The Secret to Common’s Comeback Album

Get 15 tracks to sample on Tracklib for free: www.tracklib.com/diggingthegreats
Song Sampled: www.tracklib.com/music/artist...
Thank you to Derrick Hodge for talking with me about his work on this album - Check out the FULL hour long interview here: • Derrick Hodge (Bassist... or on the Digging The Greats Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
This was an incredible conversation spanning his career, current projects, and talking very deeply about music.
Check out more from Derrick Hodge here:
derrickhodge.com/
dhodgeworld...
open.spotify.com/artist/1jvBV...
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SOURCES
www.okayplayer.com/originals/... remembered%2C “From the first,say%2C "Man...
rockthebells.com/articles/cla...
www.mvremix.com/urban/intervi...
• Then & Now: Common On ...
TOPICS COVERED
Common
Be
Kanye
The Corner
The Last Poets
J Dilla
Marvin Gaye
Soulquarians
GOOD Music
John Legend
Derrick Hodge
#hiphop #musichistory #common

[@diggingthegreats]

Get 15 tracks to sample on Tracklib for free: www.tracklib.com/diggingthegreats Song Sampled: www.tracklib.com/music/artists/soul-dog/cant-stop-loving-you

[@dreamulator]

dope vid!

[@WuntaykTimmy1]

Daupe! Vid 🦜

[@kerronsmith6168]

Bro. Big fan. Do you think 9th could have been a native tongue and/or soulquarian?

[@amandlaxoki]

@@kerronsmith6168 great comment/quiz my brother. IMO, 9th is perfect fit for both collectives 🙏🏾❤️💯

[@peace_of_mind_00]

...goto the corner & testify or just be. Then go home and be faithful cause love is ...like being in the chi city or telling ya son it's your world.

[@Trrack10]

Be (intro) will forever be in rotation

[@diggingthegreats]

Same 🔥

[@rayneozier]

Such a great record. One of my favorite Kanye beats. Be (intro) and The Corner are near perfect instrumentally

[@VincentFree]

100%

[@chinortega3]

The corner beat is crraazzzzyyyy

[@webinfront]

That song sounds like triumph and freedom

[@richardpayton9671]

What I liked about this album is that there was no filler. Just 11 tracks, no army of guest rappers, just a concentrated 43 minutes of soulful quality.

[@Happeninlad]

It's a great point. I remember that time just coming into what I liked in music and I always wanted more and more (in terms of album sizes). But then I realised that albums with a more common outlook was what I wanted. Listening to albums rather than individual tracks was what felt right. The larger albums just couldn't bring that. This is one that really struck a cord.

[@lowlowseesee]

just like the film Predator. its lean.

[@jennyneon]

Common's "Be" is just amazing. My favorite song on "Be" is so hard to pick but Real People is so underrated, the sample chop is so simple yet so effective. Kanye, J Dilla & Common did an incredible job on this.

[@im2dirty4u]

Yo same here. Be is one of my favorite tracks!

[@prodbyjuneg]

one of my top 5 albums all time no matter the genre .... perfect

[@Trill104]

“Love Is” is my favorite song off the album. One of the greatest Marvin Gaye samples ever.

[@nickpeitchev7763]

The closing track just means too much to me

[@dannicosworld8252]

It’s your world is a favourite of mine

[@thomasnelson5758]

It's pretty crazy how two of my favorite hip hop albums of all time (Late Registration and Be) were released in the same year and produced by the same person on his own label running with the same creative circle. Seriously. GOOD Music forever

[@diggingthegreats]

🔥🔥🔥

[@prodbyjuneg]

All tracks produced by Ye except for the 2 by Dilla... masterpiece

[@mikelewicki1557]

Makes sense more when you think about it. Many of the tracks on Be and Late Registration were made during the same studio sessions w/ Kanye

[@lyndxnjoel6917]

Yeezy the GOAT.

