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Nfared Reviews

Common: Be



Creativity is something of a music industry four-letter word. Instead of daring
to be different, artists are settling comfortably into conformity. Excitement
and variety often takes a backseat to formulas that will guarantee a hit album;
make the first single a club song, then come back with something for the ladies.
Then there is Common. The rap industry’s voice of reason, Common has never been
mainstream; he often strays far off the path of traditional, and if he has ever
conformed to anything, it’s to innovation. Though be bewildered a few fans with
his last CD, Electric Circus, the experimentation perhaps helped him grow into
his latest project, Be.



With “They Say”, featuring the ever so arrogant Kayne and the soulful John
Legend, Common shows that a true artist keeps his ears to the street and
listens. He knows what is being said and in that regard he brings himself closer
to the people listening. For instance, his last album lead many to believe he
went to far with his individuality. The first few lines of this song gives his
response: “They say a nigga lost his mind/but in the scheme of things I never
lost a rhyme.” Still the observer, he goes on to talk about everyday people,
“Real People”. He relates to the day- to-day life and the struggles of common
folks. As if reaching out to touch the hand of someone he knows personally, he
says, “We want decent homes/so dreams we say out loud like speakerphone/just to
keep them on.” Yet just below the compassion, his anger can still be felt as he
starts the second verse, “Black men walkin/with white girls on they arms/I be
mad at ‘em/as if I know they moms… when we lesson our women
our condition seems to worsen.” Seeking to further stimulate thoughts on the
opposite sex, Common starts off the first verse of “Faithful” by saying, “I was
rolling around in my mind it occurred/what if God was a her/would I treat her
the same/would I still be running game…” This cleverly written song delves into
relationships and infidelity with a simple moral: Be happy with what you have.


Final Grade
Common may or may not consider himself a “rapper”. In any case, this one word
would not define him clearly. There are rappers like the astute businessman
Master P. He has an excellent mind with the writing skills of a two year old.
Then there is 50 Cent who is an excellent writer, but has and overly violent
thought process. Common brings together the worlds of great minds and great
writers and puts them together with Be. He conveys his messages uniquely, and
bluntly, yet with the innocence of a small child. A rapper he is not; a true
artist, he is. Final Grade A+
















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