Editing Common (rapper) (section)

=== 1996–1999: ''One Day It'll All Make Sense '' ===
Initially scheduled for an October 1996 release, Common released his third album, ''[[One Day It'll All Make Sense]]'', in September 1997. The album took a total of two years to complete and included collaborations with artists such as [[Lauryn Hill]], [[De La Soul]], [[Q-Tip (rapper)|Q-Tip]], [[Canibus]], [[Black Thought]], [[Chantay Savage]], and [[Questlove]] – a future fellow member of the [[Soulquarians]] outfit. The album, which made a point of eschewing any gangsterism (in response to questions about his musical integrity), was critically acclaimed and led to a [[major label]] contract with [[MCA Records]]. In addition to releasing ''One Day'', Common's first child, daughter Omoye Assata Lynn, was born shortly after the release of the album.

As documented by hip-hop journalist Raquel Cepeda, in the liner notes for the album, this event had a profound spiritual and mental effect on Common and enabled him to grow musically while becoming more responsible as an artist. She writes:

:Rashid found out that he was going to become a daddy in about 8 months. Stunned and confused, Rashid had life-altering decisions to make with his girlfriend, Kim Jones. The situation led to the composition of his favorite cut on ''One Day...'' that offers a male slant on abortion. "[[Retrospect for Life]]", produced by [[James Poyser]] and [[No I.D.]] featuring [[Lauryn Hill]] (who was due on the same day as Rashid's girlfriend), is the song that is the driving force behind the project. Rashid listens to "[[Retrospect for Life]]" today at the mastering session geeked as if it were for the first time. He tells me as we listen to L-Boogie wail the chorus, "''when I listen to the song now, I think about how precious her (Omoye's) life is''".

Common addresses family ethics several times on ''One Day...'', and the album sleeve is decorated with old family photos, illustrating the rapper's childhood, as well a quote from [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians 13:11]], which summarizes the path to manhood:

{{blockquote|When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.}}