Thisisme Then: The Best of Common
Encyclopedia
Thisisme Then: The Best of Common is a compilation album
by rapper Common
, released November 27, 2007 on Relativity Records
. It covers material from his early rap years, spanning 1992 to 1997, and contains singles from Common's first three albums as well as "High Expectations" from the Soul in the Hole
soundtrack. The album's title is borrowed from the song "Thisisme", a track that was originally featured on Resurrection
and that is featured on Thisisme Then. It was released on LP
on January 8, 2008, six weeks after the CD
release.
This album excludes his more recent material made during his membership in Soulquarians
and his work with Jay Dee, later known as J Dilla
.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by rapper Common
Common (rapper)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
, released November 27, 2007 on Relativity Records
Relativity Records
Relativity Records, often branded just Relativity, is an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distribution in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and...
. It covers material from his early rap years, spanning 1992 to 1997, and contains singles from Common's first three albums as well as "High Expectations" from the Soul in the Hole
Soul In The Hole
Soul In The Hole is a 1997 documentary about aspiring basketball coach Kenny Jones, his playground dream team "Kenny's Kings", the relationship between him and his players, particularly, playground phenom, 18 year old Ed "Booger" Smith, and life in Brooklyn during the summer of 1993.-Box...
soundtrack. The album's title is borrowed from the song "Thisisme", a track that was originally featured on Resurrection
Resurrection (Common album)
Resurrection is the second album by American rapper Common . Released in 1994 , the album received a great deal of critical acclaim, but not a significant amount of mainstream attention. Resurrection was entirely produced by No I.D. , and Ynot...
and that is featured on Thisisme Then. It was released on LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
on January 8, 2008, six weeks after the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
release.
This album excludes his more recent material made during his membership in Soulquarians
Soulquarians
The Soulquarians is a neo soul and hip hop-informed musical collective with members from Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Richmond, Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and Oakland. The collective formed during the late 1990s, continuing into the early 2000s, and produced several well-received albums...
and his work with Jay Dee, later known as J Dilla
J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
.
Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Performer(s) | Producer(s) | Writers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Take It EZ Take It EZ "Take It EZ" is the debut single by Chicago rapper Common from his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar?. It is produced by 2 pc.DRK, a production team made up of Immenslope and Twilite Tone. The song's beat mixes keyboards and saxophone playing by Lenny Underwood and Tony Orbach respectively, as well... " |
4:10 | Common Lenny Underwood (keyboards Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... ) Tony Orbach (saxophone Saxophone The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... ) |
2 pc. DRK | Lonnie Lynn |
|
| 2 | "Breaker 1/9 Breaker 1/9 "Breaker 1/9" is a song by Common, released in 1993 as the second single from his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar?. Produced by Immenslope, it samples both "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers and "Black Jack" by Donald Byrd... " |
4:03 | Common | Immenslope | Lonnie Lynn O'Kelly Isley Chris Jasper Chris Jasper Chris Jasper is a former member of both the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley. He is also a successful solo artist and record producer, recording a number of his own solo albums, and producing artists, for his New York based record label, Gold City Records... Marvin Isley Marvin Isley Marvin Isley was the youngest member of the family music group the Isley Brothers and its bass guitarist.... Ronald Isley Ronald Isley Ronald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:... Rudolph Isley Rudolph Isley Rudolph Bernard Isley , better known as Rudy Isley, is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:... |
Between the Sheets (song) "Between the Sheets" is a quiet storm funk song released by American R&B/soul/funk band The Isley Brothers in 1983 off their album of the same name on the T-Neck imprint.-History:... " by The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper... Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a... Lee Dorsey Lee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:... |
| 3 | "Soul by the Pound Soul by the Pound "Soul by the Pound" is the third single from rapper Common's 1992 debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?. Its beat, produced by Immenslope, is similar to much production from Common's second album, Resurrection. Its beat contains samples from "I Like It" by DeBarge and "Sneakin' in the Back" by Tom... " |
4:21 | Common | Immenslope | Lonnie Lynn |
DeBarge DeBarge was a sibling music group of American origin whose repertoire included R&B, soul, funk, and later gospel. Active as a professional recording group from 1979 and 1989, the group was one of the few recording acts to bring success to the Motown label during the 1980s.-Background:Hailing from... Tom Scott (musician) Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California... Ultramagnetic MCs The Ultramagnetic MC's is an American hip hop group based in Bronx, New York. Originally founded by Kool Keith, the group is composed of Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as Roadmanager and backup DJ. A former member, Rooney... (Vocals by Tim Dog Tim Dog Tim Dog is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York who rose to prominence during the early '90s with his debut LP Penicillin on Wax and the celebrated "diss" record "Fuck Compton". Tim had already appeared on songs with the Ultramagnetic MCs and went on to form a duo, Ultra, with member Kool... ) |
