https://modestwalrus.com/tags/neo-soul/Recent content in Neo-Soul on Modest WalrusHugoen-usWed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/the-light-by-common/Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/the-light-by-common/<h2 id="why-i-reacted-to-this-song">Why I Reacted To This Song</h2> <p>I was blown away from the show. Seeing Common perform live put this song in a completely different light and it&rsquo;s stuck with me ever since.</p> <h2 id="original-by-artist">Original by Artist</h2> <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen" loading="eager" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OjHX7jf-znA?autoplay=0&amp;controls=1&amp;end=0&amp;loop=0&amp;mute=0&amp;start=0" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" title="YouTube video"></iframe> </div> <h2 id="about-this-song">About This Song</h2> <p>&ldquo;The Light&rdquo; was released in 2000 on Common&rsquo;s album <em>Like Water for Chocolate</em>, produced by James Poyser and built around a sample of Bobby Caldwell&rsquo;s &ldquo;Open Your Eyes.&rdquo; Part of the Soulquarians-era work that defined the album&rsquo;s sound, it became one of Common&rsquo;s biggest and most accessible singles; a warm, melodic love song that stood apart from the more conscious, abstract material he was known for at the time.</p>