Style History: Common

Today, former Complex cover star and Kanye BFF Common dropped his eight album, Invincible Winter Universal Mind Control. After more than 15 years of listening to Comm, we decided it was high time we look back on the ups and downs of the Chicago rapper’s career. And while he had more ups than anything else, dude did go through some drastic changes, all of which were communicated perfectly and, well, not so perfectly through his clothing. Sure it’s about the music, but it’s also how you look while playing the game. Check out our breakdown of Common’s style history…

• Look: College Dropout/Backpack Rapper
• Era: Mid-'90s; Can I Borrow a Dollar & Resurrection
• What he wore: Fitteds with the curved brim and matching wind breakers.
• Baduizm Factor:

• Look: Triple C’s: Conscious Contemplative Common
• Era: Late-'90s; One Day It’ll All Make Sense
• What he wore: Earth tone trench coats
• Baduizm Factor:

• Look: Electric Jerk-ass
• Era: Circa 2000; Electric Circus
• What he wore: Crochet everything. Hats, shirts, jackets, boxers, shoes, reasoning.
• Baduizm Factor:

• Look: Organic Food Pin Up / Be (In Kanye)
• Era: Post Badu, G.O.O.D. Music, Be
• What he wore: Driving caps, distressed denim.
• Baduizm Factor:

• Look: The Smedium is the Message / Hipster
• Era: Present; Universal Mind Control
• What he wore: Tight t-shirts, shiny coats, raw denim, and birth control frames
• Baduizm Factor: