Common ‘One Day It’ll All Make Sense’ 20th Anniversary
Release date: 30th September 1997
Label: Relativity
Producers: Derek Dudley, Common, No I.D, Spike Rebel, Karriem Riggins, James Poyser, Ynot, Dug Infinite
Profile (courtesy of Wikipedia):
“One Day It’ll All Make Sense is the third studio album by rapper Common, released on September 30, 1997 on Relativity Records. It was the follow-up to his critically acclaimed album Resurrection and the last Common album to feature producer No I.D. until Common’s 2011 album The Dreamer/The Believer. As he explained in his memoir published in 2011, the title of album was figured out to use a word “sense”, as he was forced to shorten his stage name to Common. The album’s recording was put on hold for up to a year as Common was busy becoming a father. After the birth of his child, Common returned to finish the album, albeit with a newer sense of responsibility, which he relates to his transformation from bachelor to father. He recorded “Retrospect For Life”, with Lauryn Hill, as a dedication to his first child Omoye Assata Lynn. The song became the second single to be released from the album, and was accompanied by a video (directed by Lauryn Hill), as were “Invocation”, “Hungry”, and the album’s first single “Reminding Me (Of Sef)” (a eulogy to a close, deceased friend of Common’s). The album’s cover is a picture of an 8-year-old Common with his mother, Dr. Ann Hines, at an airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1980. The multi-talented Cee Lo Green, who at the time was still a member of Southern Hip hop group Goodie Mob, provides the vocals for the spiritual “G.O.D.” (which stands for “Gaining One’s Definition”). Rapper Canibus makes an early career appearance on the track “Making A Name For Ourselves”, as do veterans De La Soul on “Gettin’ Down At The Amphitheater”. Other guests include Black Thought, and Q-Tip on “Stolen Moments” Parts “II” and “III” respectively, and Common’s future love interest Erykah Badu, on “All Night Long”, which was produced by The Roots. Chicagoan poet Malik Yusef, waxes lyrical about his hometown on “My City”, and as usual Common’s father Lonnie Lynn closes the album out with some words of wisdom on “Pop’s Rap Part 2 / Fatherhood”.
Additional info:
- Listen to samples used in the making of the album on WhoSampled.
Purchase: Discogs