J Dilla
The onl producer that's not named West drops by for his first of two contributions. Dilla's beat is pretty damn good and Common sounds awesome on this song, providing himself with his own hook. After listening to this, I wanna listen to Donuts now.
7. Chi-City (feat. Kanye West)

Produced by Kanye West

And welcome back to the Kanye West produced tracks. I like the beat and, of course, Common's rhymes. Kinda reminds me of "Southside" from Finding Forever (or should I say "Southside" reminds me of "Chi-City"?). I like how only the drums play in the beginning of Common's second verse, in which he mentions Rick James, leading into...

8. The Food (feat. Kanye West)

Produced by Kanye West

Instead of providing the studio version of "The Food", the first single from Be, we hear the live version from Chappelle's Show (quick question, what the fuck has Dave done in the past three years, not including Dave Chappelle's Block Party, since it was filmed in 2004?). As typical, Kanye provides the hook, having not dropped a verse yet. I have to admit, I haven't heard the studio version of this song (YouTubing after the review), but I quite like this version.

9. Real People

Produced by Kanye West

Sounds spoken word poetry up against jazz... but it's not. Yeah. It's also real quick, just 10 seconds longer than "Testify". It's also damn good... that's nice.

10. They Say (feat. John Legend & Kanye West)
Produced by Kanye West
Instead of relying on Kanye West for hooks, Common enlists John Legend for the hook on what is a really a good song. Oh, and Kanye actually drops a verse. FINALLY. I don't like the four lines where he ends with the final line being high-pitched, other than that, the only verse we get from the author of 808s & Heartbreaks is pretty good.

11. It's Your World, Pt. 1 & 2 (feat. Bilal, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, & "The Kids")
Produced by J Dilla
J Dilla provides the final beat for Be. The legacy continues, with Common giving his father some time on the final track of the album, making it five albums in a row now. Dilla's beat is awesome and Common graces it properly. Part 2 delves into "The Kids", which are a group of children, probably kindergarten age, discussing what they would like to be. One kid provides a lulzy moment when he describes what he wants to be "... a duck." You can't write that shit. Lonnie Lynn follows it up, describing what it is to be. And we're out, children.

Conclusion: Be's sound should credited to Kanye West just as much as it is to Common (which is the reason Kanye West is a label for this review), since he produced 9 tracks out of an 11 track album (and did a good job at it) and pretty much made the sound for Be. Be is a great album, and probably the reason Common is still relevent today. I'd suggest you go pick this up. NOW.

Coming Soon
I have no idea. Just stay tuned.

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