I Used to Love H.E.R.

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“I Used to Love H.E.R.”
“I Used to Love H.E.R.” cover
Single by Common Sense
from the album Resurrection
B-side "Communism"
Released 1994
Format 12-inch single, Vinyl
Recorded 1994
Genre Chicago hip hop
Length 4:39
Label Relativity Records
Writer(s) Common
Producer No I.D.
Common singles chronology
"Soul by the Pound"
(1993)		 "I Used to Love H.E.R."
(1994)		 "Resurrection"
(1995)

"I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common. Released on the 1994 album Resurrection, "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat, samples "The Changing World" by George Benson. A video directed by Chris Halliburton was made for this song. Henry Adaso of About.com named it #1 among 100 rap songs that helped shape hip-hop.[1]

Contents

[edit] Overview

[edit] Content

The song uses an extended metaphor comparing a woman that Common loved to hip hop music. The acronym H.E.R. stands for Hip Hop in its Essence and Real. It is also believed that it means Hearing Every Rhyme, therefor possibly stating "I Used to Love Hearing Every Rhyme." [2].

The song criticizes the direction that hip hop music was taking during the mid-1990s. It specifically refers to the fall of conscious hip hop / Afrocentric rap; as well as the rising popularity of West Coast hip hop and G-funk. In the song, Common makes an analogy comparing the degradation of a woman with the deterioration of hip hop music after its commercial success forced it into the mainstream. This criticism ignited a feud with West Coast rapper Ice Cube, and helped fuel the growing animosity towards the West Coast hip hop scene during the early stages of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry.

It also said that within the song Common speaks on his disapproval of Onyx and Das Efx (two rap groups immensely popular in the early/mid nineties) with the line "I see niggas slammin her, and takin her to the sewer". Onyx had a hit single with the song Slam, while Das Efx had released the album Straight Up Sewaside. Onyx were famous for their overly violent and offensive lyrics, and could be considered the gangsta rap of the East Coast. At the same time Das Efx were widely criticized by the hip hop community for rapping in a style which many people said was just a pointless gimmick created to sell records.

The personification of hip hop is a theme found in two prominent collaboration songs by Common: "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" by Erykah Badu and "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" by The Roots. That theme is also used in songs like "Bird's Eye View" by Zion I and "American Beauty" by Cormega. It was also referenced in Nas' "Getting Married" and "Who Killed It".

[edit] Acclaim

It is often regarded as one of the greatest hip hop recordings ever.[3] [4] [5] Tiffany Hamilton of AllHipHop.com describes it as a "timeless ode to Hip-Hop [...] that established Common as one of the pioneers in conscious Hip-Hop."[6] Vukile Simelane of RapReviews.com claims it to have one of the "fattest beat[s] ever constructed".[7] Alex Henderson of All Music Guide considers it to be the standout track on Resurrection.[8] Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters considers it to be Common's best single ever. [9] Andrea Duncan-Mao of XXL considers it to be a "bittersweet ode to hip-hop" and a "classic" track.[10] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal considers it to be a "classic hip-hop parable".[10]

[edit] Significance

In 1999, "I Used to Love H.E.R." was featured on the Chuck D hosted compilation album Louder Than a Bomb. In 2005, Jin released a single named "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)", where he mentions Common and the song "Trying to figure out the fly chick I discovered... At the same time Common said he used to love her". In 2007, Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz released a song named "I Still Love H.E.R." featuring Kanye West, a rapper who has collaborated with Common. Shabaam Sadhdeeq also released a song named "I Still Love Her" and he mentions Common in the song's first line. Also, Kardinal Offishall makes reference to "I Used to Love H.E.R." on his 2007 track "War," as does Kanye West in his song "Homecoming" with Chris Martin. I Used to Love H.E.R. was also the inspiration of the film, Brown Sugar. Asheru released a song in hip-hop docktrine: the official boondocks mixtape, called "I Love Her Again", making reference to Common's, I Used to Love H.E.R. The song also served as the inspiration for the title of the Danny! album, And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

[edit] Remixes

9th Wonder, a producer from North Carolina, remixed "I Used to Love H.E.R." and released the remix as a single. Independent record label Boom Bap Records distributed the single, which contained "The 6th Sense" as a b-side.singer

Underground Uk Acts Ta'lay Riley (vocalist) and Rapper 'Lightnin' recorded a track called Hard life, using the George Benson's 'The changing world' in 2005 ( available on itunes) - Lightnin - hardlife.

[edit] Single track list

[edit] A-Side

  1. "I Used to Love H.E.R." (4:29)
  2. "I Used to Love H.E.R. (Instrumental)" (4:43)
  3. "I Used to Love H.E.R. (Acapella)"

[edit] B-Side

  1. "Communism (2:16)"
  2. "Communism (Instrumental)" (2:39)
  3. "Communism (Acapella)"

[edit] References

  1. ^ Top 100 Greatest Rap/Hip-Hop Songs - Top 100 Rap/Hip-Hop Songs of All Time - Check out the Top 100 Rap Songs Ever
  2. ^ Abbreviations and acronyms from Acronym Finder: What Does Her Stand For?. Retrieved on November 13, 2007.
  3. ^ 100 Greatest Rap Songs at About.com. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  4. ^ Top 100 Greatest Hip-Hop/Rap Singles of All Time at Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  5. ^ The Source's 100 Best Rap Singles at Rocklist.net. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  6. ^ Hamilton, Tiffany. AllHipHop Feature - Common: Invocation. Retrieved on April 22, 2007.
  7. ^ Simelane, Vukile. Resurrection Review at RapReveiws.com. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  8. ^ Henderson, Alex. Resurrection Review at All Music Guide. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  9. ^ Neal, Mark Anthony. Like Water for Chocolate Review at PopMatters.com. Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  10. ^ a b Duncan-Mao, Andrea. XXL Magazine Features: Common. Retrieved on May 24, 2007.

[edit] See also


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Common
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