On the album's 20th anniversary, it's much easier to recognize Be as a crucial intersection record — not simply for Common, on his way to becoming rap's hokey, well-intentioned uncle, but for hip-hop ...

When Rolling Stone put Kanye West on its cover in early 2006, it set two undeniable truths on the table: how much the rapper-producer had already accomplished, and how thoroughly he recognized it.

In 2005, two Chicagoans made a generational classic and then sprinted in opposite directions, each daring the rest of hip-hop to follow them. When Rolling Stone put Kanye West on its cover in early ...