One Day It'll All Make Sense

Nothing Ordinary
by: smoke

Common's (Sense for all of you roots hip-hop freaks) third release is much more than what has become expected of today's hip-hop albumns. Common's release of One Day it Will All Make Sense.... is a triumph for what hip-hop was originally intended to be. Instead of bragging about "Mercedes that you haven't even drove yet" or how many female dancers you can crowd into a video while saying "Money ain't a thing," Common drops a heavy dose of true-to-life reality that reaches into personal issues ranging from dealing with abortion from a male perspective to coping with having your place broken into. Teaming with Chicago's finest is Mista Sinista on the wheels of steel proving what has become his reputation as one of the most talented DJ's in hip-hop.

From the opening "Introspective," you realize how Common is going to take you into a view of his life with no pressures from a corporate producer interfering with the honesty. The albumn jumps into clever jumps of samples on "Invocation" to give you a bit for your palette to know what is yet to come.

From here on in, Common relies on guests and cuts of influences to express ideas that only they could do best. Vocal exerpts from figures such as Louis Farrakhan and Malcolm X enforce the sobering reality that Common professes. Track four of "Retrospect for Life" takes the listener into the mental struggle of a male dealing with the possibility of abortion to resolve problems while Lauryn Hill serenades the beats and provides the opposite viewpoint in an incredible duo. De La Soul drops in for a session of old school beats while Mista Sinista puts on a clinic on the tables in "Gettin' Down at the Amphitheater." "G.O.D." jumps into Common's mind once again for a team with Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob to explore how his thoughts on religion compare with what we are told all of our life and searching for an inner happiness. The albumn moves into segments of incredible live instrument improvisation; a flavor not tasted often in today's music.

The album takes a bite compared to the preceeding mellow beats on track eleven which begins the blunt illustration of having your home broken into. Tracks eleven through fourteen use a harsh, break-beat style to paint the frustration and confusion of the situation. These are a powerful, yet haunting reminder of urban life's fragility of trust in some instances. You'll pump your fist by the time retribution comes in track fourteen with a Q-Tip feature. Common doesn't let you leave without hearing the soul rhythms of "Reminding Me" which will guarantee to get you head swinging. An interlude by his father seals the albumn and brings you back to earth.

This albumn is one of the most unrecognized hip-hop albumn available today. From the array of guest artists, to the refreshing perspective of reality which hip-hop was based upon, to the insightful use of sample and scratch by Mista Sinista, it is hard to recall another deep reaching albumn in recent memory. 13-Mar-1998 1:10 PM