Common (rapper)

Common
Common performing in 2018
Born
Lonnie Rashid Lynn

(1972-03-13) March 13, 1972 (age 52)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other names
  • Common Sense
  • L. Liston
  • Willie Stargell[1]
EducationFlorida A&M University (BS)
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active1991–present[2]
Works
Partner(s)Erykah Badu (2000–2002)
Taraji P. Henson (2005–2007)
Serena Williams (2007–2010)
Angela Rye (2017–2018)
Tiffany Haddish (2020–2021)
Jennifer Hudson (2021–present)
Children1
Parents
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
Member of
Websitewww.thinkcommon.com

Lonnie Rashid Lynn[6][7][8] (born March 13, 1972), known professionally as Common (formerly known as Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. At the age of 20, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), which was met with critical acclaim along with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective, Soulquarians.[9]

After attaining a major label record deal, he released his fourth and fifth albums, Like Water for Chocolate (2000) and Electric Circus (2002), to continued acclaim and modest commercial response.[10] His guest performance on fellow Soulquarian, Erykah Badu's 2003 single, "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)", won Best R&B Song at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.[11] He signed with fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West's record label GOOD Music, in a joint venture with Geffen Records to release his sixth album Be (2005), which was met with both critical and commercial success and yielded a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. His seventh album, Finding Forever (2007), became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200, while a song from the album, "Southside" (featuring Kanye West) won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. His eighth album, Universal Mind Control (2008), was met with mixed critical reception and served as his final release with GOOD. Common's own label imprint, Think Common Entertainment, was founded in 2011 and entered a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records to release his ninth album, The Dreamer/The Believer (2011), and later No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his tenth album, Nobody's Smiling (2014). Both received critical praise and further discussed social issues in Black America; his eleventh album, Black America Again (2016) saw widespread critical acclaim and served as his final release on a major label.[12][13]

Lynn won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song "Glory" (with John Legend), which he released for the film Selma (2014), wherein he co-starred as civil rights leader James Bevel. His other film roles include Smokin' Aces (2006), Street Kings (2008), American Gangster (2007), Wanted (2008), Date Night (2010), Just Wright (2010), Happy Feet Two (2011), Run All Night (2015), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), and Smallfoot (2018). In television, he starred as Elam Ferguson in AMC western series Hell on Wheels from 2011 to 2014. His song "Letter to the Free" was released for the Ava DuVernay-directed Netflix documentary 13th (2017), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. He made his Broadway acting debut on the play Between Riverside and Crazy (2023), which won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[14]

  1. ^ "Common". Discogs.com. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. ^ Natasha (August 8, 2014). "The Light In Hip Hop: A Reflection On The Words & Works Of Common". The Source. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Anon. (May 11, 2011). "Common: 'Vile' or mainstream?". CNN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  4. ^ O'Connor, Christopher (March 29, 2000). "Common Moves Toward a Progressive Hip-Hop". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Loma Vista – a recording company". Lomavistarecordings.com. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  6. ^ "Common Finds a Happy Place in Hollywood Supporting Strong Women (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. May 25, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Mudede, Charles. "In His New Memoir, Common Sheds Light on a Lifestyle That Old School Rappers Only Dreamed About". Thestranger.com. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  8. ^ Cragg, Michael (December 6, 2011). "New music: Common – The Believer feat John Legend". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  9. ^ "Video: Common Speaks on Soulquarians, No I.D. & Kanye + BTS Pics of "Blue Sky" Video". okayplayer. October 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  10. ^ "Common Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "UMPG writers and artists receive best R&B Song of the Year Category at Grammy Awards". Universal Music Publishing Group. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008.
  12. ^ "Common Explains GOOD Music Departure, Kanye West's Focus Being Elsewhere". September 17, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "Listen to Common's New Song, "Home"". Vulture.com. October 19, 2016.
  14. ^ "The Pulitzer Prizes - 2015 Pulitzer Winners will be announced April 20". Pulitzer.org. March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.