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Liberator 4.2
Common
BE

On his triumphant sixth studio album, Chicago’s number one draft pick delivers his mature post break-up record. Feeling more grounded about himself, going back to the streets of Chi-Town's Southside, referencing the various characters on the block, the desire to be paid in full, college debt, the dope game and his take on God as woman. After the experimental Electric Circus, Common harbors back to the b-boy days of his earlier records: Can I Borrow A Dollar and One Day It Will All Make Sense. While Com’s deserted his Stereolab and Macy Gray cameos, he’s maintained his spot as a lyrically conscious emcee. Now affiliated with fellow Chi-Town homie Kanye West, he's taken it back to the idea of why he does it in the first place. Opening with “BE,” a heroic, jazzy baseline, Common sets the tone for the album spitting fire from the opening bell: "I wanna be as free as the spirits of those who left/ I’m talking Malcolm, Coltrane, my man Yusef.” The fantasy “Go” features John Mayer -- I’m not sure why. On “Chi- City” Common proclaims his “b-boy survival rap” rhyming straight from the heart to the block that raised him and wonders, “if these wack niggas realize they wack.” The courtroom narrative “Testify” with the searing old school soul vocal sample "before you lock my love away.” The soulful Jay-Dee assisted “Love” gives you that good thump, thump, love, love feeling. “Food,” his excellent counter-punching collabo with Kanye West originally performed on Chappelle's Show. BE’s centerpiece, “The Corner,” featuring the Last Poets and Kanye show Com at his best, lyrically on point with throwback subject matter and strong sense of community. BE closes with a nine-minute reflection “It’s Your World” featuring Bilal, produced by Jay-Dee, which finds Com and Pops reminiscing and instructing. With this album, Common has finally created a space where the streets and the need to uplift can gloriously co-exist. (www.common-music.com)

words: Jon Jon