Common's 1st LP came out in '92 and i had no clue at that time. Heck, i was following Kris Kross to the death so what did Common meant to me as a young kid? Now his 2nd LP came out in '94 and i had no clue either cause i just started following hip-hop that year. Nas came out in April '94 and during that time is when i saw " It Aint Hard To Tell" on Rap City! It was that video & song that changed my life on hip-hop and deciding to follow it. So i was a rook, a noob, a freshman, a ....... well u get it. I was just starting to get into it and this Common LP dropped in October '94. And it totally passed me by cause i had no clue it dropped when it came out. Also i just started watching Rap City regularly at that time as well. So pretty much of all of late '94 i missed out on this dude and knew nothing about him. Fast forward to mid '95 shall we.......
Ok, now im deep in hip-hop. I was fully dedicated around this time watching Rap City 2wice a day ( that right people, it used to come on at 4pm & 7-8pm every night during the week at that time!) and watchin Yo! MTV Raps every Friday & Saturday. So one Wednesday i came home from school i automatically turned on the TV to watch Rap City. And yall know on Wednesdays back then on Rap City they played older joints, it was called Old School Wednesday. So as im watchin, a joint came on with a very ill mello beat that had me hooked. The subject matter he was talkin about was crazy on point. I was like man, who is this cat i have to get this song! And it was then that i 1st heard "I Used To Love H.E.R"! I was in hip-hop heaven at that time! I couldnt believe that I missed out on that joint only a year ago, but i was late. I then set out a journey to get this record, it took me awhile but i finally did it. I was in pure heaven only to be put in higher than that when i heard and saw the 2nd video "Resurrection"! Thats when i knew this dude was the truth! Then i realized that his beats fit my style, they were very slow and mello but jazzy! Now i would love to say that I went ahead and got the LP right away then, but i did not. As I reiterate again, back then i didnt buy LPs i only bought singles and recorded songs on tapes. So i didnt get this LP until years later!
The year is 1999 and i just wrapped up my military boot camp session for the US Navy. I went to the NEX ( a military form of wal-mart but better), to get some albums that i missed out on for the time i was in boot camp. When i got there it was my lucky day cause they was a havin a huge sale on CDs and i racked up that day. It was that day when i bought the album with huge anticipation to see what this LP is all about. And upon listenin to it i had mixed reviews honestly. U got ur sure shots wit "I Used To Love HER" & "Resurrection" but neither than that there isnt really that much to choose from. The only other joint on there i know i liked for sure was "This is me", i love the jazz sample on that one. I can definitely see why this LP vaulted him up in there in the ranks cause those 2 classic timeless records stand the test of time, but the rest of the LP is ok. Me personally i love his next LP One Day It Will All Make Sense more but thats another story for another day. But man, everytime i hear "I Used To Love H.E.R" it brings me back to that time when i 1st heard the record and how i fell in love wit it. And the response he got from the record was crazy! BiG loved the record and he even wanted to a joint wit him. Nas loved it and now they might do a joint LP together. He was even in Fat Joe's vid for "Success", a vid that everybody and they mama was in. So Common felt the love right away, and also unfortunately felt some hate from the one Ice Cube. But we know how that one turned out, love ya Cube!
So all and all i give this LP a 4. Let ur feelings be heard people, what ur thoughts on this LP?
1 comment:
I agree with everything you said; I'm 18 and I only heard I Used to Love H.E.R. a year ago the day after Christmas. That was the day I truly fell in love with hip hop and since that day, I've been collecting classic hip hop albums!
Post a Comment