Izdavač: Ostalo
Žanr: Fank i Soul, Rep i Hip-Hop
Poreklo: Strani izvođač

Original, made in EU Germany

Knjizica od 16 str.

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knjizica 5 Cd 5

Studio album by Common
Released May 24, 2005
Studio
Encore (Burbank)Pay Jay (Clinton Township)Sony Music (New York)
Genre
Hip hopconscious hip hop[1]hip hop soul[2]progressive rap[3]chipmunk soul[4]
Length 42:33
Label
GeffenGOOD
Producer
Kanye West (also exec.)J DillaJames PoyserKarriem Riggins
Common chronology
Electric Circus
(2002) Be
(2005) Finding Forever
(2007)

Be is the sixth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released on May 24, 2005, by Geffen Records and GOOD Music. The album is Common`s first album under Geffen, following the mediocre performance of 2002`s Electric Circus and the July 2003 merger of preceding label MCA Records, which, like Geffen and its sister label Interscope Records, was a division of Universal Music Group.[5]

The album was primarily and executively produced by rapper and GOOD Music founder Kanye West, with additional production from frequent collaborator J Dilla. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 185,000 copies in the United States.[6] In 2025, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Be was also a critical success, receiving acclaim and accolades from several critics and music publications. The album received a perfect `XXL` rating from hip hop publication XXL[7] and was deemed Common`s magnum opus by HipHopGoldenAge.[8] In 2022 and 2024, Rolling Stone and Billboard included Be on their lists of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.[9][10]

Conception
Background
Be was touted as Common`s comeback album after the commercially disastrous Electric Circus (2002); the predecessor lacked promotion following MCA Records` absorption into Geffen, which was completed in July 2003.[5] His new alliance with Kanye West helped to spark public interest in the project, as the album was produced by West and released by his own label GOOD Music. `I met Kanye in `96…` he said. `He was still in high school. He used to come around No I.D.`s house, a guy that used to produce for me. The thing I noticed about Kanye was that he could really rap! He had some kind of hunger that I hadn`t really seen before.`[11]

`He`s today`s Marvin Gaye of rap,` West enthused on a DVD accompanying a deluxe edition of Be. `Buy the album. If you in a situation where you can barely buy groceries, burn the album.`

The results show that Common was clearly aware, and perhaps agreeing, with the negative criticisms about Electric Circus. In comparison to that album, Be is lean, immediate, and commanding, yet also restrained in its musical ambitions. Of the reaction to the album, the rapper said: `I don`t think [Electric Circus] was as focused. Though I`d done some progressive hip-hop, people know me as the b-boy. When I showed them something different, a different style of b-boy, there were like, `Hold up. You can be Afrocentric, but what`s this rock shit that you`re doing?`[12] Many of the beats created by West, and which Common rejected for the project, later appeared on West`s studio album Late Registration.[13]

Title
In an interview with AllHipHop, Common denied that the album title stood for `Before Erykah.`[14] Common explained the concept and the album title in a 2005 interview for SixShot.com:

I named it Be to be who you are, man, and be able to be in the moment and not try too hard. Be is another way of saying just do without trying hard, like I said, natural and be true to the core of who you are; and this album, I wanted to just be and not just go and exist as just an artist, not worried about the past.[15]

Singles
`The Corner`
Common gave his reasons for featuring controversial spoken word recording artists, the Last Poets, on the album`s first official single, `The Corner`: `They gifted at writing. They voices is incredible. They took my song to a higher level. And that`s what hip-hop was about to me. It would have a message. It would take you to the next place. It was fresh as people say -- something new. They brought newness to what `The Corner` was and they also brought some nostalgia, too. Just them being from the `70s and being used in hip-hop and their spirit brought something pure to it. They gave me a better understanding of the corner after that. I knew those who had been listening to hip-hop would know who the Last Poets were and if they didn`t they would feel it in their souls sooner or later. And I also felt good about introducing some of the youth to the Last Poets.`[12]

`Go!`
`Go` was the album`s third, and highest charting single. The song featured Kanye West and John Mayer, however all the verses are performed by Common with West and Mayer ad-libbing in the chorus. The video for the song included shots of Common surrounded by numerous models.