| 4 | "Charms Alarm" | 4:31 | Common | Immenslope | Lonnie Lynn |
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of... Mtume Mtume was a funk and soul group that had several R&B hits in the 1980s. Its founder, percussionist James Mtume, previously played with Miles Davis in the 1970s. Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas and Tawatha Agee.-History:... The Five Stairsteps The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul", were an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenneth "Keni", and briefly, Cubie... |
| 5 | "Heidi Hoe" | 4:31 | Common | The Beatnuts The Beatnuts The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights... |
Lonnie Lynn | |
| 6 | "I Used to Love H.E.R. 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... " |
4:40 | Common | No I.D. No I.D. No I.D., officially known as Immenslope and also known as Ernest Wilson , is a hip hop and R&B record producer, also the vice-president of Def Jam Recordings, best known for his early work with Chicago rapper Common and is known as "The Godfather of Chicago hip hop".. The nickname No I.D... |
Lonnie Lynn |
George Benson George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist.... |
| 7 | "Book of Life" | 5:06 | Common | No I.D. | Lonnie Lynn |
Roy Ayers Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers... |
| 8 | "Resurrection Resurrection (song) "Resurrection" is the second single from rapper Common's 1994 album Resurrection. Its piano-led beat, produced by No I.D., contains samples from "The Signs Pt. II" by David Axelrod, "Dolphin Dance" by Ahmad Jamal, "Sorcerer of Isis" by Power of Zeus, "Ice" by Spirit and both "Why Can't People Be... " |
3:48 | Common | No I.D. | Lonnie Lynn |
David Axelrod (musician) David Axelrod is an American composer, arranger and producer, working in several musical genres.-Biography:... Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker... Spirit (band) Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :... |
| 9 | "Thisisme" | 4:55 | Common | No I.D. | Lonnie Lynn |
Wings (band) Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981.... Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the... |
| 10 | "Retrospect for Life Retrospect for Life "Retrospect for Life" is the first single from rapper Common's third album One Day It'll All Make Sense. It features production from James Poyser and No I.D., vocals from Lauryn Hill and bass guitar playing by Vere Isaacs. Its autobiographical lyrics weigh the choices of abortion and birth for a... " |
5:24 | Common Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of... Vere Isaacs (bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... ) |
James Poyser James Poyser James Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,... No I.D. |
Lonnie Lynn James Poyser Ernest Wilson Stevie Wonder Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:... |
Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations... Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist... |
| 11 | "Reminding Me (Of Sef) Reminding Me (Of Sef) "Reminding Me " is the second single from rapper Common's third album One Day It'll All Make Sense. It features vocals from Chantay Savage and keyboards played by Spike Rebel. Its Ynot produced beat samples "Mellow Mellow Right On" by Lowrell and "Remind Me" by Patrice Rushen... " |
4:56 | Common Chantay Savage Chantay Savage Chantay Savage is an R&B/dance singer who found substantial success in the 1990s with "I Will Survive", in which she reworked the Gloria Gaynor disco anthem... Spike Rebel (keyboards) |
Ynot | Lonnie Lynn Anthony Craig Larry Brownee Gus Redmond Lowrell Simon Fred Simon |
Patrice Rushen Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:... |
| 12 | "All Night Long All Night Long (Common song) "All Night Long" is the third single from rapper Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense. It features vocals from Erykah Badu and production from The Roots, and contains re-sung elements from "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples... " |
5:48 | Common Erykah Badu Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical... |
The Roots The Roots The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals... |
Lonnie Lynn James Poyser Ahmir Thompson ?uestlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove , is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer... E. Wright |
Don't Stop the Music (Yarbrough and Peoples song) "Don't Stop the Music" is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from the duo's 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. It was released as a single on Mercury Records in 1981.... " by Yarbrough and Peoples Yarbrough and Peoples Yarbrough and Peoples was an American R&B duo from Dallas, Texas. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music", a US Billboard R&B chart topper in 1981.-Career:... |
| 13 | "G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition)" | 4:48 | Common Cee-Lo Cee-Lo Thomas DeCarlo Callaway , better known by his stage name Cee Lo Green, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor... |
No I.D. Spike Rebel |
Lonnie Lynn Thomas Burton Cornell Newbill Ernest Wilson |
|
| 14 | "Stolen Moments, Pt. 3" | 2:32 | Common Q-Tip Q-Tip (rapper) Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest... |
No I.D. | Lonnie Lynn Ernest Wilson |
Melvin Van Peebles Melvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films... |
| 15 | "High Expectations" | 6:47 | Common | No I.D. | Lonnie Lynn Ernest Wilson Jerry Ragovoy Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy was an American songwriter and record producer.His best-known composition "Time Is on My Side" was made famous by The Rolling Stones, although it had been recorded earlier by Kai Winding and Irma Thomas... Aaron Schroeder Aaron Schroeder Aaron Schroeder was an American songwriter and music publisher.-Biography:Born Aaron Harold Schroder , he graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H... |
Chaka Khan Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career... |
Chart positions
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
62 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
34 |