Common (rapper)
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Common (formerly Common Sense, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. on March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Chicago-based hip hop artist known for lyrics that focus on love and spirituality. His music falls under the socially conscious subgenre of hip hop. Though he has maintained a significant underground following, in recent years he has gained notable mainstream success. His major-label debut Like Water for Chocolate received critical acclaim and some commercial success, and his latest album Be, which features nine tracks produced by Kanye West, has sold 800,000 copies [link] and was nominated in the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. Common is the son of former ABA basketball player Lonnie Lynn.
Biography
After dropping out of Columbia College Chicago and being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Common debuted in 1992 with the single "Take It EZ" and the LP Can I Borrow a Dollar? under the name Common Sense. Though popular success was virtually nonexistent, he established a solid fanbase among underground rap fans who considered him a socially conscious rapper.The song "I Used to Love H.E.R.", off the album Resurrection, sparked a feud with West Coast rapper Ice Cube. The lyrics of the song criticized the path hip-hop music was taking, including the popularity of West Coast G-Funk rap. Ice Cube and Common dissed each other back and forth, finally meeting with Louis Farrakhan and setting aside their dispute. Following the popularity of this album, Common Sense was sued by a Los Angeles-based ska band with the same name, and was forced to change his moniker to simply "Common".
With the 1994 release of Resurrection, Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, especially among Chicago natives. The album sold well and received a strong positive reaction among alternative and underground hip-hop fans at the time. Resurrection was Common's last album produced entirely by his long-time production partner, No I.D..
In 1997, Common released One Day It'll All Make Sense, which included collaborations with artists like Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, Canibus, and Black Thought. The album, which made a point of eschewing any gangsterism in response to questions about his musical integrity, was critically acclaimed and led to a major label contract with MCA Records.
In 2000, his fourth effort saw ?uestlove executive producing and J Dilla producing all tracks but one, the DJ Premier-produced track "The Sixth Sense", one of the most popular songs on the album; Like Water for Chocolate was something of a breakthrough success, greatly expanding his fanbase among critics and listeners alike and earning Common his first gold record. The most popular single from the album, "The Light", was nominated for a Grammy Award.
His next album, Electric Circus (2002 in music), featured a break from the norm, and had Common rapping over electric rock music and electronica-influenced tracks. The album received mixed reviews and did not sell as well as the previous record had, as most fans rejected Common's eclectic, experimental vision.
Common won his first Grammy (with Erykah Badu) in 2003 for "Love of My life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)," a song he performed with then-girlfriend Badu for the soundtrack to the movie Brown Sugar. (Ironically, his relationship with Badu ended that same year.) Currently, it is believed that Common is dating actress Taraji P. Henson.
His latest album, Be, was released in May 2005 on the G.O.O.D. Music label, with most of the production handled by Kanye West, a fellow native of Chicago and longtime fan. Two of the tracks were produced by J Dilla, but it was Kanye's newly iconic status that greatly boosted the album's popularity, silenced critics claiming that Common's career was over, and earned him the second gold record of his career, with sales topping out at around 800,000.
Hip-hop magazines hailed Be as one of the best albums to come out in a long time. The Source magazine gave it a near perfect 4.5 mic rating, XXL magazine gave it their highest rating of "XXL", and Allhiphop.com, a hip-hop website, gave the album 5 stars. The album was also nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2006, including:
- Best Rap Album, "Be"
- Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, "The Corner" (featuring The Last Poets)
- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, "They Say" (featuring Kanye West & John Legend)
- Best Rap Song, "Testify"
Common is a supporter of animal rights and PETA. He recently appeared in a print advertisement for PETA entitled "Think Before You Eat" [link]
Acting career
In 2003, Common surprised many by appearing on the popular American UPN sitcom Girlfriends. He appeared in the episode "Take this poem and call me in the morning" as Omar, a slam poet who competes with fellow poet Savid (played by Saul Williams) for the affection of Lynn Searcy (played by Persia White). Common is also set to appear alongside Ben Affleck, Jeremy Piven, Don Cheadle, Taraji P. Henson, and Alicia Keys in the crime film Smokin' Aces due late in 2006. He makes his big screen debut as the villianous Mob enforcer "Sir Ivy".Common and J Dilla
With both artists hailing from the Great Lakes region of the United States (Chicago and Detroit, respectively), Common and J Dilla hit it off immediately. Both were members of the Soulquarians collective, and had collaborated on numerous projects together, even placing one song, Thelonious, on both the Slum Village album Fantastic, Vol. 2, and Common's Like water for chocolate.As Dilla's health began to decline from the effects of Lupus Nephritis, he relocated to Los Angeles for treatment, and asked Common to make the move with him as a roommate. Tragically, Dilla would lose his battle with the rare disease. But his asking of Common to move in with him during his darkest hour is testament of a friendship between the two that transcended Rap music, or the music industry. As a result, Common is a friend of the Yancey Family, particularly with J Dilla's mother, Maureen Yancey.
Discography
Albums
- 1992: Can I Borrow a Dollar?
- 1994: Resurrection #179 US
- 1997: One Day It'll All Make Sense #62 US
- 2000: Like Water for Chocolate #16 US [Certified: Gold]
- 2002: Electric Circus #47 US
- 2005: Be #2 US, #38 UK [Certified: Gold]
- 2006: Finding Forever
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B/Hip-Hop | US Rap | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 1992 | "Take It E-Z" | #5 | - | Can I Borrow a Dollar? | ||
| 1992 | "Breaker 1/9" | platinum | #10 | - | Can I Borrow a Dollar? | |
| 1993 | "Soul by the Pound" | #7 | - | Can I Borrow a Dollar? | ||
| 1994 | "I Used to Love H.E.R." | #91 | #31 | - | Resurrection | |
| 1995 | "Resurrection" | #88 | #22 | - | Resurrection | |
| 1997 | "Reminding Me (Of Self)" | #57 | #9 | - | One Day It'll All Make Sense | |
| 1999 | "1-9-9-9" (feat. Sadat X & Talib Kweli) | #41 | #4 | - | Soundbombing, Vol. 2 | |
| 2000 | "The Light" | #44 | #12 | #13 | - | Like Water for Chocolate |
| 2000 | "The Sixth Sense" | #87 | #14 | - | Like Water for Chocolate | |
| 2000 | "Geto Heaven, Pt. 2" | #61 | - | Like Water for Chocolate | ||
| 2002 | "Come Close" (feat. Mary J. Blige) | #65 | #21 | #18 | - | Electric Circus |
| 2005 | "The Corner" (feat. The Last Poets) | - | #42 | - | - | Be |
| 2005 | "Go!" (feat. John Mayer & Kanye West | #79 | #31 | #21 | #79 | Be |
| 2005 | "Testify" | - | #44 | - | - | Be |
See also
External links
- [Common: Official Site]
- [Good Music Net - Website dedicated to Common's Label]
- [Interview with Common - from Synthesis Magazine and Synthesis Network]
- [Common proves he can 'Be' with help of Kanye West]
- [Common Not A Plain Rapper]
- ["Resurrection: Common Walks", PopMatters interview (9/2005)]
- [Vibe.com interview with Common]
- [Common Lyrics]
- [Common's "Be" Review]
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