 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Be
Common Sense Media says
Very explicit, but very interesting. Not for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this album contains a lot of explicit language and sexual and violent content; there's apparently no edited version available.
What's the story?
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.
Is it any good?
If Common's message is all over the place, his music is not. The whole CD is musically consistent and focused; a strong, controlled producer's hand is evident. The songs sparkle with unusual vividness and tasteful production. One production high point is the sentimental ending of "It's Your World," in which children's voices are heard, saying what they want to be when they grow up. Whether empowering/preachy or explicit/offensive, Common has a lot to say -- and it turns out he says it very well. It's just not appropriate for kids.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the social consciousness and plot twists abundantly present in the lyrics.
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AGE
great message but alot of cursing
cool stuf and good message but displayed through a birage of cursing common is a intresting artist. the sexual content level is low but in the song "GO" of course it happens to be very high. so to wrap this up i say common is extremely inspiring but not ok for kids 14 or 15 up.
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AGE
powerful but explicit music is not for kids
iam a huge common fan ive gone to 8 of his concerts the song go is too sexual. the n word is used 68 times fuk is used 5 times and sh*y is used 39 times
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AGE
i cried & laugehd
i thought that the cd was great cause
it sends out a message to the world and the kids a little.it talks about what
happens in the world today.
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| Artist: | Common |
| Release date: | May 24, 2005 |
| Label: | Geffen Records |
| Genre: | Hip-hop |
| Parental advisory: | Yes |
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