I Used to Love H.E.R.


"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, .

Overview

Content

The song uses an extended acronym, using a woman to represent hip hop music. The acronym "H.E.R" means "Hip-Hop in its Essence is Real""
The song speaks on the direction that hip hop music took 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 Midwest.

Acclaim

It is often regarded as one of the greatest hip hop recordings ever. 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." Vukile Simelane of RapReviews.com claims it to have one of the "fattest beat ever constructed". Alex Henderson of Allmusic considers it to be the standout track on Resurrection. Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal considers it to be Common's best single ever. Andrea Duncan-Mao of XXL considers it to be a "bittersweet ode to hip-hop" and a "classic" track. Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal considers it to be a "classic hip-hop parable". 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.

Significance

The video was filmed on September 20, 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.

Track listing

A-side

  1. "I Used to Love H.E.R."
  2. "I Used to Love H.E.R. "
  3. "I Used to Love H.E.R. "

    B-side

  4. "Communism "
  5. "Communism "
  6. "Communism "

    Chart positions