This week's "Classic Material" is similar to last week’s with Jay Z because before “Be” came out I was done with Common. And let me make sure ya’ll understand that Common WAS my dude. Easily one of my favorite MC’s and I was mad happy to see dude get his shine with his single “The Light” off his “Like Water For Chocolate” album. I guess in between recording his previous album “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” and “Like Water…” this dude started falling in love with Medusa (that’s what I call E. Badu cause I heard if you look into those green eyes…it’s a wrap) and that was the start of the ending as Prodigy would say. Next thing I know this dude is wearing corduroy turtlenecks and dressing weirder than Andre 3000 and then I see this dude making videos with him talking to deaf chicks in windows with posterboards and it was like this dude had lost every single brain cel. Then he drops this wack album “Electric Circus” that completely screws up his discography SO bad that I’ve literally had to erase it from my mind to be able to say dude’s name with a straight face. “Electric Circus” was SO wack on SO many levels…I don’t even know where to begin. And I’ve actually had Com fans tell me “that album ain’t THAT bad.” Really? It ain’t that bad? So now I’m just deaf right? Yes, that album was THAT bad. I had so much love for Common that I would listen to the album every couple of months just to try to like but it just never panned out cause the album was THAT bad. But then I hear some good news. This chick Medusa broke up with dude. Could it be that the spell is lifted? Could Com be going back to his former Southside of Chicago self? Could we finally be getting the REAL follow up to “Like Water For Chocolate?” Well, one day while I was watching the Chapelle Show, I got my answer.
Untitled from 215HipHop on Vimeo.
I can’t truly explain the feeling I had after I heard Com and Kanye West perform “The Food” on The Chapelle Show. I was hype cause Com was back but on top of that the song was SO F-CKING DOPE! Com and ‘Ye sounded perfect together. Then a minute goes by and I hear that ‘Ye is producing all of Com’s album for the exception of two jawns that Dilla will be knocking out and hype isn’t even the word to explain how I felt. Now remember we’re talking Kanye before “George Bush Don’t Like Black People/808 and Heartbreaks” Kanye, when ‘Ye was one of the illest producer in the game. And then when I heard “The Corner”?!?!? "The Corner" was so dope, one day I explained it to my man Jas as the “perfect hip hop song.” Now after hearing that and “The Food” I was expecting nothing short of another classic from Com (yeah, I think “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” is a classic) and that’s just what we got from “Be”…another classic.
From the first bass note to the last kid talking about what they wanna be when they grow up, “Be” is a certified classic in my eyes. Kanye and Dilla came with the beats and we got Com at his lyrical best post Medusa. Com touches on everything from sex “said I was bait, for her to master” on “Go”, infidelity “he said I’m bad/not as bad as Eric Benet” on “Faithful” and Com enen stayed in the vein of his ill storytelling jawns with “Testify”, “they stated he was guilty on all charges/she shaking looking like she took it the hardest/a spin artist, she brought her face up laughing/that’s when the prosecutor realized what happened/all they speaking her mind testifying and crying/when this b-tch did the crime…the Queenpen.” There’s only one song on this album that I don’t love which is “Real People” but on a good day I can even deal with that jawn. Besides that one song I can keep this album on repeat for days which to me, equals a certified classic.
My favorite song on the album is “Faithful.” I LOVE ‘Ye’s drum programming on this along with the DJ Rogers sample he used. And at the end when John Legend comes in on the piano and him and Bilal get on their back and fourth EPMD jawn…classic.
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