Kanye West may have a Jesus complex, but it’s Common who’s resurrected here. From his beginnings as a conscious MC to his nadir as Erykah Badu’s hippie-fied lovetoy (see 2002’s Electric Circus—though under no circumstances listen to it), Common, despite ferocious talent, has existed on the fringes of mainstream hip-hop. But Kanye’s “backpacker with a Benz” aesthetic triumphed in 2004 and now he’s bringing it back home, providing Common with nine of these 11 beats, giving the also-ran one of the albums of the year. Be picks up where West’s The College Dropout left off—soulful samples, joyful horns, whipcrack snares—and as the charismatic storytelling tackles weighty subjects like faith, love and commitment, Kanye keeps things musically light, and Common sounds energized and happy (maybe he got the “friend’s discount” on these expensive beats). On “They Say,” he strives to “make righteous bitches get low,” and on the breezy “Go,” he and Kanye even make guest John Mayer sound funky. Now that’s talent.

Download: “Go,” “Testify”