Common: Just Let Him BE

 

By Vic Everett LOS ANGELES, California -- The songs of Common age like fine wine. The East Coast-based artist prefers to record dozens of songs, then allows them to marinade while touring the globe. On the eve of his latest project, BE (Universal), though, Common explains why he decided to change his formula for success.	Common prays that fans will understand his new CD BE.
"To me, BE describes the energy of my new album," Common said. “Be represents the energy that can be transferred from me to other people through the music, and [it] represents the fun and freedom in the music, which is cohesively linked under one presentation. I think you can close your eyes and picture a lot of different colors when you hear it, but it still has a certain darkness."
Common showcases the unique style on BE, which helped him become one of the more popular artists in the music industry.	The project is Common’s sixth project recorded specifically for rap music fans, which means tunes found on the new Common CD weren’t created with the pop market in mind. Still, Common says that he had an obligation to meet the demands of fans who craved something different. After signing with Universal Records and settling into the rhythm of long-distance fatherhood (he's the proud parent of a seven-year-old daughter, Omoye Assata Lynn, named in the spirit of exiled black activist Assata Shakur), Common unleashed 2000's noticeably more musical Like Water for Chocolate.
The album was a versatile mix of gravity; sardonic humor and beats that spawned the Grammy-nominated single "The Light." Like Water for Chocolate also signaled Common's emergence as a member of the Soulquarians-a collective of musicians that includes Roots drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, beat-maker Jay Dee and keyboardist James Poyser, among others-which reconvened in January 2001 to produce the bulk of Electric Circus, Common’s previous hit CD released in 2002.   CONTINUED