Diz and Cisco Swank understand we all need a little convincing. Humans are naturally stubborn, especially when intrusive thoughts such as “failure” mesh well with our lack of patience. In the first few seconds of ‘Oneday,’ the production feels groggy. The rich, fatty chords, muted drums, and desaturated baseline create an early morning feeling. Cisco sounds weary as he spouts affirmations, “one day/I’ll see the fruits of my labor,” but one he believes in. The imagery in his rhymes is impressive “Sword and my shield rest calm while I’m waiting/my thoughts feel weighted,” visualizing the toll these thoughts are despite his self-assurance. Once the chorus arrives, background vocals and ad-libs lilt softly behind the brightness of the horns, forming a radiating texture similar to the warmth of the sun.
‘Oneday’ is less of an ode to chasing a dream and more of a plea to avoid being restricted to a time frame to achieve them. Time is insidious; everywhere in location but never precise like a faulty GPS. Diz is intentional with this, from the measured tempo of the production to lines like “One day I ain’t running out of time now/One day I’ll forget what I’m crying about,” time only measures the journey, not the scale of your success. Time is a symptom of doubt; one thing confidence never has a problem with. One day, success will arrive, so “live a little” until then.
