| "I Used to Love H.E.R." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Common | ||||
| from the album Resurrection | ||||
| B-side | "Communism" | |||
| Released | August 23, 1994 | |||
| Format | 12-inch single, Vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Chicago hip hop, jazz rap, alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:39 | |||
| Label | Relativity Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Common | |||
| Producer | No I.D. | |||
| Common singles chronology | ||||
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"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. The song is also found on Common's greatest hits album, Thisisme Then.
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The song uses an extended metaphor, using a woman to represent hip hop music. The acronym "H.E.R" means "Hearing every rhyme", therefore stating "I Used to Love Hearing Every Rhyme and also Hip Hop in its Essence is Real."[1]
The song speaks on the direction that hip hop music was taking during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It specifically refers to the fall of conscious and 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 despite Common hailing from the Mid-West.
It is often regarded as one of the greatest hip hop recordings ever.[2][3][4] 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."[5] Vukile Simelane of RapReviews.com claims it to have one of the "fattest beat[s] ever constructed".[6] Alex Henderson of Allmusic considers it to be the standout track on Resurrection.[7] Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal considers it to be Common's best single ever.[8] Andrea Duncan-Mao of XXL considers it to be a "bittersweet ode to hip-hop" and a "classic" track.[9] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal considers it to be a "classic hip-hop parable".[9] In 2008, it was ranked number 69 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. It was ranked #1 on About.com's Greatest Rap Songs Of All Time.
The video was filmed in August 1994 and released later that year. It shows clips of Common's home of Southside Chicago and a woman, who is obviously the main subject of the video because of the extended metaphor. It shows how she "became a gangster" when this woman is seen with two other ghetto-looking women in allusion to the rise of gangsta rap.
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 91 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles | 31 |
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