Common is often described in the past tense: He used to be called "Common Sense"; he used to be Erykah Badu's boyfriend. Now, along with colleague Kanye West, he has produced BE, a CD that is every bit as uncomfortably explicit as it is intelligent and fascinating. Depending on the track, you'll get messages of astute political commentary, mom's church-going values, nasty sex, gooey love, drugs and violence, or a morality tale with a surprise ending (In "Testify," a wife, testifying at her husband's trial, laughs as he is pronounced "guilty as charged" -- turns out she's the one who did it). There's beautiful soulful singing, hard-edged macho posturing, inclusive inspirational messages, and lyrics that go for the jugular -- the artist obviously delighting in their shock value.