"I rap with the Passion of Christ, Ni**a, cross me!" BE isn't exactly a back-to-basics LP in the vein of his classic work for Relativity – but it is indeed a return to a focused, genuinely soulful, no BS approach – and it's a very welcome one at that! It seems like Com was a bit affected by some of the criticism folks had for the spacious, astral Electric Circus LP – if you ask us Common had no reason to apologize, but we'd be lyin' if we said we weren't hoping for another batch of tracks that sound like they could have been written on a front porch on the southside of Chicago. This is indeed that record – 12 tracks, few guest appearances, and a warm, consistent sound all the way through. There's a 3 track span on this album, from "Chi-City" through "Real People", that's seriously close to perfection. Welcome home, Common! Ruggedly produced by Kanye West, with a couple of stellar production contributions from Jay Dee! Other tracks include "The Corner" feat Last Poets, "Go!", "Faithful", "Testify", "Love Is. . .", "The Food (live)" (this great track has been circulating for a while since it was performed on Chappelle's Show, and we're thrilled Common and Kanye had the good sense to include it on the album), "They Say" featuring John Legend and "It's Your World (Part 1 &2)". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful revolution from Common – a set that's maybe got more of a message than most of his music of the past decade – but which also comes across with a more interesting musical palette as well! Part of the album's sound comes from heavy contributions from PJ – singer Paris Jones, whose well-crafted soul vocals make for a nice match with Common's rhymes – as PJ appears on six of the album's nine tracks, and could well be billed as a co-star on the set! Other guests include Lenny Kravitz Chuck D, Black Thought, and Stevie Wonder – on titles that include "What Do You Say", "Say Peace", "Fallin", "A Place In This World", "Riot In My Mind", "Don't Forget Who You Are", and "Courageous". LP, Vinyl record album

A righteous continuation of the first revolution encouraged by Common in 2021 – and a set that takes all the message and spirit of the initial entry, and opens things up to an even more collaborative project – thanks to guest work from artists who include Seun Kuti, Black Thought, Marcus King, PJ, and others – all woven together in a record that's got all the positivity that you might expect from its cover. Karriem Riggins produced – and titles include "A Beautiful Chicago Kid", "Star Of The Gang", "Imagine", "When We Move", "Majesty", "Set It Free", "Poetry", and "Saving Grace". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic third album from Common – the record that really catapulted him on his way to stardom, yet a set that still retains all the best aspects of his early days in Chicago! Part of that quality comes from the superb production of No ID, who gets a bit of local help from Dug Infinite and Twilite Tone – all talents who have that special, sophisticated vibe that was really starting to flow from Chicago out to the rest of the world – and which here is perfect for the well-crafted lyrics from Common! The balance is great – never too hard or heavy, yet also not trying to ape either a west coast quirky or New York native tongues approach. This time around, there's also plenty of guests on board, of the sort that Common would soon be rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis – a lineup that includes The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Canibus, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, and De La Soul. Yet throughout, the vibe is Common's and Chicago's – something that's always made us very proud to be from the same scene at the same time. Titles include "1 2 Many", "Reminding Me Of Sef", "Invocation", "Stolen Moments", "My City", "Real Nigga Quotes", and "Retrospect For Life". LP, Vinyl record album

In 1994 when everyone seemed to be turning hardcore, Common Sense wasn't having it – and gave the world this superb second album that formed a key part of his soon-to-be huge legacy! The album's very near and dear to our Chicago-born hearts – and is filled with introspective tales of growing up and living on the South Side, given perfect support by the production of No ID – a real overlooked hero of this generation! The album was made with little regard to trends of the time, and that's given it a timeless quality that really holds on over the years – maybe even more so than some of Common's later, bigger records. The set features two guest appearances by Y-Not aka Twilight Tone – and titles include "I Used To Love HER", "Book Of Life", "Chapter 13", "Nuthin' To Do", "In My Own World (Check The Method)", "Maintaining", "Communism", "Watermelon", "Thisisme", and "Sum Sh*t I Wrote". (And bonus trivia – Chicago station WHPK, a breeding ground for Dusty Groove, even gets a mention on the set!). This excellent 2LP deluxe vinyl reissue includes a side featuring 3 bonus tracks – "Resurrection 95", "Resurrection (Large Professor mix)", and "Resurrection (Extra P rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great later Blue Note session from Stanley Turrentine – a small combo set that's almost a return to the format of earlier years! The group's a strong one – and features Shirley Scott on organ, Jimmy Ponder on guitar, and Idris Muhammad on drums – playing in a style that's subtler and more laidback than his work with Lou Donaldson, but which still has a nice funk undercurrent. Stan's horn is in wonderful form on the record – really taking advantage of the longer tracks to open up with a mellow and exploratory tone – and the team of Scott and Ponder especially sounds great next to each other on the album. Tracks include "Boogaloo", "Buster Brown", and "Common Touch". LP, Vinyl record album

