Be (Explicit Version) CD

MUSIC

RAP / HIP-HOP

Song Listing

Disc 1

Song Title

1. Be (Intro) ~ Common

2. Corner, The - (featuring The Last Poets) ~ Common

3. GO! - (featuring John Mayer) ~ Common

4. Faithful ~ Common

5. Testify ~ Common

6. Love Is... ~ Common

7. Chi-City ~ Common

8. Food, The - (live) ~ Common

9. Real People ~ Common

10. They Say - (featuring Kanye West/John Legend) ~ Common

11. It's Your World (Part 1&2) - (featuring Bilal) ~ Common

Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
	Personnel: Common (rap vocals); The Last Poets (spoken vocals); James Poyser (various instruments); Derrick Hodge (double bass); Num Amun-Tehu (percussion); A-Trak, DJ Dummy (turntables); John Legend, John Mayer , Kanye West, Lonnie Lynn, Bilal, Luna E (background vocals).
	After fusing hip-hop, rock, and soul on 2002's THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS, Chicago rapper Common returned three years later with BE. Like its two-letter title, BE is much leaner, consisting of 11 pure hip-hop tracks marked by Common's enlightened, contemplative, easy-flowing lyrics. Although the album is more streamlined, it's not predictable or unoriginal, as the beats unfold with the same combination of rawness and melodic energy that made Kanye West's debut so uncommonly engaging. This is no coincidence--West is present throughout much of BE, producing all but two of the songs here. West even appears on one of the disc's highlights, "The Food," with some expert freestyle rhyming as captured live on CHAPPELLE'S SHOW.
	Common's confident, yet constantly searching, demeanor and his poetic instinct for just the right words bonds him to the heritage of hip-hop, a point hit home by the presence of rap legends the Last Poets on "The Corner." Common is always slightly and endearingly unsure, and his self-deprecation seeps out on "Love Is..." and "Faithful." However, he has the inner power to garner attention, as evident on the smooth party jam "GO!" (featuring John Mayer). BE is Common at his unaffected, commanding best.
Producer: Kanye West; DILLA; James Poyser
Musical Guests
	The Last Poets
	John Legend
	Kanye West
	Bilal
	John Mayer

Compilation Appearances

	Stakes Is High
	Brown Sugar
	College Dropout (Explicit Version)
	College Dropout (Clean)
	Late Registration (Explicit Version)
	2k6 Tracks
	Flo' Ology
	Rising Tied (Explicit Version)
	Rising Tied (Explicit Version)
	Home Grown Guide To Understanding V1(Explicit Version)
	King (Explicit Version)
	Freedom Writers (Explicit Version)
	Introducing Joss Stone
	Rising Down(Explicit Version)
	LAX
	LAX
	LAX (Clean)
	Theater Of The Mind(Explicit Version)
	Lines Vines And Trying Times
	Man On The Moon:End Of Day (Explicit Version)
	Go:best Of Common(Explicit Version)
	Go:best Of Common
	Good Music Cruel Summer(Explicit Version)
	Jesus Piece
	Jesus Piece(Explicit Version)
	Jesus Piece(Explicit Version)
	Beautiful Struggle (Explicit Version)
	Definitive Collection
	Essence Music Festival Volume 1

Associated Artists and Works

	T.I.
	King [PA] [Limited] ~ T.I.

Technical Info

	Release Date : 05/24/2005
	Original Release Date : 2005
	Catalog ID : 0004670
	Label : Geffen
	Number of Discs : 1
	Studio/Live : Studio
	Mono/Stereo : Stereo
	SPAR Code : n/a
	UPC : 00602498818626

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (No. 975, p.70)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "[H]is sixth and best disc....[Kanye] West is the producer Common has been waiting for all of his career: He makes Common both catchier and edgier at the same time..."

Spin (p.63)
- Ranked #17 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Bathed in throwback soul and lively drums, Common suddenly sounded like the seer he'd always hoped he was."

Spin (p.102)
- "[With] '70s-soul string samples, store-front-church piano tinkling, chipmunk gospel vocal hooks....Common's remarkably hungry raps push it along." - Grade: A-

Entertainment Weekly (No. 821/822, p.136)
- "[T]he marriage of [Common's] conscious rhymes to [Kanye] West's gritty, boho-inflected production boasts more organic freshness than a Whole Foods Market..." - Grade: A-

Uncut (p.97)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "[The record] offers a rich jukebox of gospel-tinged R&B flavours over which Common scatters his gems."

Mojo (Publisher)
(p.112)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "BE succeeds through its sense of focus and poignancy."

Paste (magazine)
- "The soul and jazz-loop landscapes the producers set Common against highlight his classic, laidback flow..."

BloomReach Content

Be (Explicit Version) (2005)

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