Common's back with the follow-up to Be, and to the surprise of no one, he's sticking with what worked last time around: lots of sick Kanye beats, no Electric Circus-type freakiness, and just a few choice guest spots. Kanye even gets back to his infamous sample-based roots, biting Gil Scott-Herron for "The People(1)," Dorothy Ashby on "Start The Show(2)" and, uh, Common himself on "The Game(3)." Dilla cooks up yet another posthumous beat for "So Far To Go(4)," with the rare (nowadays, at least) guest spot from D'Angelo. Also check out Kanye guesting on the sample-free "Southside(5)," and the weirdest team-up of the year with Common and Lily Allen trading verses on "Drivin' Me Wild(6)." Double vinyl; 12 tracks total.

reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red