The poetry fest is this Wednesday, and among the invitees is Lonnie Rashid Lynne, Jr., aka “Common.” 
 
 In fact, Common rapped at the 2008 New Year celebration at Wright’s church. “I’m gonna let you know / No people want drama / We gonna vote for my man / What’s his name? Obama … Revolution is here,” he sang, and the Rev. Wright danced in the background. 
 
 Some of Common’s poetry could also raise some eyebrows among those who might find cop-killing and racially-tinged or misogynist language beneath the Office of the Presidency. 
 
 “Tell the law my Uzi weighs a ton … I hold up a peace sign but I carry a gun,” raps Common in one appearance that was posted onto YouTube. 
 
 “Flyer say Free Mumia on my freezer,” he raps in another. Mumia Abu-Jamal is an incarcerated former member of the Black Panther Party who was convicted in 1981 for killing a Philadelphia police officer. Agitating for his release from prison has become a cause for many leftwing activists. 
 
 Common named his daughter after Assata Shakur, a Black Panther who was convicted of first-degree murder 1977. She escaped from prison and exiled to Cuba. The FBI recognizes her as a domestic terrorist. ||||| Outrage alert: Some conservatives have a beef with Michelle Obama’s invitation to a rapper who once called for the “burn”-ing of George W. Bush to perform this week at White House event.Hip-hop artist Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., a Chicago native who goes by the name Common, will be part of a poetry program Wednesday night. President Obama is expected to attend.The Daily Caller, a conservative news site launched by Tucker Carlson, has helped spearhead the controversy over the rapper. (And this marks the only time “Tucker Carlson” and “rapper” have ever appeared in the same sentence.) The site reprinted lyrics from one Common work, "A Letter to the Law" in which he says his "Uzi weighs a ton" and keying on the following passage:No time for that, because there’s things to be doneStay true to what I do so the youth dream comefrom project buildingSeeing a fiend being hungWith that happening, why they messing with Saddam?Burn a Bush cos’ for peace he no push no buttonKilling over oil and greaseno weapons of destructionHow can we follow a leader when this a corrupt oneThe government’s a g-unit and they might buck young black peopleBlack people in the urban area oneI hold up a peace sign, but I carry a gun.Sarah Palin jumped on the bandwagon, tweeting the Daily Caller story with a comment “Oh, lovely White House” — the virtual equivalent of rolling her eyes.Pajamas Media, another conservative site, says Common supports Mumia Abu Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, and was a member, along with the Obamas, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Rev. Jeremiah Wright served as pastor. The rapper defended Wright during the 2008 campaign as Obama distanced himself from the controversial minister. The video below shows Wright in the background as Common performs.A Fox News site called the multiple Grammy-winner a “vile rapper.” Common, who has also acted in several films, including "American Gangster" and "Terminator Salvation," also performed at a 2009 inaugural ball. (The latter creates one degree of separation from Arnold Schwarzenegger. The White House did not immediately comment. Common appeared to take the whole thing in stride, tweeting, “So apparently Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me.”Anyone remember Sister Souljah james.oliphant@latimes.comtwitter: @jamesoliphantHere's "A Letter to the Law"Here's Common performing with Jeremiah Wright in the background: ||||| May 10, 2011 4:07 pm ET by Eric Hananoki 
 
 Conservatives such as Fox News, the Daily Caller and Sarah Palin are criticizing the White House's invitation to rapper Common for a poetry event over the purported vulgarity of his lyrics. Fox Nation, for instance, called Common a "vile rapper." 
 
 But roughly half-a-year ago, Fox News had a different tone about Common. In an October 2010 report for FoxNews.com, reporter Jason Robinson interviewed the "rap legend" and told him, "your music is very positive. And you're known as the conscious rapper. How important is that to you, and how important do you think that is to our kids?" 
 
 Common replied that it's a "significant role. I just try to show who we are as well-rounded people and I'm happy to be known as the conscious artist." 
 
 Watch: 
 
 Others have debunked the silly outrage over Common's invite. The Huffington Post's Jason Linkins writes that Common is "not what I consider to be a 'gangsta rapper' or particularly prone to any of hip-hop's legendary excesses. In fact, it was these excesses - 'poppin glocks servin rocks and hittin switches' -- that Common famously criticized in perhaps his most famous song, 'I Used To Love H.E.R.'" The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf, meanwhile, notes that there's a tradition of previous White Houses hosting people with purportedly controversial lyrics.
– Michelle Obama invited rapper Common to the White House for a poetry event tonight, reports the Chicago Tribune, and conservatives are none too happy about it. Why? Well, to start, Common, AKA Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., has a song that apparently tells people to "burn" George W. Bush. Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller first snarked about the issue, reprinting lyrics from "A Letter to the Law" that reference Uzis, Bush, and Saddam. Sarah Palin was quick to tweet a link to the piece with her own two cents thrown in: "Oh lovely, White House..." Another conservative site, Pajamas Media, claims that the rapper supports convicted "cop killer" Mumia Abu Jamal, named his daughter after another convicted murderer and Black Panther, and was a member of the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church. Fox Nation referred to Common as a "vile rapper," but Media Matters notes that just about half a year ago, FoxNews.com featured a report on the "rap legend" whose music is "very positive." In the Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf points out that the White House has a tradition of hosting so-called "depraved" musicians, and on the Huffington Post, Jason Linkins argues that Common is actually pretty far from a "gangsta rapper."