[@masilomoshesh1475]

Have both on vinyl. It just sounds different with the living room sound system🔥. Just need College dropout.

[@user-qv7uj4ys6w]

I always loved the spoken word Common’s father does on his albums. It’s Your World is one of my favorite tracks ever. So beautiful.

[@HelloMyNameIsCody]

That’s commons father ? Woah thanks for the hiphop 101 info sir !!

[@Bramv]

​@@HelloMyNameIsCodyCommon has a song with his pops on a lot of his albums. it's really cool

[@blusef1]

Woah I didn’t know that was commons father!

[@smanqele]

@@blusef1 I even think in earlier albums his father's closing piece was called "Pop's Rap"

[@TheRealLeonardWashington]

Yea it’s your world has aged beautifully. Easily my favorite song on BE. Side note: Common’s pops is also at the end of Retrospect 4 life talking about wanting to whoop Jesse Jackson’s ass 🤣💀

[@bladerunner27x]

As a Chicagoan, “BE” is an album that is a time capsule of Chicago during the 70’s and 80’s. Common is talking about places, people and situations with soulful music, that where lived experiences. “The Corner” and “Faithful”, 🔥🔥🔥

[@pervertedalchemist9944]

"Be" was huge comeback for Common. It was one of those projects that you had to have in your collection at that time.

[@fauxdauteur]

"It's Your World" is probably my favorite song of all time. The inspirational message, J Dilla's soulful production, and Common's lyricism are just so perfect. And hearing the kids at the end saying what they wanted to do when they grew up always makes me smile. Love that unbridled sense of hope, which I feel can easily be lost in adulthood if you let it.

[@tlev9602]

Came to the comments to see if anyone else was gonna mention that track!!! I've played that track Millions of times I'm sure since I bought that album.

[@fauxdauteur]

@@tlev9602 Oh snap, great minds think alike then haha. When did you buy the album/discover 'It's Your World'? 'Be' and Common's previous works were before my time, but in the past couple years, I've been going down the J Dilla rabbit hole. I'm trying to check out every project he's worked on to expand my hip-hop palette lol.

[@MajorG13]

This track deserves its own vid lol

[@mike.tag.autosport]

Do we have an update on lil bro who said he wanted to be a duck?! 🥹🥹🥹🥰

[@Sjcstro84]

It's your world is my favorite as well.

[@paul-scanlan]

The John Mayer session that produced the “go” in Go also led to Bittersweet Poetry, a track intended for Late Registration that got altered and changed to a Japan-exclusive bonus track for Graduation. It’s on KZbin somewhere; one of my favourite Kanye songs, well worth a listen.

[@diggingthegreats]

🎶Bittersweeeeeet - you're gonna be the death of me - I don't want you, but I need you - I love you and hate you at the very same tiiiiime 🎶

[@x_VineM_x]

On the MTV promo, John Mayer flexin on Ye about his watch. Lol

[@JohnDoe-vc5qb]

@@x_VineM_xit means he’s more stuntastic 🥲

[@abrashio]

Man I loved that track. Graduation had a plethora of tracks floating out there. Collecting them all, finding good rips of them, and burning a CD of them all made the Ultimate Graduation disc

[@ConchienceClothing]

@@diggingthegreatshave to be a real fan to remember this track

[@ojace7606]

"Be" to me is Common's own Illmatic, both albums didn't exceed 12 tracks with songs that have great replay quality like a sequel, also there are couple of songs with relatable theme from two different artists telling their own experiences; (chi-city = new york state of mind), (it's your world = the world is your) (the corner = represent) there are couple of other songs with similarities, it is like the Bible and the Quaran, You can't say you truly appreciate one without appreciating the other for real...

[@davido3109]

😲😳!!! Thanks for the infos!!! wow wow!!!

[@AGETheGawdYT]

Dope. I compare it to Illmatic also. Imo, 2 albums that are just so concise, so perfect, no skips and have many similarities. Honestly, I might even say my Top 2 Hip Hop Albums of all time are Illmatic and Be.

