Common plays a hood corner curator and describes what the corners where he grew up were like. The heavy bass notes from a guitar are accompanied by a keyboard and eventually piano, which combine to make one of the most memorable album introductions of the last decade.įollowed by the grittier sound of ‘The Corner’, which contains a trudging bass and piano beat that Common flows impeccably over. Adding instruments one after another, the song, which withholds on lyrics for nearly half of its duration, builds such a strong sense of optimism, that when Common starts spitting bars about all the things he wants change and achieve you actually believe that he is going to. Simply titled, ‘Be (Intro)’, the song is anything but. I recall it taking me nearly 15 minutes to make it to the second song when I first listened to the album years ago. Even when deconstructing the ghettoization of urban communities via drug addiction and street violence parallels, there is always a certain sense of hope maintained. The term, “feel-good music”, very much applies to this body of work. I like to think the look on my face while perusing through the album on my phone is similar to that of Common’s on the album cover. The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and Linda Lewis). To get somewhat of an idea, each and every track on the album features a sample, many of which come from 60’s and 70’s soul and R&B singers/groups (i.e. The soulfulness of the project simply can’t be put into words. The production on the album was handled entirely by Kanye West and the late J Dilla. Common’s open reflection and street-wise lyrics beg listeners to examine their own inner thoughts, and most of all, to be happy with the life you lead. Every song on the album has aspects that will touch your heart and allow you to actually feel the music.This is the album’s defining characteristic its ability to connect to listeners on a personal level. Unlike it’s predecessor, Be allowed very little room for criticism.Ĭommon moved his personal life and thoughts into a glass house for this album.
The divisive nature of that album is what allowed Be to shine like a supernova. He released this album three years following the critically divided experimental album, Electric Circus. This album was the aptly named, Be by Common, which was released in 2005. This is the premise behind an album that raised the constantly shifting, metaphorical bar in hip-hop culture. Stay true to the core of who you are as an individual, no matter what others want or expect from you. Be the person you want to be simply exist. So I decided to rank all of the Best Rap Album winners on their own merits while also studying if there was a more deserving album that year.On Thursdays we review albums that are considered “classic”. Jay-Z has a total of 21 Grammys, but has won the award for Best Rap Album only once. Every major label solo Eminem album has snagged a nomination, with Encore being the only one not to win.
Only two of Kanye’s solo albums have not won the award – 808s & Heartbreak and Yeezus, although the latter was nominated. There have been three artists that have won it multiple times: Eminem- 6 Kanye West – 4 and Outkast – 2. The Grammy for Best Rap Album has been awarded twenty-one times. How Best Rap Performance differs from Best Rap Song? I have no idea. Today, there are four rap categories: Best Rap Performance (introduced in 1989), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (2002), Best Rap Song (2004), and Best Rap Album (1996). That argument has merit, evidenced by the fact that the genre was not even acknowledged by the award show until 1989 and, even then, it was under the very wide umbrella of Best Rap Performance, a category that recognized merely a single song. Decisions like Young MC’s “Bust a Move” winning over Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” have led many to believe that those who vote on the Grammys have no clue about real Hip Hop. Much like the NBA, the Grammys have a complicated relationship with Hip Hop.
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