Before there was Like Water For Chocolate and after Resurrection, there was an album that melded both of these albums into a unique mixture that consisted of his introspective lyricism and his hard-edged battle rap’s that he would soon drop up to the initial release of Like Water For Chocolate. Even with this said, however, this simple fact seems to expand this albums ultimate listenability by add a bit of variety to the usual bombardment of introspective/socially conscious https://lyrics. Even with this said, however, the sound itself differs greatly from his past albums (Can I Borrow A Dollar and Resurrection) and present album (Like Water For Chocolate), but, in the same respect, it continues to deliver the same jazzy rhythms, as well as the continuously introspective and socially conscious lyricism that, while, may have a bit of experimentation abound, it remains to be an ingenious (lyrically and rhythm-wise) album that seems to succeed on almost every aspect.
The rhythms found on this album tend to take more of a light-hearted, almost coffee-shop-ish sound that it best described as a blend of (a few) bass lines, minor drum loops and live instrumentation that seems to take more of a serious, laid back, almost simplistic sound that fits Common’s lyrics quite well. Even with this said, however, it never seems to miss the mark by creating a dull, almost life-less sound but, instead, with the production of No I.D and Dug Infinite along with the life, jazz instrumentation, it seemingly creates an incredibly diverse backdrop which seems to fit Common’s lyrics all the much better. On top of this, though, is the simple fact that the rhythms seem to take a turn from the Commercial beats that are found throughout many of the Hip-Hop tracks and albums nowadays which, in itself, is helps propel the album forward all the much more.
First up, we have the coffee-shop sounding rhythms that fit incredibly well with the album. Although there not quite as soulful as The Soulquarians-produced Like Water For Chocolate, they remain to be incredibly close by never really stopping the up-beat, jazzy background rhythms which, faced with any other artist, would make it seem like a mixture between Nat King Cole and Master P, but with Common’s delivery and lyricism included with these rhythms, it oddly seems to only complement these two aspects of the album. While this is true, the beats usually take a backseat during the time when I’m listening to the album (as the lyrics are of more importance usually) but this time around, its hard to ignore No I.D and Dug Infinite’s mastery of production and the mixing of live instrumentations, low-key bass lines and drum loops that are buried amongst the jazz-influenced rhythms that seem to hold the back board to these complex, well put together musical backdrops that are almost considered sound-scapes with their incredibly good samples and well thought-out musical stylings.
Musically, the production may not seem to fit Common’s lyrics all of the time, or may not be quite as soulful as the incredibly good Like Water For Chocolate they have quite a bit of variety and instrumentation to actually create, not necessarily a magnetic sound, but none the less two styles that seem to complement each other quite well.
Lyric wise, this is one of his his most lyrically advanced album. This would seemingly be his only album that was nearly unparalleled in the lyrical achievements category). Even with this said, that’s to say that the lyricism is near perfect, because, in saying that, that would take say that One Day It’ll All Make Sense superb. With that said, it’s nearly perfect, if already being the case. With this being the case, however, the lyricism on this album is almost flat-out perfect with a few exceptions. Although Common will probably never reach the lyrical achievements of Resurrection, this album comes incredibly close to reaching the stellar lyricism found on that particular album.
The style used takes on more of an introspective, socially conscious form of lyricism. Although this has always been Common’s style (with the exception of Can I Borrow A Dollar), on this particular album, it seems to be deeper. Instead of skimming the surface on a few topics, he delves deeper into them coinciding with the consequences of your actions, problems found in everyday life, ignorance and the state of Hip-Hop. While it may sound more like a Mos Def album than Common’s, his change from the aforementioned into going deeper into these subjects mixed with his (scarce) metaphors and wordplay, it seemingly makes it more listenable by including these forms of lyricism into the already insightful, socially-aware topics.
With lines that read like their more from a book rather than a Hip-Hop album [’’I’m on a Quest For Love like the Proceed drummer’’] this makes it a bit more deeper than your average underground Hip-Hop album. While these moments are far apart from eachother, this doesn’t really seem to bring down the album at all. Instead, by using this method of lyricism conservatively, it makes the moments when Common’s comes out with the style more magnetic and a bit more interesting/listenable by utilizing this method. Lyrically, this album comes incredibly close to being one of Common’s best, but, for some reason or another, doesn’t seem to get to that achievement. But, in any case, remains to be one of the best albums (lyrically) of the year 1997.
The guest artists, on the other hand, do seem to add quite a bit to the album. Although there aren’t many, that gives Common more time to rhyme on his own rather than having guest artists clutter up the album.
Ranging from the Hip-Hop guest artists (De La Soul, Canibus, Cee-Lo, Q-Tip) to the more R&B styled guest artists (Erykah Badu, Chantay Savage) the lyrics still seem to remain as deep as Common’s. While the best verse by a guest artist would go to Canibus and Cee-Lo, that’s not to say that the rest are poor attempts at trying to emcee, because that is farther from the truth than, quite possibly, anything could get. Even with this said, however, the lyrics remain to be quite introspective and never seem to lag in any respect of the album which, in cohesion, seem to make the lyrical quality all the much better.
One Day It’ll All Make Sense is, quite possibly, one of Common’s best efforts to date. Incorporating jazz instrumentals with Hip-Hop soundscapes and rhythms mixed with improved lyricism and near stellar guest artists, it makes this album the best in the year 1997.