[@ojace7606]

@@AGETheGawdYT you’re right Illmatic and Basement Evolution are amongst the few hip hop album that’s so appealing not because of their commerciality rather because of their depth and clarity...

[@izzo4185]

Resurrection had better bars , was more hip hop than any of common releases IMHO resurrection was truly commons illmatic plus it had the classic I used to love her

[@ojace7606]

@@izzo4185 “I used to love her” is a masterpiece for real, Resurrection is a great album too, “Basement Evolution” is mastery art. Nas One Love defined love behind bars, Common’s Love Is took it a step further to the underground love. What’s that thing about Resurrection is more hip hop nah! Common has always been into jazz feel the J Dilla effect, Ye only added his soulful effect.

[@arky_tech]

Totally underrated album, Kanye soul samples were so good during that period, common really felt lyrically refined and dope concepts/call backs to the songs.. hard to find albums that check so many boxes

[@diggingthegreats]

It's so good!

[@jjbing3]

It introduced a lot of people to Common. I only knew a few songs by him such a “Come Close” and “The Light.”

[@steve_santiago]

Such a great album. Both Kanye and Common were at the height of their respective super powers.

[@JonathanConda]

Such a dope breakdown…but for true music heads we gotta preach how incredible Electric Circus is. Commons opinion seems to be motivated by record sales and public opinion. In 30 years we’ll be coming back to it like “Here, My Dear”

[@thaxtonwaters8561]

Common has been my favorite M.C. since 1993. I kinda lost track with him around the Finding Forever album but he's still in my top 5.

[@Wrekkshoppe]

You should listen to his 'Black America Again' album, released back in 2016. It's a really good return to form for him. He's rhyming like he's HUNGRY, and the production is lovely. I consider it his new classic. Give it a listen.

[@SkySplitterInk]

@@Wrekkshoppe Agreed another great one for sure.

[@BlackDrac82]

The Dreamer, The Believer is great, very underrated

[@KingCalla]

One of the most underrated rap albums of all time. An absolute masterpiece.

[@dokksavage8286]

Bro, you need to breakdown “It’s Your World”. The whole album is a soulful palette of resurgence.

[@joedellava7805]

Showing how Dilla samples that Marvin track is a testament to his stand alone next level producing twenty years ago. Thanks for breaking that down 🤘

[@dreambrother80]

This album is borderline flawless. It should be mentioned more as a top 20 greatest hip-hop album ever made. Awesome breakdown video as usual 🙌

[@braadsaad]

Be is such a beautifully human album. The themes covered in songs such as “Faithful”, “Love is…” and “Real people” are explored in a heartfelt and earnest manner. It’s hard not to be moved or inspired by this album particularly the intro and outro tracks. Not to mention how the rhythm and atmosphere of the instrumentals match the lyrics. Everything about this just feels so soulful, deeply honest and passionate. I wish there was an instrumental version of this album. Anyway brilliant video as usual it feels like privilege to be able to view work, outstanding content.👍✌️

[@zainaquil]

Those are my favorite songs Kanye and Dillas peak production nothing will beat the soul samples on that album and commons lyricisms

[@JohnnyBananas0]

I listened to this album probably more than any other. It was on repeat for a year or two. It’s still one of the only albums that’s downloaded on my phone and plays in my car when I don’t start Spotify

[@dmug]

When I heard Common say “Yes…” on the intro for Be, it was like an affirmation that this was the Common of old. There’s so much I could say about this album but I’m gonna go listen to that interview now…

[@diggingthegreats]

Full interview with Derrick Hodge dropping Monday (just too much to edit and release on one day haha) really great convo - more on Be, his career working with Glasper, Mos Def, Jill Scott - such a great conversation

[@dmug]

@@diggingthegreats Understandable.

