Be

the take

My Favorite Albums of All Time #48: How do you make an album about, well, being? That's an impossibly broad undertaking, yet Chicago's Common knocked it out of the park with his magnum opus, his 2005 album Be. Paired with a hungry prime Kanye West as executive producer, this album deals with life in a raw and unfiltered way. Common's pen game is severely underrated in general, but it's turned up to eleven on this record, digging deep into extended metaphors, vibrant storytelling, and musings on what the correct way to live your life is. It's a really uplifting listen that plasters the human condition all over the walls of Chicago and feels like some of the truest hip-hop you'll ever listen to. Must-Hear Tracks: Be (Intro)- This is up there for the best beat of all time in rap to me, and Common's verse is so layered and smooth that I will never ever skip this when it comes on, no matter what mood or vibe I am in. A song that always commands your attention and sets the stage for the rest of the record perfectly. Faithful- A reflection on religion, love, and misogyny, Common asks himself whether his relationship with God would change if she were a woman, and then why that would be the case. He's willing to confront his own shortcomings with sexism and acknowledges his own room for growth, something that's incredibly important in hip-hop and especially on a record so deeply involved with togetherness and humanity. The Food (Live)- This song feels like a 70s hip-hop block party. Kanye and Common pass the mic back and forth in front of a live studio audience for the Chapelle Show and effortlessly flow across the beat, showcasing not only their incredible chemistry as rapper and producer, but as two Emcees at their peaks.