Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Electric Circus cost and won Common some fans. It was very exploratory, especially so for a rap album released in 2002, containing developments -- some of which soared, some of which sank -- that few longtime followers could have foreseen. Listeners either felt Common was picking up fresh, new inspirations, or that he was just being distracted by a whole lot of ill-fitting nonsense. With Be, it seems the MC has realized that not every album that's sprawling and eclectic is as good as Electric Ladyland or Songs in the Key of Life. More notably, he might've been struck with the fact that a high percentage of excellent albums are around 40 minutes in length and are built on a unified sound. Be is highly concentrated, containing 11 songs and involving two producers and a small number of guests. It's a 180 degree turn from Electric Circus, and in a bizarre way it's both a progression and a back-to-basics move. Kanye West and Dilla are key to the album's steadiness, rooting the sound in '70s soul and soul-jazz. That's no shakeup, but the two producers deserve some form of award for stringing together a consistent sequence of productions that is never monotonous, dull, or all that flashy. Even lead single "The Corner," heard well before Be's release, falls into the fabric of the album on first listen, as if that were where it belonged all along. Lyrically, Common comes back down to Earth -- the narratives are sharp as ever, the gripes are more like observations than screeds, and the eccentricities need to be teased out rather than swatted away. Be isn't likely to be referred to by anyone as groundbreaking, but it's one of Common's best, and it's also one of the most tightly constructed albums of any form within recent memory.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Derrick Hodge, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Kanye West, Producer, ComposerLyricist - James Poyser, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Andrew Dawson, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Choker Campbell, ComposerLyricist - Francis Forde, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Abiodun Oyewole, ComposerLyricist - Kanye West, Producer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Leon Moore, ComposerLyricist - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - The Last Poets, Background Vocalist, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Umar Bin Hassan, ComposerLyricist - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Tayor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Linda Lewis, ComposerLyricist - Kanye West, Producer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - John Mayer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - DJ A-Trak, Unknown, Other - Francis Forde, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ric McRae, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Num Amuntehu, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2005 UMG Recordings, Inc.
D.J. Rogers, ComposerLyricist - Bilal, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Kanye West, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - James Poyser, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - John Legend, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Francis Forde, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Angelo Bond, ComposerLyricist - Kanye West, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - General Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - GREGORY S. PERRY, ComposerLyricist - Ric McRae, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Elgie Stover, ComposerLyricist - Anna Gaye, ComposerLyricist - Bob Power, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Marvin Gaye, ComposerLyricist - James Nyx, ComposerLyricist - James Poyser, Unknown, Other - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yancey, ComposerLyricist - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Dilla, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Luna E, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Frank Hendler, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Kanye West, Producer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Tolle, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eddie Cornelius, ComposerLyricist - Jason Agel, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - DJ Dummy, Unknown, Other - DJ A-Trak, Unknown, Other - Jared Zastrow, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Kanye West, Producer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, ComposerLyricist - Eugene Booker Record, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Tolle, Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Dawson, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Chavez, Unknown, Other - Common, MainArtist - Stanley McKenney, ComposerLyricist - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - DJ Dummy, Unknown, Other - Charles Hunt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Kanye West, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Anthony Kilhoffer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Caesar Frazier, ComposerLyricist - Ric McRae, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Linda Epstein, ComposerLyricist - Kanye West, Producer, Background Vocalist, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jared Robbins, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - John Stephens, ComposerLyricist - John Legend, Background Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Thomas Bell, ComposerLyricist - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, ComposerLyricist - Ric McRae, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Bob Power, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Bilal, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Karriem Riggins, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Co-Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Kanye West, Additional Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - James Poyser, Producer, Keyboards, Co-Producer, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Common, MainArtist - Taylor Dow, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lonnie Lynn, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, Spoken Word, AssociatedPerformer - The Kids, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Dilla, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Frank Hendler, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Album review
Electric Circus cost and won Common some fans. It was very exploratory, especially so for a rap album released in 2002, containing developments -- some of which soared, some of which sank -- that few longtime followers could have foreseen. Listeners either felt Common was picking up fresh, new inspirations, or that he was just being distracted by a whole lot of ill-fitting nonsense. With Be, it seems the MC has realized that not every album that's sprawling and eclectic is as good as Electric Ladyland or Songs in the Key of Life. More notably, he might've been struck with the fact that a high percentage of excellent albums are around 40 minutes in length and are built on a unified sound. Be is highly concentrated, containing 11 songs and involving two producers and a small number of guests. It's a 180 degree turn from Electric Circus, and in a bizarre way it's both a progression and a back-to-basics move. Kanye West and Dilla are key to the album's steadiness, rooting the sound in '70s soul and soul-jazz. That's no shakeup, but the two producers deserve some form of award for stringing together a consistent sequence of productions that is never monotonous, dull, or all that flashy. Even lead single "The Corner," heard well before Be's release, falls into the fabric of the album on first listen, as if that were where it belonged all along. Lyrically, Common comes back down to Earth -- the narratives are sharp as ever, the gripes are more like observations than screeds, and the eccentricities need to be teased out rather than swatted away. Be isn't likely to be referred to by anyone as groundbreaking, but it's one of Common's best, and it's also one of the most tightly constructed albums of any form within recent memory.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:31
- Main artists: Common
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2005 Geffen Records ℗ 2005 Geffen Records
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.