[@adamstickelbault]

⁠@@diggingthegreatsdrop the link

[@adamstickelbault]

@@diggingthegreatsand tell Derrick that they need to do a live recreation of the “Be” album for an upcoming anniversary

[@jayden.6]

my Dad was Common’s best friend in college. this makes me happy to see and hear. ❤

[@KJon25]

Be is an album I feel gets overlooked at times. It's amazing and fits so well with Finding Forever.

[@wojteksocha2002]

It's your world (especially part 2) makes my cry every time I listen to it, my god this album has soooo much heart and soul ❤❤

[@Tlhakxza]

Man to me LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is COMMON'S best album of all,Be is second. How that album didn't even get a nod by the powers that be at the Grammys is truly beyond me. I am gonna bump both albums tomorrow✌🏿🇿🇦 much love to you and your channel brother.

[@izzo4185]

Resurrection has better bars batter beats

[@FormalFilmsProductions]

This is one of my favorite hip hop albums. The production throughout is just hypnotic and chill

[@yungmu9271]

You made me go back and listen to it for like the first time in 6-7 years. Good God, the album is actually FLAWLESS from Be to It’s Your World!

[@kedwin79]

IMHO both Be and Finding Forever are his best albums. I cannot skip a single track.

[@pgil13]

i’m so glad you did this album. this album has been on rotation since i discovered it in 2006

[@CDMESD]

Yo, when that vocal sample by the Temprees comes in….. whew!!! That was a phenomenal breakdown. I was glued to this video.

[@diggingthegreats]

🙏🙏🙏

[@Prodbykayyso]

Man Common Like My Favourite Old School Rapper so much maturity behind his words , thanks for this

[@diggingthegreats]

🙏🙏🙏

[@joelhenderson2837]

That's my favorite Common album.. it is a masterpiece.

[@jsaichek1220]

One of my favorite albums of All-Time! This came out my senior year of High School. I live not far from Chicago and I have family there. This album soundtracked some of my most memorable trips to the city that year. I played this album so much that I could rap it word-for-word from memory without it even playing.

[@Becauseimme]

Yes the samples! This album reminds me of my ex wife because it came out when we first met and we would play “BE” all day err day. It’s bittersweet to hear that album and I can’t get through it without dropping a few😢.

[@DJAUDIO1]

That era was Unparalleled. This has stood the test of time. Amazing video. ❤

[@barbedwirefire]

this album REALLY takes me back to a moment in time. A lot of music does that to me…but this album….is like an actual Time Machine. So wild.

[@zeitgeistx5239]

My fav album. I thought I was the only one who loved Be and the Corner.

[@davido3109]

The food live!!!

[@ScottThePisces]

The concepts for every video you do are always so amazing brother! I LOVED this album, and basically every single piece of music you've covered on this channel. Props to you bro!

[@RellTez]

Be is my favorite album OF ALL TIME!! So happy it’s getting the love it deserves

[@enzigenes]

This album got me through college. Great album and great times.

[@1c2reative]

I was in highschool when "Be" was released. The feeling listening to it for the first time, the verses and the production...right in the feels. Album is nothing short of a masterpiece, till this day. Long live hip-hop🤍

[@benyaq]

Dude your channel is awesome and I absolutely love how you are essentially giving a lesson on soul music!

[@leonbattle5256]

Thank you for breaking this down so well. These albums that are so nostalgic deserve this type of attention today. Just warms my soul. Such a classic

[@AkramDeX]

This is AMAZING!! I always felt like the Be album was not talked abut enough, thank you !

[@cocoatea4369]

One of my FAVORITE hip-hop albums, It's Your World is also one of the absolute greatest things I've ever heard. Incredible storytelling & editing as usual. So cool that you talked to Hodge as well!

[@DOSOLTD]

I enjoy watching you do your thing with theses videos and breakdowns with the research , knowing in the future many will dig through my albums and find so many samples they enjoy!