The lovely Aaliyah left our planet all too soon, and left behind a number of unissued tracks as well – material intended for a future album, and which was combined here with a few other tracks to make for a posthumous tribute to her too-short legacy in R&B! The practice is, unfortunately, a common one in the worlds of R&B and hip hop – and although the set's maybe not a standard album by Aaliyah, it's certainly a great addition to the lineup. Titles include "Miss You", "Come Over", "Rock The Boat", "Erica Kane", "We Need A Resolution", "Got To Give It Up (rmx)", "Back & Forth", "Are You That Somebody", "I Care 4 U", "One In A Million", "At Your Best", "Don't Know What To Tell Ya", "Try Again", and "All I Need". LP, Vinyl record album

The first full-length from Mos Def and Talib Kweli together as Black Star – a benchmark moment in hip hop history, and one of the finest duo vocal hip hip records of the 90s – and one of the best ever on Rawkus! In hindsight, it's all the more rewarding given Talib Kweli's longevity in proud, mic skills centric hip hop and while highs and lows of Mos Def's work as the years rolled along – and it still stands as strong (then) underground hip hop that takes on the ghetto fabulous themes of the day and well beyond. Stand out cuts include "Definition" "Twice Inna Lifetime", "Children's Story" – the Slick Rick classic redone along the lines of Jeru's "One Day" – and "Respiration" featuring Common Sense – and other tracks include "Brown Skin Lady", "Yo Yeah", "Thieves In The Night", "Twice Inna Lifetime and more. 13 in all. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer collection of work from a group who are very near and dear to our hearts – a soulful combo who emerged from the UK scene at the end of the 80s, and really helped bring back a classic sort of warmth to soul music! Brand New Heavies were a funk combo at the core, but they were also graced with two great female singers – initially Jay Ella Ruth, then the mighty N'Dea Davenport, the singer who really helped the group soar over here on the US scene! These days, well-crafted, non-programmed soul music is a common thing – but were it not for BNH, and their contemporaries Incognito, the style might have fallen out of favor altogether – especially during that early 90s era when R&B was still pretty heavy on keyboards, samples, and beats! This double-length set is filled with classics from the group – titles that include "Spend Some Time", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", "Saturday Nite", "People Get Ready", "You Are The Universe", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Mind Trips", "You Can Do It", "Brother Sister", and their great take on "Apparently Nothin" – and their hip hop cut "Bonafied Funk" with Main Source and Large Professor. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album of mellow soul tracks! The record is Lou Courtney's masterpiece – and it's a jam-packed set filled with great tracks that rank right up there with classic 70s work by artists like Marvin Gaye, Leroy Hutson, or Leon Ware! Leon Pendarvis handled most of the arrangements – and the record's got a wonderfully full soul sound – with a mix of moody keyboard-driven groovers and ballads – all topped by excellent vocals from Lou, miles ahead of any work he did in the early days! The best thing, though, is the songwriting, as these tracks rank right up there with the best underground mellow soul we can think of – sophisticated yet not soppy, filled with soulful lyrics about love and losing it, never giving into cliches of other soul from the time. A real dream of an album – and filled with great tracks like "I Will If You Will", "I'm In Need Of Love", "Just To Let Him Break Your Heart", "Somebody New Is Loving On You", and "The Common Broken Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

De La Soul take on the world of hip hop with a record that's very much at the top of their game – leaner in production than before, but at a level that also brings a bit more bite to their rhymes – a good thing too, as the group take on some of their contemporaries as they assess the state of hip hop in the shadow of the 21st Century! The shift from previous records is almost like that taken by Tribe Called Quest on Low End Theory – focusing their music, while still throwing in some of their trademark skits – and maybe even making the group sound more serious, yet never in some of the "too hard" styles that they rail against on the set. The set has two key moments for the up-and-coming generation – great cut "The Bizness", with a guest appearance by Common, and "Big Brother Beat" with help from Mos Def – next to other tracks that include "Supa Emcees", "Itzsoweezee", and "Betta Listen". LP, Vinyl record album

