Be (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Be
Be cover
Studio album by Common
Released May 24, 2005 (U.S.)
Recorded 2004-2005
Genre Hip hop
Length 42:43
Label GOOD/Geffen
Producer(s) Kanye West
J Dilla
Professional reviews
Common chronology
Electric Circus
(2002)		 Be
(2005)		 Finding Forever
(2007)


Be is a 2005 album by rapper Common, produced by Kanye West and J Dilla. The album reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart, and became Common's second album to sell over 500,000 copies. Currently it has sold 800,000.(1) Common released Be under West's record label, GOOD Music, and West produced 9 of the 11 songs off the album ("Love Is..." and "It's Your World" are both produced by Dilla).

Contents

[edit] The comeback

Be was touted as Common's comeback album after the commercially disastrous Electric Circus. His new alliance with Kanye West, also helped to spark public interest in the project. 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. Many believe it to be his safest album. 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?"[1].

[edit] The 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. [2]

"Go!"

"Go" was the album's second, and highest charting single. The song featured Kanye West and John Mayer, however all the verses are performed by Common. The song continued Common's now apparent "ladies' man" persona, which begun with 2000's "The Light", and 2002's "Come Close". The video for the song included shots of Common surrounded by numerous models.

"Testify"

The album's third 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 Until Proven Guilty" by Honey Cone.

[edit] Grammy Nominations

Be was nominated for four 2006 Grammy Awards.

[edit] Track listing

# Title Length Songwriters Producer(s) Performer (s)
1 "Be (Intro)" 2:24 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West Kanye West & J Dilla Common
2 "The Corner" 3:45 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Umar Bin Hassan, Leon Moore, Abiodum Oyewole Kanye West Common, Kanye West, The Last Poets
3 "Go!" 3:44 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, John Mayer, Linda Lewis Kanye West Common, John Mayer, Kanye West
4 "Faithful" 2:36 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Dewayne Julius Rogers Sr. Kanye West, Ken Lewis (co-producer) Bilal, Common, John Legend
5 "Testify" 2:36 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Angelo Bond, General Johnson, Gregory S. Perry Kanye West Common
6 "Love Is..." 4:10 Lonnie Lynn, James Yancey, Anne Gaye, Elgie Stover, Marvin Gaye, James Nyx J Dilla Common, Luna E
7 "Chi-City" 3:27 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Eddie Cornelius Kanye West Common, Kanye West
8 "The Food (Live)" 3:36 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Eugene Record, Sam Cooke, Stanley McKenney Kanye West Common, Dave Chappelle, Kanye West
9 "Real People" 2:48 Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Caesar Frazier Kanye West Common
10 "They Say" 3:57 Lonnie Lynn, John Legend, Kanye West, Linda Epstein, Thomas Bell Kanye West Common, John Legend, Kanye West
11 "It's Your World/Pop's Reprise" 8:33 Lonnie Lynn, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, James Yancey, James Poyser, Karriem Riggins, Robert Curington, Willie Lestor J Dilla, James Poyser (co-producer), Karriem Riggins (co-producer) Bilal, Common, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn

[edit] Album singles

Single cover Single information
"The Corner"
"Go"
"Testify"

"The Food" was unofficially released as a single [3].

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top Canadian Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
2005 Be #2 #10 #1
2006 Be #1

[edit] Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2005 "Go!" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 31
2005 "Go!" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 46
2005 "Go!" Hot Rap Tracks 21
2005 "Go!" The Billboard Hot 100 79
2005 "Go!" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 68
2005 "Testify" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 44
2005 "The Corner" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 42
2005 "The Corner" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks 64

[edit] External link

[edit] References

Common
Albums
Can I Borrow a Dollar? | Resurrection | One Day It'll All Make Sense | Like Water for Chocolate | Electric Circus | Be | Finding Forever
Singles
Take It EZ | Breaker 1/9 | Soul By The Pound | I Used to Love H.E.R. | Resurrection | The Bitch In Yoo | Never Give Up | Reminding Me (Of Sef) | One-Nine-Nine-Nine | Car Horn | The 6th Sense | The Light | Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph) | Come Close | The Corner | Go! | Testify
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/e/_/Be_%28album%29.html"
In other languages