[@georgemam3764]

Hearing The Food - Live was what got me in to hip-hop, I've been wanting to see a video on this album for a long time. Keep up the good work man, you're killing it!

[@beatbuildersstudio]

Another great video. I love how you break down these tracks and topics. Your love for hip hop always shines through.

[@johntaua]

Thanks a lot for bringing me back to the times I’ve been listening to this album over and over again. Truly a masterpiece.

[@Jarles666]

I love all your videos so much. Thank you for giving new life to these samples and all the music you cover. Thanks for spreading the good vibes

[@floopeygoober446]

Will always be a special album for me. My first step into common’s catalogue after hearing that verse on late registration on the Gil Scott heron beat. Prime ye and dilla production. Hugely under appreciated piece of work

[@benjaminmtang]

you just so eloquently articulated all the elements i love about this album (and more!) thank you

[@lupin3sei992]

love your channel ! Appreciate your analysis and history of my fav hip hop songs and artists from 90s - 2000s Thankyou❤️

[@AbramIs...]

Was about to say that Common didn't need a comeback album. I was about to say everything he's done is a certified banger if not a classic. Then I realized I had completely forgotten about Electric Circus.

[@zurik77]

You think UMC is better than Electric circus?

[@AbramIs...]

@@zurik77 TBH, I kind of stopped listening to Common after Finding Forever, so I plead ignorance on that one.

[@zurik77]

@@AbramIs... Lol I feel you his best material is all pre finding forever anyways you ain't missing anything too crazy

[@kaylabey]

well without it, come close wouldn’t be here so i guess it worked out 😂

[@bangarJb]

Love this!! Such a huge Common fan and love seeing these kinds of vids! PLEASE PLEASE do Finding Forever next

[@adrianmarroquin7773]

I just remember a couple months ago when you had like 2K followers this feels great to see this is my favorite music channel

[@Michael_0589]

Thank you for this. Love is is one of my favourite songs of all time. Finding out how it was made just blows my mind. Crazy how we would bump this on a friends iPod on campus in the land of the Zulu. Mad love for this channel.

[@VeegovonDOOM]

The color palette of where you record is fantastic. It's super warm.

[@DarrinNoNAME]

Man, this channel grew so fast.. congrats man. Another great video

[@WuntaykTimmy1]

I was juss listening to Go! At work. All the old people were like "Oooo what's this" Def gotta show em this video. All praises 🗣️ 🦜

[@diggingthegreats]

🙏🙏

[@STAFFZMUSIC]

Love these videos , keep up the hard work, love how in depth you go on every video

[@TheSabinCole]

Love how you breakdown the history of everything, great vid!

[@sebastianm9665]

Thank you so much for this video , my favorite album of all time deserves its flowers

[@PJPetersen]

I love how much I learn every time I watch your videos! I'm always sending these to my friends to put them on game! Keep it up boss! 🙌

[@djjus-e-nuff8970]

Amazing work as always bro! Shoutout to Serato Stems. An absolute GAME CHANGER!!!

[@lisamixx]

I love that u did this!!! This my fav album ever!!!!

[@im2dirty4u]

More Common?! hell yeah lets goooooooooooo!!!

[@asavisuals]

Another great video man🔥🔥🔥 I love this style of music discussion. It's like a case study format but with a big practical element.

[@chodagreat7876]

Once or twice a year i come across channels that make my soul glow ❤

[@jeffjohnson2767]

Definitely a timeless hip hop masterpiece. “Be” will never get old.

[@92alpha13]

I remember get a Maxi single of Ed OG & the Bulldogs for Love comes and goes. On the b side was the song Easy Comes Easy Goes by the Last Poets. I think this pre-dates Common’s The Corner. It was my first time hearing them and I had no clue who they were and was shocked by how long they been in the game. Great review as usual!

