Common

Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, is a Chicago rapper, actor, writer, and activist. He was born March 13, 1972, and raised on the city’s South Side. His mother, Mahalia Ann Hines, was an educator, while his father, Lonnie Lynn Sr., was a former ABA basketball player. Recording as Common Sense, he issued Can I Borrow a Dollar? in 1992. The album’s single “Take It EZ” announced a deliberately unhurried flow and lyrics rooted in Chicago. He changed his name to Common after a legal challenge from a reggae group called Common Sense. His first performances and recordings established the conversational style that remained central to his work. His second album, Resurrection, appeared in 1994 and contains “I Used to Love H.E.R.” On that song, Common personifies hip-hop as a woman, using her story to address the music’s growth, regional tensions, and commercial turn. Some listeners interpreted the song as criticism of West Coast rap, helping make it part of the era’s East Coast–West Coast argument. In 1997, Common released One Day It’ll All Make Sense, which included “Retrospect for Life” with Lauryn Hill. The album arrived after a period in which he had been shot in the leg during an attempted robbery in Chicago. It showed a more reflective, autobiographical approach. Common became closely linked to the Soulquarians, a loose circle of musicians and producers that included Questlove, J Dilla, Erykah Badu, and others. His 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate, largely produced by the Roots’ Questlove and J Dilla, debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It included “The Light,” a Grammy-nominated song whose video featured Badu. In 2005, Common reunited with producer Kanye West for Be. The record yielded “The Corner,” with Last Poets member Malik Yusef, and “Go!,” featuring John Mayer and West. Be received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album and strengthened his mainstream profile. His 2007 album Finding Forever debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and its success followed the attention around Be. Common expanded acting with roles in Smokin’ Aces, American Gangster, Terminator Salvation, Selma, and John Wick: Chapter 2. He played James Bevel in Selma, Ava DuVernay’s film about the 1965 voting-rights campaign. With John Legend, Common wrote “Glory” for the film; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015. He has also published memoirs and children’s books, including One Day It’ll All Make Sense and Let Love Have the Last Word. His work continues.