A lasting classic from Digable Planets, and a record that really helped push the bar forward for hip hop at the time – at a level that's still kept this one strong all these many years later! Digable Planets weren't the first group to bring in some influence from jazz to their work – but they definitely found the right balance here, and a way of setting things up that was real and organic, instead of maybe just a nodding reference to the past that always felt a bit out of place. The use of live instrumentation next to samples is also key to the record's sound – common now, but pretty important at the time, especially in a world of declining sample access. The trio of Butterfly, Ladybug, and Doodlebug have a wonderful way of tripping through the lyrics – and titles include "The May 4th Movement Starring Doodlebug", "Black Ego", "Dog It", "Jettin", "Borough Check", "Highing Fly", "Dial 7", "The Art Of Easing", "KBs Alley", "Graffiti", "Blowing Down", "9th Wonder", and "For Corners". LP, Vinyl record album

A lasting classic from Digable Planets, and a record that really helped push the bar forward for hip hop at the time – at a level that's still kept this one strong all these many years later! Digable Planets weren't the first group to bring in some influence from jazz to their work – but they definitely found the right balance here, and a way of setting things up that was real and organic, instead of maybe just a nodding reference to the past that always felt a bit out of place. The use of live instrumentation next to samples is also key to the record's sound – common now, but pretty important at the time, especially in a world of declining sample access. The trio of Butterfly, Ladybug, and Doodlebug have a wonderful way of tripping through the lyrics – and titles include "The May 4th Movement Starring Doodlebug", "Black Ego", "Dog It", "Jettin", "Borough Check", "Highing Fly", "Dial 7", "The Art Of Easing", "KBs Alley", "Graffiti", "Blowing Down", "9th Wonder", and "For Corners". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Evans is working with a really wonderful trio here – one that features Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums – both budding young modernists who help Evans reach some new sounds on the set! The record starts out with a groove that's perhaps more inside than you'd expect – but it then quickly moves into the sort of sensitively-played numbers that really made Evans a key force in jazz during the early 60s – supported by equally personal work from Peacock and Motian, who both clearly feel free to move beyond common piano trio cliches. Tracks include "Dancing In The Dark", "Always", "Little Lulu", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Everything Happens To Me", and "For Heaven's Sake". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most righteous music we've ever heard from keyboardist Robert Glasper – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given his legacy of albums over the years! This project feels different than the previous Black Radio releases by Glasper – different than his initial blending of jazz modes and contemporary soul – and maybe more strongly driven by mission and purpose, with a quality that really comes through right from the very first note! Glasper's piano and keyboards still have that strong sense of shape we love so much – but they're maybe more heady and serious, and really set a fantastic tone for the album's many contributions from important voices like Esperanza Spaulding, BJ The Chicago Kid, Amir Sulaiman, Lalah Hathaway, Common, Posdnuos, Q Tip, Gregory Porter, Ledisi, HER, and others – a lineup who really elevate the already-sublime tone of the record. We've always found inspiration in the music of Robert Glasper – but it's also an amazing thing to see him rise to an almost statesman-like position with a project like this – on titles that include "Black Superhero", "Shine", "Why We Speak", "Better Than I Imagined", "Everybody Love", "It Don't Matter", "Heaven's Here", "Forever", and a surprisingly strong cover of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". LP, Vinyl record album

The only album ever from Groove Theory – but the set that introduced the world to Amel Larrieux – whose vocal talents alone are worth the price of admission! The feel here is a bit more mainstream soul than some of Amel's later work – but given the mid 90s date of release, the sound is still plenty underground – and filled with the warmer tones and deeper soul styles that wouldn't be that common until years later when the Neo Soul scene rose to prominence. The overall package is the work of former Mantronix member Bryce Wilson – who plays some keys, and ensures that the rhythms are never too bombastic to overwhelm Amel's vocals. Titles include the massive stepper's cut "Tell Me" that hit huge here in Chicago – plus "Baby Luv", "Didja Know", "Come Home", "Hello It's Me", "Hey U", "Good 2 Me", "You're Not The 1", and "Boy At The Window". LP, Vinyl record album

