One Love (Nas song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“One Love”
“One Love” cover
Single by Nas featuring Q-Tip
from the album Illmatic
Released October 25, 1994
Format 12" single
Recorded 1992
Genre East Coast hip hop
Hardcore rap
Length 5:25
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Nasir Jones
Jonathan Davis
Jimmy Heath
Producer Q-Tip
Nas featuring Q-Tip singles chronology
"Life's a Bitch" (1994) "One Love" (1994) "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"
(1996)
Illmatic track listing
"Memory Lane (Sittin' in Da Park)"
(6)
"One Love"
(7)
"One Time 4 Your Mind"
(8)

"One Love" is Nas' fifth and final single released from his debut album, Illmatic, and the longest track from the album. In the song, Nas translates the contents of a letter addressed to his incarcerated friends. The song contains an acknowledgment to childhood friend Cormega in the lines "What up wit' Cormega?/ Did you see him?/ were y'all together?" Although Cormega would briefly join Nas in the hip-hop group The Firm, the pair's friendship would quickly disintegrate into an on-again, off-again rivalry. Before the rivalry, Cormega recorded a song named "One Love" as a letter back to Nas. It can be found on Cormega's album The Testament.

The song is produced by Q-Tip and featured a sample of the Heath Brothers' "Smilin' Billy Suite". Its chorus is sung by Q-Tip.

The song was sampled later by hip hop/pop group The Black Eyed Peas in their song Where Is The Love.

Contents

[edit] Insight

From artist:

"Q-Tip used to come and hang out with me in my projects from time to time. I remember him coming out there and hanging out, and I remember him letting me hang out at his session when he was working on Midnight Marauders. I thought he was just the most incredible, so to have him producing my album, for him to even do the chorus for me is a blessing. The song just came from life, it's a song about letters to prison inmates, friends of mine, shout-outs to childhood friends and their uncles and people who were like family to me. I was, again, too young to be going through all of that. That's what I think about when I hear that album. I was too young to be going through all of that."[1]

[edit] Music video

The music video for "One Love" was directed by hip hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy. In it, Nas visits an incarcerated friend. Portions of the video were later reused in the video for "The Message" from Nas' second album, It Was Written.


[edit] Track listing

[edit] A-Side

  1. "One Love" (Album Version) (5:23)
  2. "One Love" (Radio Edit) (5:23)
  3. "One Love" (Album Instrumental) (5:23)
  4. "One Love" (Acappella) (5:21)

[edit] B-Side

  1. "One Love" (LG Main Mix) (5:33)
    • Produced by The LG Experience
  2. "One Love" (LG Radio Edit) (4:29)
  3. "One Love" (LG Instrumental) (2:06)
  4. "One Love" (One L Main Mix) (5:43)
  5. "One Love" (One L Radio Edit) (4:48)
  6. "One Love" (One L Instrumental) (1:55)


[edit] References

  1. ^ Nas' "Greatest Hits": A Track-By-Track Journey With the Pride of Queens : Rolling Stone
Languages