One Day It'll All Make Sense

by

Common

Edit

To tell the truth, I think that giving this album a "5 Star" rating isn't enough... This album ranks up in the 10 or 11 star range - if that many. In other words, this album is nothing less than a Hip-Hop classic. I listen to this album faithfully and I seriously believe that Common is way underrated. Even after this album was laced with countless cameos with people like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Cee-Lo, Canibus, & De La Soul, he's still not being given the credit he deserves. It's a shame that so few people recognize true Hip-Hop when they see it... "One Day It'll All Make Sense" is without a doubt my favorite album and Common is in my top 5 favorite as well...

Common - you outshine them ALL... One Luv...

Auspiciously enough, "Introspection" is the inaugural track to this third effort from Common in his "conscious emcee" mode of rhyming that has lasted to the present day. Many issues, (primarily ones that are personal) are tackled, and run the gamut from a break and enter episode ("Stolen Moments I,II,III that feature Q-Tip and Black Thought") to contemplations on God (G.O.D. - Gaining One's Definition f/ Cee-Lo) that ultimately permeates religious and and agnostic custom. Common and Cee-lo inflect that God is simply the being to whom you pray, and that for the two of them, His laws are immutable "just know my bloodline is one with the divine...". Deep stuff on an album that additionally addresses the pro-life/choice debate ("Retrospect for Life f/ Lauryn Hill") and a curious, upbeat track that is actually a lament for a deceased loved one ("Reminding Me Of Sef f/Chantay Savage"). For fans who are appreciative of Common's old derelict style, there are songs such as "Hungry" "1, 2 Many" and "Making A Name For Ourselves" f/Canibus, that will have the fervid listener hitting rewind repeatedly. Canibus truly steals the show with abrasive and apathetic imagery that he employs. "One Day It'll All Make Sense" should satisfy most Common fans, despite occasional production lapses, like on "Gettin' Down At The Amphitheater" with De La Soul, which fails from the gate to recapture the glory of "The Bizness". "Gettin' Down" is dismal, and fails to convey any real chemistry between Common and De La (Hell, Maseo doesn't even produce it). Other disappointments are "My City" which is an absolute bore, sounding like a jam session two hours after it should have ended, and "Food For Funk", a track that is mundane and far too simplistic. Despite these setbacks, "One Day..." is a fairly solid album, and does manage to demonstrate Common as a multi-faceted emcee; touching on topics that many other rappers relegate in favour of fast money and fast women.