“One Love” by Whodini

Back in the days of lore, rappers were more akin to poets than pop musicians. That is to say that many acts, such as Whodini, would sometimes make attempts to drop knowledge – as the old heads would say – in some of their tracks. And one such tune is the one we’re dealing with today.

Yes, using the most-simple explanation “One Love” can be interpreted as a love song. But more to the point, what the Whodini homeys are doing is sharing the lessons they learned in the field of romance. And conclusively, they are putting forth an idea that is like a complete antithesis of what rappers preach in more modern times. And that is if a guy has “one love”, i.e. one lady who truly cares for him, then that’s a blessing in and of itself. In fact he is so “lucky” that it would behoove him to not do anything to mess the relationship up. And again this is a lesson which, based on the narratives and sentiments expressed therein, that the rappers have learned the hard way.  So now they are imparting said warnings onto the listening audience.

Facts about “One Love”

Jive Records issued this track on 29 April 1986 as the second single from Whodini’s third studio project, “Back in Black”. It proved to be a notable hit, reaching number 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ranking in addition to appearing on their Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

The two vocalists at the center of Whodini, Jalil Hutchins and Ecstasy, wrote this song.  And it was produced by Larry Smith, who served the same role on most of their tracks.

This time was actually interpolated by the Black Eyed Peas in their 2003 mega-hit “Where Is the Love?”  And it was also famously sampled by Nas on one of the best tracks from his Illmatic days, which itself is entitled “One Love” (1994).