Instinct fuels Common during his pre-artistic makeover era. The most enjoyable tracks are the ones where Com lets his guard down and lets us peek inside his mind. "The Question" ponders the imponderable, in a way that Tribe Called Quest did on "What?" He exacts revenge on some stick-up kids on "Payback is a Grandmother." The finest moment is "The Sixth Sense," a collaboration with DJ Premier that has everything a hip-hop track should have: smart lyrics, sharp hook, plus beats and scratches. With Common flying by the seat of his impulses, Like Water For Chocolate serves as a reminder that he is a rapper first and social theorist second.

Intimate yet expansive in its depiction of his Windy City, Be is Common’s return to his street-poet roots after the quirky Electric Circus. There’s a starkly real yet ultimately positive worldview throughout, because Common brings as much thoughtfulness to a track about gangbanging (“The Corner”) as he does the gorgeous self-love anthem “It’s Your World.” It’s the equivalent of listening to riveting stories from your pops . . . but over a soulful, scratchy beat.