(AllHipHop News) 1994 was a landmark year for Hip Hop culture. Several classic albums – such as Nas’ Illmatic, OutKast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s Creepin on ah Come Up, The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die, Scarface’s The Diary, and Method Man’s Tical – emerged in ’94.
A 22-year-old Chicago native named Lonnie Rashid Lynn (aka Common) let loose a jewel that year as well. His sophomore studio LP, Resurrection, is widely considered one of the musical zeniths of his career.
Common presented an audio reflection on Resurrection with Apple Music’s Beats 1. He chatted on how Nas, John Coltrane, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, and religious passages inspired the project. The actor/activist/author also talked about his 1994 body of work impacting other emcees.
“I think Resurrection influenced Hip Hop in ways that different artists and producers kind of recognize that it’s something that they were influenced and opened to. J Dilla told me, because he wanted to be one of the first artists from the Midwest to be on some new fresh children of [A Tribe Called Quest], he saw us and was like, ‘Damn, he actually doing it,'” recalls Common. “Kanye [West], always has told me it was one of the albums for him, seeing in Chicago and doing it at that level, and that’s where him and No I.D., I think, started to connect.”
Common added, “I feel like when people talk about Resurrection you don’t hear that in the talks with Illmatic or Ready to Die. But for some people that really listen to Hip Hop, they do look at it as one of those albums that were classic and meant something to the culture at that time.”
Arguably, the standout track on Resurrection is the metaphorical “I Used to Love H.E.R.” single. The album also hosts stellar songs like “Watermelon,” “Orange Pineapple Juice,” “Chapter 13 (Rich Man Vs. Poor Man),” and “Pop’s Rap.” Ernest “No I.D.” Wilson was heavily involved with the album’s production.
