Be

Be is just so beautiful. Common really came through with this one. He was already a big name by this point, but this album just solidified his status even more. With Kanye and Dilla on the boards, you already knew the production would be insane—and it is. Soulful as hell, smooth, warm, layered. The beats wrap around Common’s voice so perfectly.

Common just sounds so in-pocket here. His delivery is calm but commanding, his lyricism is sharp, thoughtful, poetic. Every track on here is really top-tier, no filler at all. The intro track already sets the tone perfectly, and then it just keeps going with heat like The Corner, GO!, Faithful, Chi-City, They Say… it’s just banger after banger but with so much substance too. And It’s Your World is such a top-tier closer. So touching, so real, so immersive. You just feel everything in that one. Enough to make a grown man cry.

It’s just that everything comes together on this record: the production, lyrics, message, atmosphere. One of the greatest hip-hop albums ever. Just timeless.