Kanye West is the man with more
than the Midas touch; at the moment, everything he
does turns platinum, not gold. Since debuting with
the incredible One Day It’ll All Make Sense,
it’s been a case of diminishing returns for each Common
release…until now. Joining with fellow Chicago native
Kanye West has completely revitalised him.
It’s also lead to his best, most complete work
yet. While Like Water For Chocolate was a
solid follow-up to his astounding debut, Electric
Circus – his attempt to make something as striking
as Sgt. Peppers or Electric Ladyland that
came out feeling more like Her Satanic Majesties
Request – was a dismal, scatological and uneven
effort. Not Be.
Where its predecessor featured a bevy of big-name
producers – from ?uestlove to the Neptunes – what
makes Be such a brilliant release is the cohesion
that the singular vision of Kanye West brings to
it. What is most striking about is exactly that it
never tries to be particularly showy or flashy. Instead,
rooted as it is in samples from the 1970’s both obscure
(DJ Rogers on “Faithful”) and more recognised (Marvin
Gaye’s “God is Love” on “Love is…” and Sam Cooke’s “Nothing
Can Change This Love” on “The Food”), Be is
an album that feels entirely comfortable,
and all the better for it. A good decision is made
in including the live version of “The Food” first
heard on The Chapelle Show, with the urgency
of Common’s delivery amped up by the crowd.
For the most part, Be eschews guest spots,
with the only significant ones coming from Kanye
and his brilliant soul protégé John Legend on “They
Say”. Lyrically, Common is striking for everyday
issues throughout the course of Be, constantly
questioning and probing on tracks like single “The
Corner” and the brilliant “Testify”. The closing “It’s
Your World (Part 1 & 2)” finds him regretting his
past, and looking forward to his future. At thirty-three
years of age – positively ancient in the rap game – Common
has come up with his defining release.
