Resurrection (Common album)
| Resurrection | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Common Sense | ||||||||||
| Released | October 25, 1994 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1993-94 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop, jazz rap, alternative hip hop | |||||||||
| Length | 54:23 | |||||||||
| Label | Relativity Records | |||||||||
| Producer | No I.D., Ynot | |||||||||
| Common Sense chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau |  |
| MusicHound |  |
| RapReviews | (9.5/10) |
| Record Collector | |
| Rhapsody | (favorable) |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Source | |
| Vibe | (favorable) |
| Virgin Encyclopedia | |
Resurrection is the second album by American rapper Common (at the time, who was known as Common Sense). It was released on October 25, 1994, by Relativity Records. The album received critical acclaim, but not a significant amount of mainstream attention. Resurrection was entirely produced by No I.D. (who also produced the bulk of Can I Borrow A Dollar?). In 1994, the record was originally rated 3.5 mics in The Source. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums .
The album is divided into two sections; the "East Side of Stony" (tracks 1-7) and "West Side of Stony" (tracks 8-15). Stony Island Avenue is a street that runs through the South Side of Chicago, where Common was raised. The closing track, "Pop's Rap" was the first of a series of tracks featuring spoken word and poetry by Common's father, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, which Common has used to close several of his albums since. Interlaced throughout the album are short interludes which form a loose narrative concerning day-to-day life on the South Side.
Songs such as "Thisisme", are full of self-assessing raps that reflect the rapper's personal growth since 1992's Can I Borrow A Dollar?. Likewise the crasser moments found on that LP, such as the misogynistic "Heidi Hoe" are greatly toned down for Resurrection, and replaced by thought-provoking narratives such as "Chapter 13 (Rich Man Vs. Poor Man)", and "I Used to Love H.E.R." - a song that re-imagines Hip hop as a formerly unadulterated woman, led astray after being enticed by materialistic elements of life. The use of a conflicted woman as an allegory for Hip hop allowed Common to covertly express his disdain at the genre's turn towards gangsta rap inspired content, and what he saw as the resulting reorientation of rap artists.
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