"The Light" is the second single from

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

's 2000 album '' Like Water for Chocolate''. It was produced by

Jay Dee James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

and features keyboards performed by

James Poyser James Jason Poyser (b. January 30, 1967) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the hip hop band The Roots since 2009, and plays with The Roots in the hous ...

. It samples "Open Your Eyes" as performed by

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (August 15, 1951 – March 14, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz, and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell release ...

and the

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

from "

You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart "You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon and performed by the Detroit Emeralds. It reached number 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B chart and just missed the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1973, reachi ...

" by

the Detroit Emeralds The Detroit Emeralds are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B/soul vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic hit single, "Feel the Need in Me". Career "The ...

. Framed as a love letter, it is a confession of Common's love for a woman – specifically, his girlfriend at the time,

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

(in 2012, Common acknowledged in a video for RapGenius that the song was about her). "The Light" is Common's first single to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 44. In 2024, Common explained to ''Drink Champs'' that his "Digga-da, digga-da, digga-digga-da-da" ad lib was a placeholder. He wasn't able to find anything else to fill it and left it in.

Chart performance

After the release of ''Like Water for Chocolate'', the song almost immediately attained the status of one of hip hop's few "precious" love songs and women's anthems. The song gave Common his best chart positions in the US. It peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 21 on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart and No. 12 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. Additionally, it reached No. 13 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

chart, a feat that Common had previously surpassed.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writer Steve Huey said that "The Light" as well as "

The 6th Sense "The 6th Sense" is the first single from Common (rapper), Common's 2000 album ''Like Water for Chocolate (album), Like Water for Chocolate''. It was produced by DJ Premier, making it the only song on Common's 2000 album not produced by a member o ...

" are "quintessential Common, uplifting and thoughtful ongs thathelped bring him a whole new audience." Cynthia Fuchs of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' described it as a "charming, tender, and undeniably soulful declaration of affection and respect." The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

(directed by

Nzingha Stewart Nzingha Stewart is an American filmmaker. She began her career directing music videos, later moving to the television and movie industry in 2010 with the drama '' For Colored Girls'' as an executive producer. She has directed two movies for Lifeti ...

) features Common, Erykah Badu and "recognizable sensual delights" including "a homemade

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single " Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register. Born in 1947, Riperton grew ...

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

, a mango, a pink

lava lamp A lava lamp is a decorative lamp that was invented in 1963 by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker, the founder of the lighting company Mathmos. It consists of a bolus of a special coloured wax mixture inside a glass vessel, the remainde ...

nda deeply green water-beaded leaf." The song was listed at number 268 on ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

''s "Top 500 songs of the 2000s". The song received a 2001 Grammy Award nomination for

Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

Alternate versions

*A live seven-minute version featuring vocals by

and

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and Turntablism, turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a phonograph, turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to ...

by DJ Dummy, keyboards by James Poyser and Omar Edwards,

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

by Adam Blackstone,

Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

by Kevin Hanson and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

by Frank "Knuckles" Walker is featured on ''

Dave Chappelle's Block Party ''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'' (also known as ''Block Party'') is a 2005 American documentary-concert film starring comedian Dave Chappelle at the height of his early mainstream success and cultural influence. Directed by Academy Award-winning f ...

'' 2006 soundtrack. *A

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

featuring vocals by Erykah Badu was released by

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

as a single in 2000 for the ''

Bamboozled ''Bamboozled'' is a 2000 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's succe ...

'' soundtrack. *The original version is featured on compilations such as ''The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 4'' (2000), ''Grammy R&B/Rap Nominees 2001'', ''Pure R&B Vol. 2'', and ''Wrap It Up'' (all from 2001), '' The Hip Hop Box'' (2004) and ''Hip Hop: Gold'' (2006). *"The Light '08 (It's Love)", a remake made by Common and producer

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Smith attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in mus ...

, featuring

Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius-Billups, born Marsha Angelique Ambrosius (born 8 August 1977) is an English singer and songwriter. She began her music career in the early 2000s with Floetry, achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success. Following the ...

, was released in 2008 for a Smirnoff advertising campaign.

Track listings

US version

A-side

# "The Light (Album Version)" (4:02) # "The Light (Instrumental)" (4:07) # "The Light (Acappella)" (3:42)

B-side

# "Funky for You (Album Version)" (4:28) # "Funky for You (Instrumental)" (4:26) # "Funky for You (Radio Edit)" (4:28)

Import

A-side

# "The Light (Album Version)"

B-side

# "

(Something U Feel) (Album Version)" # "The Light (Instrumental)"

Remix

A-side

# "The Light (Remix) (Radio)" (4:01) # "The Light (Remix) (Main)" (6:03)

B-side

# "The Light (Remix) (Instrumental)" (5:49) # "The Light (Remix) (Acapella)" (5:56)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, The 2000 songs 2000 singles Common (rapper) songs MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Nzingha Stewart Song recordings produced by J Dilla Songs written by Bobby Caldwell Songs written by J Dilla Songs written by Common (rapper)

Chart performance

Reception

Alternate versions

Track listings

US version

A-side

B-side

Import

A-side

B-side

Remix

A-side

B-side

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

References