The album is Common's first album under Geffen, following the mediocre performance of 2002's Electric Circus and the July 2003 merger of preceding label MCA Records, which, like Geffen and its sister label Interscope Records, was a division of Universal Music Group.

[5] The album was primarily and executively produced by rapper and GOOD Music founder Kanye West, with additional production from frequent collaborator J Dilla.

[9][10] Be was touted as Common's comeback album after the commercially disastrous Electric Circus (2002); the predecessor lacked promotion following MCA Records' absorption into Geffen, which was completed in July 2003.

"[11] "He's today's Marvin Gaye of rap," West enthused on a DVD accompanying a deluxe edition of Be.

"[14] Common explained the concept and the album title in a 2005 interview for SixShot.com: I named it Be to be who you are, man, and be able to be in the moment and not try too hard.

Be is another way of saying just do without trying hard, like I said, natural and be true to the core of who you are; and this album, I wanted to just be and not just go and exist as just an artist, not worried about the past.

[15]Common gave his reasons for featuring controversial spoken word recording artists, the Last Poets, on the album's first official single, "The Corner": "They gifted at writing.

The album's fourth single, "Testify" received a type of promotional video known as a "mini-movie"; a term coined by Michael Jackson to describe a music video with a complex plot and a suitably long running time, often with intermissions between the song's parts.

[17] Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "Be isn't likely to be referred to by anyone as groundbreaking, but it's one of Common's best, and it's also one of the most tightly constructed albums of any form within recent memory.

"[19] Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly said, "Be's leanness signals awesome growth even without pushing sonic boundaries.

"[22] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork said, "The lack of instant-gratification couplets may disappoint at first, but each verse's rewarding intricacies become more evident with multiple listens.

[28] Andrew Simon of Vibe wrote that the album "gets to the root of human experience—all the while staying beautifully soulful and funky.

"[27] The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh felt that Be was "certainly a triumph, but if it isn't quite the all-time classic Common was hoping for, that's because it sounds a bit too straightforward.

"[29] Assigning the album a three-star honorable mention rating, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that "few of the best moments belong to the main attraction, who's not as wise as they tell him he is.