* So Cool (produced by Sa-Ra) appears on 'Common Remixes'. * My Way Home (produced by Kanye West) appears as a Common solo track on Kanye West's album Late Registration. cite web | last = | first = | url = | title = Be at | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = April 27 | accessyear = 2007] * Best Rap Song, for writing 'Testify' (from 'Be') * Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, for 'They Say' (featuring Kanye West and John Legend) (from 'Be') * Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for 'The Corner' (featuring The Last Poets) (from 'Be') 'Be' was nominated for four 2006 Grammy Awards: ] Common's lyrics on 'Be' earned him the Lyricist of the Year award at the 2006 BET Hip Hop Awards. ' Q' considers 'Be' to be Common's best album. The song samples 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty' by Honey Cone. Henson, Bill Duke, Steve Harris, and Wood Harris, and received notable spins on specialist channels such as MTV2. The video featured acting parts from Taraji P. 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 for the song included shots of Common surrounded by numerous models. The song featured Kanye West and John Mayer, however all the verses are performed by Common. 'Go' was the album's second, and highest charting single. And I also felt good about introducing some of the youth to the Last Poets.' ] 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. They gave me a better understanding of the corner after that. Just them being from the '70s and being used in hip-hop and their spirit brought something pure to it. They brought newness to what 'The Corner' was and they also brought some nostalgia, too. It was fresh as people say - something new. In an interview with, Common denied that the album title stood for 'Before Erykah.' cite web | last = Hamilton | first = Tiffany | url = | title = AllHipHop Feature - Common: Invocation | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = April 28 | accessyear = 2007] Common explained the concept and the album title in a 2005 interview for :Ĭommon 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. You can be Afrocentric, but what's this rock shit that you're doing?' ] Many of the beats created by West, and which Common rejected for the project, later appeared on West's studio album ' Late Registration'. When I showed them something different, a different style of b-boy, there were like, 'Hold up. Though I'd done some progressive hip-hop, people know me as the b-boy. Of the reaction to the album, the rapper said: 'I don't think Electric Circus was as focused. In comparison to that album, 'Be' is lean, immediate, and commanding, yet also restrained in its musical ambitions. The results show that Common was clearly aware, and perhaps agreeing, with the negative criticisms about 'Electric Circus'. Nas's debut album ' Illmatic' was the biggest influence on 'Be'.

His new alliance with Kanye West helped to spark public interest in the project, as the album was produced by West and released by his own label G.O.O.D. His previous album lacked promotion following MCA Records's absorption under Geffen. 'Be' was touted as Common's comeback album after the commercially disastrous ' Electric Circus'. cite web | last = Hamilton | first = Tiffany | url = | title = AllHipHop Feature - Common: Invocation | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = April 28 | accessyear = 2007] Common considers it, along with ' Like Water for Chocolate', to be one of his favorite albums. 'Be' also became a critical success, receiving general favor and accolades from many critics and magazine publications. Primarily produced by Kanye West, the album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and became Common's second album to sell over 500,000 copies. 'Be' is the sixth studio album by rapper Common, released on G.O.O.D.

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