Common - Be

Be...Common's or Kanye's?

I’ve never been a Common fan. I’ve always found his flow to be a few steps away from ‘on’. You know, the type of ‘on’ that you can knock your head to. The type of ‘on’ that sounded fly no matter what one was saying. Well…Common is still off. Regardless, I think it’s a good album, but not necessarily a good Common album. It is obvious that Kanye West has left his finger prints firmly indented on this creation and much of the credit for this being a sold contribution to hip hop can be accredited to him.

The two Chicago natives collaborated to produce an album which is 4 parts production and 1 part flow. The beats are amazing but Common does have a place on the album and the two mesh quite nicely. His lyricism forces you to pay attention despite his utter lack of flow and delivery.

The album starts hot off the block with the title track Be and continues to The Corner where Common pays homage to the street life in an out of the ordinary display of delivery. Testify tells a courtroom story behind one of the more simple beats on the album. The sample, although catchy, becomes a little overbearing. Common finishes up strong with the cuts The Food and They Say. In both songs, Kanye trumps Common and leaves the most memorable impression. The last track It’s Your World is dressed up as one of those motivational songs that misses its mark. The fact that it is almost 9 minutes long designates it to being played only once, if at all.

Be is a solid effort from Common which is made enjoyable by the superior production. In this latest installment, Common’s flow is just that…common.