The Purple Tux
With just enough education to perform.Monday, November 14, 2005
“Be,” by Common.
Over the past few years, I have become a fan of hip-hop music. There’s a lot of classic stuff that I must admit I am not terribly familiar with, and I’m far from a hip-hop expert. But I know what I like, and I definitely like Common. A whole lot. I’m not too much into commercial rap and I wouldn’t be able to tell you the latest single from 50 Cent or The Game. And even though I know Mike Jones’ phone number (281-330-8004), I’ve never actually heard one of his songs. [Edit: As I’m posting this on the Web, I finally have heard some Mike Jones. I heard some while shopping at a Tower Records in San Francisco, and I guess they played his album on the store sound system. Not impressed. Generic club-style beats with rubbish lyrics, mostly about the fact that his name is Mike Jones and he has a phone number that you should call.]
“Be” has a great vibe running through it. From the very first track, the joyful, confident, and all-too short “Be (Intro),” to the very end, the album maintains a very soulful and down-to-earth feeling. I ain’t just referring to soul music when I say “soulful,” although there’s plenty of soul influences to be found in the music.
Much has been made of this critically-lauded album’s production, most of it done by Kanye West. Some people love it, some people sneer upon this seeming concession to popular radio music. Me, I feel like I’ve listened to enough of Common’s catalogue of fine songs to trust his judgment. There’s no denying that most of these beats are catchy like nothing else, but they have enough spunk in them to remain interesting even after many listens. It doesn’t feel like a Kanye West album with Common doing the raps on every song; it genuinely feels like Common’s album. (The two J Dilla productions, “Love Is…” and the stirringly uplifting “It’s Your World” are clearly in the same tier as the West productions, and might even be stronger than most of the other beats.)
I will say that I am getting tired of Kanye West’s “Chipmunk” voices that pervade many of his beats. It’s a pretty distinctive sound and it generally works well, but it’s not really a sound that should be abused. Using it too much on the same album is just a tad repetitive.
One of the things I really love about Common and pretty much all over my other favorite hip-hop artists is that these songs ain’t just meaningless club single filler tracks. Common’s lyrics go beyond stating his name and area code and giving shout outs to his homies. The socially-conscious lead single “The Corner,” the ode to his hometown “Chi-City,” and the tension-filled storytelling rap “Testify” (which contains a nice little twist ending) all stand as examples of his strengths as a poet. His music is just positive music, and even when he describes shady situations, he can’t completely shake off his life-affirming mentality. There’s realness to his words as well as hope.
I also really like that the album isn’t too long. At just over 42 minutes, it’s a rather brief album (at least compared to many other hip-hop albums I have heard). But its conciseness is a definite strength. Keeping the album succinct keeps it focused and, in the end, this makes the sum greater than its individual parts.
If there’s one jarring moment in “Be,” it’s got to be the decision to include the live version of “The Food” instead of a studio recording. “The Food” is by no means a bad song. In fact, I feel that if the album had a strong studio version of the song, it could possibly be the tightest track. The problem with including a live song in the middle of this fine studio album is that it halts the momentum of the experience. I love Dave Chappelle as much as anyone (recently even sat down and watched the DVD box sets of both seasons with Sheynis), but to hear his voice introduce a song 21 minutes into the album, and to hear an audience clap and cheer, I could do without. There’s a great deal of passion and fire in this particular performance of “The Food,” and I can’t deny that this would be one of my favorite live tracks, but it just takes me out of the experience.
I’m an album lover, and even though I love individual songs that sound awesome, I find a huge amount of satisfaction in coherent albums. Which isn’t to say that “Be” is incoherent due to the dubious inclusion of one live track; to tell the truth, there’s so much to like about this album that I had to find a fault with it. (Um, and the soaring R&B/Neo-soul on “They Say” isn’t as exciting as the rest of the album, though it is still a listenable and even pleasant song.)
This is such a great album that I think people who don’t typically listen to hip-hop music will enjoy it. It’s very accessible but not so commercial as to be utterly inane. Judging by his lyrics, Common is not only one of the most gifted artists in hip-hop, but he’s got to be a nice person as well. And, oh yeah, John Mayer(!) even contributes to this album. That oughtta be sure to garner the interest of a legion of suburban teenagers. Anything to provide Common the audience he so rightly deserves… I think.