A funky collaboration of new and old players – as trumpeter Roy Hargrove explores a range of classic styles with a host of excellent guest stars! The RH Factor project includes work by Bernard Wright, Cornell Dupree, Karl Denson, and other funk luminaries – and it also features great vocal performances from the likes of Common, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, and D'Angelo. The groove soars from Miles-inspired electric to the heavy funk of George Clinton – and makes plenty of side-trips in between – exploring a range of soulful jazz, both new and old, and coming off a lot better than we might have thought! Titles include "Pastor T", "I'll Stay", "Common Free Style", "Juicy", "The Stroke", "Poetry", "Liquid Streets", "The Joint", and "Forget Regret". LP, Vinyl record album

Keyon Harrold continues his rise from standard jazz into the realm of soulful superstar – working here with a great array of guests, and also creating a sound that's a fantastic blend of his own work on trumpet and some larger currents of soul and R&B! At some level, the record's almost Harrold's equivalent of the Black Radio projects from pianist Robert Glasper – and maybe no surprise, Glasper's in the lineup of guests here – alongside Laura Mvula, PJ Morton, Common, Jean Baylor, and others – all participants who find just the right spot in the music, yet leave plenty of room for Keyon to blow some solos in a way that mark his role as the visionary leader of the proceedings. Titles include "Beautiful Day", "Well Walk Now", "Don't Lie", "Foreverland", "Find Your Peace", "Gotta Go", "Pictures", and "The Intellectual". LP, Vinyl record album

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of the year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Time will tell whether the sophomore LP Late Registration will prove to be as revolutionary of a commercial force as College Dropout turned out to be – but it's a better album! We loved the debut as much as the rest of the world did, but this one's an easier listen from beginning to end. The production is tight, the guests earn their spots, and the whole thing's furiously soulful. Much is being made of LA hipster/orch pop troubadour Jon Brion's co-production, but this is Kanye's show. On one level Kanye can rock a subject as cliched as "Gold Digger", and still come out with a fresh perspective that runs deeper than it sounds on the surface, then deliver a serious track about the evils of the diamond trade that still rocks the ice. And those are just the first singles. Another great one! Tracks include "Wake Up Mr West", "Heard 'Em Say", "Touch The Sky" feat Lupe Fiasco, "Gold Digger" feat Jamie Foxx, "Drive Slow" feat Paul Wall & GLC, "My Way Home" feat Common, "Crack Music" feat Game, "Roses", "Bring Me Down" feat Brandy, "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (rmx) feat Jay-Z, "We Major" feat Nas & Really Doe, "Gone" feat Consequence & Cam'Ron and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from Masta Ace – part of his early-millennium comeback moment! Ace caught us off guard with his damn strong Disposable Arts LP – which immediately went on our short list of all time best hip hop comeback LPs, along with Slick Rick's Art Of Storytelling – and he mines some of the same lyrical territory on this album – with some straight up, no BS storytelling in which he contemplates his status as one of hip hop's true pioneers, a near legend in his own medium who nevertheless has to deal with day jobs and bills! There's also some more common street hop stuff, but Ace that pretty deftly – on titles that include "Big City", "Good Ol' Love", "Da Grind", "Beautiful", "Soda & Soap", "The Ways", "Wutuwankno", "Oh My God", and "Revelations". LP, Vinyl record album

To fans of the group Rush, the title of this record has a very different meaning than the common one – and, no surprise, pianist Brad Mehldau is actually referencing that song by the group here – which he performs on the record, along with some of their other work – and adds in his own music too – all in pursuit of this amazing blend of spirituality informed by progressive rock! The concept is one that's a bit hard to describe in words, and it's also kind of a mindblowing surprise from Mehldau – music we never would have expected from any of his previous records! There's still a current of jazz on the album, but there's all sorts of other things going on too – a guitar solo on one number, heavy drums on another, and even a vocal contribution from Cecile McLorin Salvant, who also sounds nothing like usual. In addition to remakes of "Tom Sawyer" and "Jacob's Ladder", the set also features the titles "Maybe As His Skies Are Wide", "Herr Und Knect", "Cogs IN Cogs", "Voy Correndo Te Encontrar/Racecar", and "Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

