Common Biography

Common is an American rapper, actor, and film producer recognized for his conscientious rap style and activism.

Early Life

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 13, 1972. While attending Luther High School South, Lynn started a rap trio and opened for acts like N.W.A. He enrolled at Florida A&M University and majored in business administration.

Career Beginnings

In 1992, Common Sense released his first single Take It EZ, followed by a full-length album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?. Tracks like Breaker 1/9 and Soul by the Pound solidified his reputation in the underground hip-hop scene. Resurrection was released in 1994 under Ruthless Records and made him one of the best underground lyricists. He shortened his name to simply Common and moved to Brooklyn, New York. Common issued the 1997 One Day It’ll All Make Sense with guest appearances from Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, and De La Soul. Over the next years, he was featured as a guest on several other albums like Black Star with Mos Def and Talib Kweli andThings Fall Apart with the Roots.

Breakthrough

Produced by ?uestlove, Like Water for Chocolate, was released in 2000 under MCA Records. It represented Common’s biggest commercial success and was his most well-known LP. The single The Sixth Sense gained major airplay and The Light earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance. In 2002 the follow-up was the experimental Electric Circus. Kanye West produced the 2005 Be, a project that received four Grammy nominations. Common collaborated again with Kanye on Finding Forever in 2007. He released 2 more albums Universal Mind Control in 2008 and The Dreamer/The Believer in 2011, before focusing on acting. After 3 years Common returned with the Dej Jam concept project Nobody Smiling in 2014. It debuted at number 6 on Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album. 

Glory

In terms of acting, he was cast in the film Selma as well as co-writing and performing along with John Legend, the soundtrack, Glory. The single won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Just like Selma and Glory, Common’s latest album Black America Again tackled the recurring issues of racism and police brutality in the US.

Photo credit: Rap-Up