[@AustinGigstead]

I really like the one he made after too, the production sounds super creative and for me is a no skip

[@diggingthegreats]

Finding Forever is also 🔥

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

Yeah that was hard, too. The People is one of my favorite beats ever. Such a beautiful instrumental

[@djseanp]

Such a good, dense video that points out all the right jewels. Thank you! This is the channel I aspire to grow towards. Props!

[@jnac216]

Be will forever be a classic album

[@zoradaughter]

Be is my favorite Common album. ❤

[@J.Artistry]

Great video.. This has been one of my favorite albums since I heard it my sophomore year in highschool. This is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time forreal.

[@kmxrie]

Wish I knew what the (I’m assuming copyright-free) background song was that’s playing in the very, very beginning of the video. I hear it everywhere but never know the name for it! Besides that, another amazing video as always. I’m so happy I stumbled upon this channel last year. I love being educated more on the history, breakdown and production of music. The editing, the set up and structure of the video, the personality and charisma, all of it is so - perfect. It’s a crime that this channel doesn’t have more subscribers and views; can’t wait for that day to come!

[@stephenstrussvideo]

Man, Derrick Hodge is a real one. Love all of his work, especially with Glasper.

[@zaystation.]

Heard The Food -Live for the first time watching Dave Chappelle with my brother and I remember being so enamoured i listened to this album for weeks, being born when I was my first exposure to Common was when he played that guy in Wanted. This is a great video

[@ttitschinger]

This is one of my favorites of your videos

[@tsientific]

Just found this channel and I’m in love. This era was special. And I loved Electric Circus too 😂

[@fish21_]

been waiting for a video on this album an absolute underrsted classic💜

[@diggingthegreats]

It's so good 🔥

[@banknoteproductions9302]

Great channel fam.keep em coming

[@adamg4701]

These video need to be longer! Such dope content

[@Yolocheese]

This video was amazing, thank you for providing conent like this my brother. God Bless everyone

[@dannyjamz23]

So dope that your using stems to show us all these what if’s Man your doing amazing work

[@alchemistrpm82]

This is a gem of a channel. New sub

[@CED.Dweller]

🎉🎉❤❤ One of my recurring favorite albums…and Common turned out to be repeatedly one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Can’t say that for every artist…

[@allpositivenetwork]

Another great video. It's crazy you picked that sample from Tracklib because that's the one No Id used for Common's "Hungry". And that was my favorite joint from One Day it'll all Make Sense

[@diggingthegreats]

🤯 didn't catch that - I was just digging through and picked one - love the connection 🔥

[@kaylabey]

this is so INCREDIBLY thought out !!

[@moriontax]

Loved this Album and It’s Your World as a literal internet kid growing up! Never left my rotation and played it sparingly because everytime I did the outro would always give me goosebumps…Loved this album man

[@Champagneonly]

An INCREDIBLE album!!! Another great video family!! … I remember John legend winning a Grammy and saying he knew it would be a great year cause he got nominated for his vocals on “ they say “ which was my favorite song on this album

[@rapfreak7797]

Be is my favorite Common album, just solid all the way through from concepts, to lyrics, to delivery, to production.

[@juliusreed6233]

Bro you are absolutely thorough love this channel and your content 🥇

[@darkodasefx]

Thanks for this video. I really enjoyed it! BE is still in my top 5 all time albums!

[@yvanmuhizi2890]

I love this album so much, ive listened to it so many times. And im sure that i will be coming to this video many times and try to understand Be more. Great CONTENT 👍 👌

[@TheOriginal009]

Man I really wish The Food has a studio version but the Chappelle Show cheering kinda adds to the flair of it.

[@tshore0601]

Another great video. Haven't digged into much Common but always loved his features. Never forget that real rappers are hard to find like the remote.

[@lu.smoove]

Fun facts for all my hip-hop nerds, a young J. Cole can actually be spotted in the crowd at the Soulquarian block party…crazy inspiring 🙏🏾