The 6th Sense

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""The 6th Sense""
Single by Common
from the album Like Water For Chocolate
B-side(s)	Dooinit
Released	February 15, 2000
Format	CD
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	5:19
Label	MCA Records
Writer(s)	Lonnie Lynn Bilal Oliver Chris Martin Kejuan Muchita Albert Johnson James Yancey
Producer(s)	DJ Premier Jay Dee
Common singles chronology
"Car Horn" (1999)	"The 6th Sense" (2000)	"Funky for You" (2000)

For the 1999 M. Night Shyamalan film, see The Sixth Sense.

"The 6th Sense" is the second single off Common's 2000 album Like Water For Chocolate. It is produced by DJ Premier and features his trademark chorus with scratched samples; the samples are from the Mobb Deep song "Allustrious". It features singer Bilal who performs the song's chorus. The song is highly upbeat, positive, and soulful as it discusses topics such as afrocentricity and other social issues. The song starts out with an introduction where Common states "the revolution will not be televised/the revolution is here" referencing the famous Gil-Scott Heron song named "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." A music video directed by Andrew Dosunmu was made for "The 6th Sense."

The B-Side to "The 6th Sense" is "Dooinit", produced by Jay Dee. In the song, Common goes after rappers who have gone through an image overhaul in order to obtain more commercial success:

Scared to take a chance in the game

Used to breakdance, it's a shame

What money do to a nigga brain

If he lose his soul what did a nigga gain?

There was intense speculation as to who the rapper was aiming at, with the most popular opinion being that the song was about a pre-Stillmatic Nas, although Common himself stated that this wasn't true and the following lines seem to lend some credence:

You wasn't saying you was a thug before Pac came

Ten years ago you had a high top trying to be like Kane

Then Snoop released and it became a G thang

Claim sets, your city ain't got gangs

As most will note, Nas has never had a "high top" (a cube-like style of haircut which was very popular in the early 90s), and nor has he ever claimed to belong to any "set". Moreover the song seems to be speaking about a hybrid of rappers who have obtained or attempted to gain commerce while sacrificing their credibilty, as opposed to being a diss towards a specific rapper.

[edit] Single Tracklist

[edit] A-Side

1. The 6th Sense (Album Version)
2. The 6th Sense (Instrumental)
3. The 6th Sense (Acapella)

[edit] B-Side

1. Dooinit (Album Version)
2. Dooinit (Instrumental)

v • d • e Common
Discography
Studio albums
Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992) | Resurrection (1994) | One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997) | Like Water for Chocolate (2000) | Electric Circus (2002) | Be (2005) | Finding Forever (2007)
Solo singles
"Take It EZ" | "Breaker 1/9" | "Soul by the Pound" | "I Used to Love H.E.R." | "Resurrection" | "The Bitch in Yoo" | "Retrospect for Life" | "Reminding Me (Of Sef)" | "All Night Long" | "One-Nine-Nine-Nine" | "Hurricane" | "Car Horn" | "The 6th Sense" | "Funky for You" | "The Light" | "Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph)" | "While I'm Dancin'" | "Come Close" | "Panthers" | "The Food" | "The Corner" | "Go!" | "Testify"
Guest singles
"Pre of Cash" (DJ Honda) | "State to State" (No I.D.) | "Respiration" (Black Star) | "Full Moon" (Armand Van Helden | "The Sun God" (Hi-Tek) | "Dance for Me" (Mary J. Blige) | "In the Sun (Remix)" (Shaquille O'Neal) | "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" (Erykah Badu) | "She Wants to Move" (N*E*R*D) | "CpH Claimin' Respect #2" (The Boulevard Connection) | "Why! Remix" (Jadakiss) | "Yelling Away" (Zap Mama) | "SupaStar" (Floetry) | "Wouldn't You Like to Ride" (Malik Yusef)
See Also
Soulquarians | Native Tongues Posse | Lonnie Lynn | GOOD Music | List of Common songs | Smokin' Aces | American Gangster