Be: Возвращение Коммона с Канье Уэстом

Be is the sixth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released on May 24, 2005, by Geffen Records and GOOD Music. The album is Common's first album under Geffen, following the mediocre performance of 2002's Electric Circus and July 2003 merger of preceding label MCA Records, which like, Geffen and its sister label Interscope Records, was a division of Universal Music Group. The album was primarily and executively produced by rapper and GOOD Music founder Kanye West, with additional production from frequent collaborator J Dilla. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 185,000 copies in the United States. The album is Common's second album to sell over 500,000 copies (over 800,000 copies sold), becoming a certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Be was also a critical success, receiving acclaim and accolades from several critics and music publications. The album received a perfect "XXL" rating from hip hop publication XXL and was deemed Common's magnum opus by HipHopGoldenAge.

Be was touted as Common's comeback album after the commercially disastrous Electric Circus (2002); the predecessor lacked promotion following MCA Records' absorption into Geffen, which was completed in July 2003. "He's today's Marvin Gaye of rap," West enthused on a DVD accompanying a deluxe edition of Be. "Buy the album. If you in a situation where you can barely buy groceries, burn the album." The results show that Common was clearly aware, and perhaps agreeing, with the negative criticisms about Electric Circus. In comparison to that album, Be is lean, immediate, and commanding, yet also restrained in its musical ambitions. Of the reaction to the album, the rapper said: "I don't think [Electric Circus] was as focused. Though I'd done some progressive hip hop, people know me as the b boy. When I showed them something different, a different style of b boy, there were like, "Hold up. 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.

In an interview with AllHipHop, Common denied that the album title stood for "Before Erykah." Common explained the concept and the album title in a 2005 interview for SixShot. com:
I named it Be to be who you are, man, and be able to be in the moment and not try too hard. Be is another way of saying just do without trying hard, like I said, natural and be true to the core of who you are; and this album, I wanted to just be and not just go and exist as just an artist, not worried about the past.

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Aftenposten Norway Albums of the Year 2005 18 AllMusic USA Albums of the Year 2005 * Amazon. com USA Albums of the Year 2005 37 Associated Press USA Albums of the Year 2005 7 B92 Serbia Albums of the Year 2005 7 Billboard USA Albums of the Year 2005 5 Dagbladet Norway Albums of the Year 2005 13 Dagsavisen Norway Albums of the Year 2005 18 E! Online USA Albums of the Year 2005 17 Expressen Sweden Albums of the Year 2005 17 Go Mag Spain Albums of the Year 2005 17 H Magazine Spain Albums of the Year 2005 * Harp USA Albums of the Year 2005 33 Hip Hop Connection UK The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995–2005 2005 69Hip Hop Golden AgeUSATop 150 Hip Hop Albums of The Decade20202 Iguana Spain Albums of the Year 2005 3 Laut Germany Albums of the Year 2005 42 Monitor Croatia Albums of the Year 2005 34 Musik Express/Sounds Germany Albums of the Year 2005 36 Musikbyrån Sweden Albums of the Year 2005 12 Natt & Dagg Norway Albums of the Year 2005 14 The Observer UK Albums of the Year 2005 25 OOR Netherlands Albums of the Year 2005 12 People USA Albums of the Year 2005 * Piccadilly Records UK Albums of the Year 2005 4 PopMatters USA Albums of the Year 2005 12 Prefix Magazine USA Albums of the Year 2005 19 Pure Pop Mexico Albums of the Year 2005 5 Q USA Albums of the Year 2005 42 Rock de Lux Spain Albums of the Year 2005 9 Rolling Stone USA Albums of the Year 2005 21 Spex Germany Albums of the Year 2005 12 Spin USA Albums of the Year 2005 17 URB USA Albums of the Year 2005 * The Village Voice USA Albums of the Year 2005 15 Vibe USA Albums of the Year 2005 * WOXY. com USA Albums of the Year 2005 58 Zundfunk Germany Albums of the Year 2005 22

Be was nominated in four categories at the 48th Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "The Corner" featuring the Last Poets, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "They Say" featuring Kanye West and John Legend, and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Testify".