Common

Much new rap seems to have lost the art of old-school and turned to unoriginal, mindless bile. But Common, one of Chicago’s finest street poets, brings heart and soul back to the game, putting even the old-school to shame. God, faith in the future, and hooks that’ll stick in your head for days make this album a polished diamond in the rap-scene gravel. Be has style, as well as positive, uplifting messages for fans of “poetry in motion.” Tracks like “The Food,” recorded live on Chappelle’s Show, and “It’s Your World,” an invocation of all the possibilities of childhood dreams, are masterfully made. Actually, so are all nine of the other songs. I’ve listened to Be nonstop for a week, and it gets better and better. The world might do likewise if everyone else listened, too.