The Common album primarily and executively produced by Kanye West is Be. Released in 2005, it was Common’s sixth studio album and a major turning point in his career.
West handled most of the production, while J Dilla contributed additional production on selected material. The partnership combined Common’s thoughtful, socially aware writing with West’s sample-based sound, helping create a concise album built around soul samples, live-feeling arrangements, and tightly focused rap performances.
Be followed Common’s 2002 album Electric Circus, whose experimental direction had received a more mixed commercial response. The new album’s warmer, more direct sound helped reestablish Common with a broader audience. Its songs include “The Corner,” “Go!,” “Testify,” and “They Say.”
The other options are Common albums from nearby points in his discography, which makes them plausible traps. Like Water for Chocolate preceded Be, Electric Circus came immediately before it, and Finding Forever followed it in 2007. Be was released by Geffen Records and GOOD Music on May 24, 2005.