Be

Released on Geffen and Kanye West's GOOD Music, Be was Common's first album for Geffen. It followed Electric Circus, which had been left without promotion after MCA was absorbed into Geffen in July 2003. West was executive producer and produced nine of the eleven tracks. J Dilla produced Love Is... and It's Your World (Part 1 & 2), the second with James Poyser and Karriem Riggins. Common said he named the album Be so that he could be who he was, in the moment, without trying too hard. West made many beats that Common turned down, and some later turned up on West's Late Registration. The Food, which Common performed on Chappelle's Show on 3 March 2004, is on the album in that live version, with Dave Chappelle's introduction.

It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 copies sold in the US in its first week, reached number one on the US R&B/hip-hop and rap albums charts, and was certified platinum in 2025. Metacritic gives it 83 from 26 reviews. Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork wrote that each verse's intricacies became clearer with repeated listening, but thought the Chappelle's Show cut of The Food pulled the listener out of the album's mood. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian called it a lean and vibrant masterclass in hip-hop fundamentals, though not quite the best hip-hop album of 2005, which he gave to West. XXL gave it its top rating. At the 48th Grammy Awards it was nominated for Best Rap Album, with The Corner, They Say and Testify nominated in other categories. A 20th anniversary edition on 23 May 2025 added remixes, unreleased material and instrumentals.