`Testify`
The album`s fourth single, `Testify` received a type of promotional video known as a `mini-movie`; a term coined by Michael Jackson to describe a music video with a complex plot and a suitably long running time, often with intermissions between the song`s parts. The video featured acting parts from Taraji P. Henson, Bill Duke, Steve Harris and Wood Harris, and received notable spins on specialist channels such as MTV2. The song samples `Innocent Til Proven Guilty` by Honey Cone.[16
All tracks produced by Kanye West, except where noted.[16]

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. `Be (Intro)`
Lonnie LynnKanye WestAlbert Jones
2:24
2. `The Corner` (featuring Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets)
LynnWestAbiodun OyewoleUmar Bin HassanLeon Moore
3:45
3. `Go!` (featuring John Mayer and Kanye West)
LynnWestJohn MayerLinda Lewis
3:44
4. `Faithful`
LynnWestDeWayne Julius Rogers
3:33
5. `Testify`
LynnWestAngelo BondGeneral JohnsonGregory Perry
2:36
6. `Love Is…`
LynnJames YanceyAnna GayeMarvin GayeJames NyxElgie Stover
J Dilla 4:10
7. `Chi-City`
LynnWestEddie Cornelius
3:27
8. `The Food` (live)
LynnWestSam CookeStanley McKenneyEugene Record
3:36
9. `Real People`
LynnWestCaesar Frazier
2:48
10. `They Say` (featuring Kanye West and John Legend)
LynnWestJohn StephensThomas BellLinda Epstein
3:57
11. `It`s Your World (Part 1 & 2)` (featuring `the Kids`)
LynnYanceyJames PoyserKarriem RigginsLonnie `Pops` LynnRobert CuringtonWillie Lestor
J DillaJames Poyser[a]Karriem Riggins[a]
8:33
Total length: 42:33
Notes

^[a] signifies a co-producer.
`The Corner`, `Chi-City` and `The Food (Live)` feature background vocals by Kanye West[16]
`Go!` features background vocals by John Mayer and Kanye West[16]
`Faithful` features background vocals by John Legend and Bilal[16]
`Love Is...` features background vocals by Luna E of Cirius B[16]
`It`s Your World (Part 1 & 2)` features background vocals by Bilal and Mr. Lonnie Lynn[16]
Sample credits

`Be (Intro)` contains a sample of `Mother Nature`, written by Albert Jones.[16]
`The Corner` contains samples of `You Make the Sun Shine`, written by Leon Moore and performed by the Temprees.[16]
`Go!` contains a sample of `Old Smokey`, performed by Linda Lewis.[16]
`Faithful` contains a sample of `Faithful to the End`, performed by D. J. Rogers.[16]
`Testify` contains a sample of `Innocent Till Proven Guilty`, performed by Honey Cone.[16]
`Love Is...` contains a sample of `God Is Love`, performed by Marvin Gaye.[16]
`Chi-City` contains an interpolation of `Since I Found My Baby`, performed by Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose.[16]
`The Food` contains samples of `I Never Had It So Good and Felt So Bad`, performed by the Chi-Lites; and `Nothing Can Change This Love`, performed by Sam Cooke.[16]
`Real People` contains a sample of `Sweet Children`, written by Caesar Frazier.[16]
`They Say` contains samples of `Ghetto Child`, performed by Ahmad Jamal.[16]
`It`s Your World (Part 1 & 2)` contains a sample of `Share What You Got`, performed by the Modulations.[16]
Personnel
Credits for Be adapted from AllMusic.[48]

A-Trak – main personnel, scratching, turntables
Jason Agel – assistant engineer
Num Amun-Tehu – main personnel, percussion
Bilal – guest artist, main personnel, vocals (background)
Cass Bird – cover photo
Dave Chappelle – introduction
Common – executive producer, main personnel, primary artist, rap
Tom Coyne – mastering
Darren `ROCK` Darnell – engineer
Andrew Dawson – engineer, mixing
J Dilla – audio production
DJ Dummy – main personnel, scratching, turntables
Taylor Dow – assistant engineer
Derrick Dudley – executive producer
Luna E – main personnel, vocals (background)
Francis Forde – assistant engineer
Dawn Haynes – wardrobe
Frank Hendler – mixing assistant
Derrick Hodge – bass (acoustic), double bass, main personnel
Charles Hunt – engineer
Kids – performer, primary artist
Anthony Kilhoffer – engineer
Christian Lantry – photography
The Last Poets – guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, spoken word
John Legend – guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals (background)
Lonnie Lynn – main personnel, poetry, vocals (background)
Mister Lonnie & the Kids Lynn – vocals (background)
Manny Marroquin – mixing
Hulis Mavruk – art direction
John Mayer – guest artist, main personnel, vocals (background)
Rick McRae – assistant engineer
Bob Power – mixing
James Poyser – audio production, instrumentation, keyboards, main personnel, strings, various instruments
Karriem Riggins – drums, percussion, producer
Jared Robbins – mixing assistant
Steve Tolle – assistant engineer
Kanye West – audio production, executive producer, guest artist, keyboards, main personnel, primary artist, producer, vocals (background)
Jared Zastrow – engineer