The first, independent, Roots LP with so many classics that never made it to their later import and major label releases. What more can we say... Tracks include "The Roots Is Comin", "Pass The Popcorn", "The Anti-Circle", "Writers Block", "Good Music", "Grits", "Leonard I-V", "I'm Out Deah", "Essawhamah? (Live At The Soulshack)", "Popcorn Revisited", "Common Dust", "The Session (Longest Posse Cut In History)", "Carryin' On", "Peace", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A self-titled set from Motown giant David Ruffin – and a record that pairs him with producer Bobby Miller, who'd worked some real late 60s magic with The Dells! As with that group, Miller has a wonderful way of letting the rough lead vocals come right to the front of the mix – while still serving up a batch of backings with a lot of power and focus – and a sense of complexity that comes through in both Miller's original tunes for the date, and the following arrangements from David Van DePitte. This unified approach gives the record even more focus than other Ruffin albums of the period – and the whole thing stands not just as a lasting tribute to his talents, but also to the way that Motown was getting better and better at recording full albums over singles. Titles include "Common Man", "I Miss You", "A Little More Trust", "Go On With Your Bad Self", and "Day In the Life of the Working Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Vic Mensa's a very different artist than on his previous record – a rapper who's taken the long years between the two sets to undergo a personal and spiritual rebirth, with results that come through instantly on the tracks on this set! There's an urgency that Vic never had before – partly inspired by the political changes in the country from 2020 onward, but also viewed with a maturity that puts aside some of his own personal needs for a larger agenda – one that's got a lot more pride and positivity than you might guess from the somewhat stylized image on the cover. Common joins Vic for a great look at Chicago past on "Southside Story" – and other tracks include "Sunset On The Low End", "Lvln Up", "Victor", "Rumors", "Weeping Poets", "Blue Eyes", "Sunday Evening", "Strawberry Louis Vuitton", "14 Days", "Eastside Girl", and "Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from Ella Washington – a lesser-known force in southern soul during the late 60s, but a singer whose music really leaves us breathless! Washington's work on this set is impeccable throughout – far beyond the simple southern soul cliches that were coming to be common in the generation of Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner – and instead, very much in her own space – recorded with sophistication and emotion that so many other singers wouldn't tap this well until a few years later. The themes of the tunes are great – heartfelt, but still with an emotional inner strength that really matches Ella's vocals – and titles include "Stop Giving Your Man Away", "Sweeter & Sweeter", "Fragile", "Starving For Love", "He Called Me Baby", "All The Time", and "The Affair". LP, Vinyl record album

Daft Punk's epic second live album – an uncommon feat for an electronic act of their era, in that they had that kind of pop or rock cache to build a reputation as a must see live "band', without compromising their club floor shaking genius – and a bit of a classic in its own right. This one came a decade after their first, and again somehow harnessing the show's energy in perfect form and blasting it outta the speakers – and it includes Robot Rock", "Oh Yeah", "Steam Machine", "Brainwasher", "Superheroes", "Rock N Roll", "Alive", "Da Funk", "One More Time", "Prime Tiem Of Your Life", "Short Circuit" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most soulful albums to come out of the Australian scene of the 70s – and the crowning achievement of jazz singer Joyce Hurley – a vocalist we'd easily rank with Dee Dee Bridgewater for depth of righteous expression! Joyce's voice is definitely different than Dee Dee's – with some very unique phrasing – but this album's got the same sort of uncommonly expressive vibe as Bridgewater's legendary Afro Blue set. Backing is by a small combo with nice reed and electric piano work – usually letting Joyce take the lead at most moments, but with horn help to shape the sound of the tunes in really nice ways – a balance that few jazz records of the time ever hit this well – and which continues to uphold the soulful power of Hurley's vocals! The album's got loads of great numbers – including the jazz dance classic "Sunbath", a wicked take on "Maiden Voyage", and the instrumental number "Sambole" – plus other titles that include "Blues For Joyce", "Left Alone", "How Are You Dreaming", and "Threedom Street". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early album from Latin leader/trumpeter Willie Rodriguez – one of his gems for the Fonseca label, with vocals from Leo Casino – a tight mix of Latin Soul, descarga, and salsa tracks that hit hard from the start and don't let up! Rodriguez leads a great band, and they're joined by vocalist Casino some of the tracks – with tunes that have an uncommon, heated intensity without sacrificing the groove – some of it with the feel of an after hours session full of players just hit with a mighty second wind, and others that are just straight up tirelessly driven. The whole set cooks really nicely! Titles include "Dig It", "Descarga DJ", "Pussycat Bugaloo", "Simon", A Mi Negra". "Golden Bugaloo", and "Chickie's Choice". LP, Vinyl record album