User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 163 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 146 out of 163
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Mixed: 6 out of 163
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Negative: 11 out of 163
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IgnacioYJun 30, 2005Although it brings back some ideas from 70s legends, it is not anything you havent heard before. Better go to the sources and buy a classic
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HaloedBMay 29, 2005The pervasive statements that this is a "return to form" or a "classic match up" between Kanye and Common is pure marketing retoric (which I fell for). The music and lyrics border on corny and there is not one song that could be considered innovative. Great introduction, however, to the conscious rap movement of 1994.
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JohnMJun 17, 2005The Dot Music review is dead-on. The album sounds good and flows well (except for the single "Go!" which needs a lot less Kanye and Mayer and a lot more Common), but the album in general is too sterile; it pushes no boundaries and its sound seems a little dated. There is nothing new here, just accomplished, albeit completely forgettable, music.
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aaronlJun 18, 2005
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JackMAug 23, 2005Best CD of the year in rap music?!? DENIED. Unless, however, you were willing to equate self-righteous, boring, derivative R&B with such praise. As a fan of Common's earlier albums (especially the tragically underrated Electric Circus), Be is a huge, monumental disappointment - and probably the most overrated album of the year, in any genre.
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Awards & Rankings
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The album is an extremely satisfying listen, but if Common is to lead the revolution, he has to make more of a statement than a great bass line and some tight rhymes.
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Be isn't likely to be referred to by anyone as groundbreaking, but it's one of Common's best, and it's also one of the most tightly constructed albums of any form within recent memory.
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BlenderBe picks up where West's The College Dropout left off. [Jun 2005, p.113]