"The Light" is Common's first single to chart on the
Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #44. The song was listed at number 268 on
Pitchfork Media's "Top 500 songs of the 2000s".
Overview
Reception
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.[2] It also reached Common's best chart positions: #44 on
The Billboard Hot 100, #21 on the
Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #12 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Additionally, it reached #13 on the
Hot Rap Singles chart, a feat that Common had previously surpassed.
Allmusic writer Steve Huey says that "The Light" as well as "
The 6th Sense" are "quintessential Common, uplifting and thoughtful [songs that] helped bring him a whole new audience."[3]
A
remix featuring vocals by Erykah Badu was released by
Motown Records as a single in 2000 for the Bamboozled soundtrack.
The original version is featured on compilations such as 2000's The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 4, 2001's Grammy R&B/Rap Nominees 2001, 2001's Pure R&B, Vol. 2, 2001's Wrap It Up, 2004's The Hip Hop Box and 2006's Hip Hop: Gold.