Image via Complex Original
One of the most unique artists of our era, Common has had a career unlike anybody else. Emerging on the Chicago underground rap scene under the moniker Common Sense, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. first thrust himself into the mainstream consciousness with his 1994 album Resurrection, which brought him national recognition and led to him being sued by a ska band also named Common Sense, which is why he is now known only as Common.
His evolution since his days as Common Sense is one of the most fascinating and unique stories in the history of rap, and taking the full view makes one appreciate the breadth of this rapper/actor/poet/activist/author’s talent. Given Common’s diverse array of a talents, to appreciate his journey you have to look at every step; here are 10 Ways Common Has Reshaped His Career.
Common’s track "I Used to Love H.E.R." denounced the rap establishment and even sparked a feud with Ice Cube.
By the time he released Resurrection in 1994, Chicago-based Common Sense had established himself as a rapper whose lyrics were some of the best and most original in the underground community. The signature track off of the albumwas "I Used to Love H.E.R." an allegory that sharply criticized the pervasive themes of sex and violence in the popular “gangster rap” and the direction in which the genre was headed as a whole.
The Westside Connection (Ice Cube, WC, and Mack 10) took particular offense, and the group went back and forth with Common trading insult tracks until they squashed their beef in a meeting with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The episode, however, solidified the fact that Common was not going to conform to mainstream rap in order to become famous, and indeed this choice set him down a different path for the rest of his career.
Amid questions about his artistic integrity, Common again thumbed his nose at gangster rap beginning with One Day It’ll All Make Sense.
In September of 1997, the rapper now known only as Common released One Day It’ll All Make Sense, the follow-up to his 1994 album, Resurrection. In it, the soulful tone of Common’s ; his new fatherhood inspired the single “Retrospect for Life,” a song featuring Lauryn Hill and dedicated to his newborn daughter Omoye Assata Lynn. The song reflected the breadth of emotion Common was capable of putting into his music after his more traditional beginnings on Resurrection, and set the tone for the rest of his music going forward.
When Like Water for Chocolate went gold, it made Common a rarely-seen critical and commercial success.
Common’s first commercial hit was Like Water for Chocolate, which was released in March of 2000 and sold 70,000 copies in its first week alone. The album touched on a lot of racial themes, and very much aligned with the “conscious hip-hop” lyrical style with which Common has always been associated; however, its huge success (it reached 748,000 albums sold in March 2005) made it a rarity in the genre, and separated Common from his fellow artists. The ultimate validation for the album’s both critical and mainstream success came when the single “The Light” was nominated for a Grammy, although it ended up losing to “The Real Slim Shady.”
Common made his first acting appearance in 2003 on Girlfriends, and has gone on to appear in many movies.
While many rappers have crossed over into TV and film, few have had as extended and diverse a run as Common. He started out on Girlfriends in 2003 doing a guest spot as a slam poet making a play for the love of Persia White, and even went on to do a cameo on Scrubs before hitting the big screen for Smokin’ Aces, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, and several others. Most recently, he was one of the leads in AMC’s Hell on Wheels, maintaining his status as one of the most multi-talented artists alive.
Be earned Common four Grammy nominations, making him an awards show staple.
After receiving his first award nomination five years earlier, Common broke through into the rotation of awards show regulars with his 2005 album Be. The album was a critical success, and was nominated for four different Grammy Awards (Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Best Rap Song). This mainstream acceptance played a part in his 2008 award for Southside, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group, and was part of an impressive run from 2006 through 2008 in which he was nominated for BET, BET Hip Hop, Grammy, Image, MTV Video Music, and Soul Train Awards.
Common has modeled for many clothing companies, most prominently the Gap.
Beginning in 2006, Common began a side career as a model for a traditionally-white company in the Gap. That has led to a host of other gigs, something most rappers typically shy away from. Common has become a very unique figure in that he is unafraid to apply his talent in any number of media, without an overwhelming concern for what the public perception will be. His freedom to do only what he wants to do is a unique kind of privilege enjoyed by very few artists, and one Common himself would have had a hard time attaining had he stuck to a more conventional musical path.
In 2007, Common pledged to no longer use anti-gay lyrics in his music.
While it has certainly become taboo to hurtle insults at the LGBT community in rap music, in 2007 that was far from the case. Common was no saint himself, falling into the tired trope of insulting homosexuals in his earlier songs. However, after being confronted by fans, he vowed to change his ways, and to his credit he has. We’re always looking to expose hypocrisy in those who fancy themselves as “progressive,” and this was clearly an instance where Common came off as a hypocrite. His decision to change his ways, though, reflected a mature attitude and genuine concern for the feelings of his fans (rather than their wallets) that few seem to possess.
Common has publicly supported PETA and is now a pescetarian after many years as a vegan.
How often have you heard of a rapper espousing the fair treatment of animals? Common has been an outspoken supporter of PETA, putting meaningful action behind and lending his voice to a cause in which he truly believes. And while he has dialed back his dietary limits somewhat, it’s still incredibly refreshing to see a mainstream entertainer not only take care of him/herself, but really advocate for the health of others as well. He could be talking about food or even his musical philosophy when he says “You’ve got to find out what your body needs, what’s healthy for you. What’s good for life.”
Michelle Obama invited Common to a 2011 poetry reading at the White House.
The First Lady herself issued an invitation for Common to appear at White House poetry reading, an unprecedented move that drew a firestorm of nasty, thinly-veiled racist criticism from Republicans. The reason he was invited, though, was not merely to stir up trouble; instead, it was because of his accomplishments as a rapper, poet, and philanthropist in the Obamas’ native Chicago. “One of the things the president appreciates is the work Mr. Lynn has done with children, especially in Chicago,” said Press Secretary Jay Carney, “trying to get them to focus on poetry as opposed to some of the negative influences of life on the street.”
Common authored a memoir that explores his close relationship with his mother and her influence on his career.
It takes a lot of time, effort, and self-awareness to write a truly good memoir. It requires a willingness to reveal yourself in some of your worst moments, when there’s no possible way you can come out of a story looking like good. Perhaps most importantly, you have to be willing to lay out all your feelings, doubts, and shortcomings about every part of your life. In 2011, Common did just that through the lens of his relationship with his mother in One Day It’ll All Make Sense, a novel praised by the late Maya Angelou, who said “[Common’s] saga reminds the reader that love liberates and poverty cripples. Common writes beautifully, like the poet he is.”