Common

Common won the 2015 [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song]], and the 2015 [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]], for his song "[[Glory (Common and John Legend song)|Glory]]" from the 2014 film ''[[Selma (film)|Selma]]'', in which he co-starred as [[African-American Civil Rights Movement|1960s Civil Rights Movement]] leader [[James Bevel]].

== Early life ==

== Music career ==

===1992–1996: Career beginnings ===

With the 1994 release of ''[[Resurrection (Common album)|Resurrection]]'', Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, which extended beyond Chicago natives. The album sold relatively well and received a strong positive reaction among [[alternative hip hop|alternative]] and [[underground hip hop]] fans at the time. ''Resurrection'' was Common's last album produced almost entirely by his long-time production partner, [[No I.D.]], who was also the then-mentor of a young [[Kanye West]].

In 1996, Common appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation CD, [[America is Dying Slowly]], alongside [[Biz Markie]], [[Wu-Tang Clan]], and [[Fat Joe]], among many other prominent hip hop artists.  The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by [[The Source (magazine)|The Source]] magazine.  He would later also contribute to the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s [[Fela Kuti]] tribute album, [[Red Hot and Riot]] in 2002.  He collaborated with [[Djelimady Tounkara]] on a remake of Kuti's track, "Years of Tears and Sorrow".

[[File:Common-Mos Def-10-mika.jpg|thumb|Common performing with [[Mos Def]], 1999]]

===1996&ndash;1999: ''One Day It'll All Make Sense'' ===

Initially scheduled for an October 1996 release, Common finally released his third album, ''[[One Day It'll All Make Sense]]'', in September 1997. The album took a total of two years to complete and included collaborations with artists such as [[Lauryn Hill]], [[De La Soul]], [[Q-Tip (rapper)|Q-Tip]], [[Canibus]], [[Black Thought]], [[Chantay Savage]], and [[Questlove]] – a future fellow member of the [[Soulquarians]] outfit. The album, which made a point of eschewing any gangsterism (in response to questions about his musical integrity), was critically acclaimed and led to a [[major label]] contract with [[MCA Records]]. In addition to releasing ''One Day'', Common's first child, daughter Omoye Assata Lynn, was born shortly after the release of the album.

As documented by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda, in the liner notes for the album, this event had a profound spiritual and mental effect on Common and enabled him to grow musically while becoming more responsible as an artist. She writes:

:Rashid found out that he was going to become a daddy in about 8 months. Stunned and confused, Rashid had life altering decisions to make with his girlfriend, Kim Jones. The situation led to the composition of his favourite cut on ''One Day...'' that offers a male slant on abortion. "[[Retrospect for Life]]", produced by [[James Poyser]] and [[No I.D.]] featuring [[Lauryn Hill]] (who was due on the same day as Rashid's girlfriend), is the song that is the driving force behind the project. Rashid listens to "[[Retrospect for Life]]" today at the mastering session geeked, as if it were for the first time. He tells me as we listen to L-Boogie wail the chorus, "''when I listen to the song now, I think about how precious her (Omoye's) life is''".

Common addresses family ethics several times on ''One Day...'', and the album sleeve is decorated with old family photos, illustrating the rapper's childhood, as well a quote from [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians 13:11]], which summarizes the path to manhood:

{{cquote|When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.}}

===1999–2003: Soulquarians era ===

[[File:Common-02.jpg|thumb|left|Common (2003) in New York City]]

Following ''One Day...'', Common signed a major label record deal with [[MCA Records]] and relocated from Chicago to New York City in 1999. He began recording almost exclusively with a loose collective of musicians and artists (dubbed the "[[Soulquarians]]" by central figure [[Questlove]]) throughout 1999, and made a few sporadic guest appearances on [[The Roots]]' ''[[Things Fall Apart (album)|Things Fall Apart]]'', and the [[Rawkus Records]] compilation, ''[[Soundbombing 2]]''.

In 2000, his fourth album, ''[[Like Water for Chocolate (album)|Like Water for Chocolate]]'', was released to mass critical acclaim. [[Executive producer|Executive produced]] by Questlove and featuring significant contributions by [[J Dilla]], (who helmed many tracks except – "Cold Blooded", "Geto Heaven Part II", "A Song For Assata", "Pop's Rap Part 3...All My Children" & the [[DJ Premier]]-produced track "[[The 6th Sense]]"), ''Like Water for Chocolate'' transpired to be a considerable commercial breakthrough for Common, earning the rapper his first [[RIAA Certification|gold]] record, and greatly expanding his fanbase among critics and listeners alike.

This album saw Common exploring themes (musically and lyrically), which were uncommon for a Hip hop record, as he does on the song "Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela)"; a homage to [[Nigerian]] music legend, and political activist [[Fela Kuti]]. The most popular single from the album "[[The Light (Common song)|The Light]]" was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]].

In 2002, Common released his fifth album, ''[[Electric Circus]]''. The album was highly anticipated and praised by many critics for its ambitious vision. However, it was not as commercially successful as his previous album, ''Like Water for Chocolate'', selling under 300,000 copies. An eclectic album, ''Electric Circus'' featured fusions of several genres such as hip hop, pop, rock, electronic, and neo soul. The album's style tended to divide critics; some praised its ambitious vision while others criticized it for the same reason. Most of the criticism tended to revolve around the album's experimental nature; some felt Common had strayed too far from his previous sound. This was Common's second and last album for MCA, and the label's final release prior to its absorption into Geffen Records.

===2004–2011: GOOD Music era ===

Following the release of ''[[Be (Common album)|Be]]'' in 2005, several mixed-race artists from the UK hip-hop scene took exception to Common's comments about interracial relationships on the song "Real People." [[Yungun]], [[Doc Brown (rapper)|Doc Brown]] and Rising Son recorded a track over an instrumental version of "The Corner" named "Dear Common (The Corner Dub)." Common states that he has heard of the track but never actually taken the time to listen to it, and has not retaliated in song.<ref>[http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/8057 "Common Gets Thugged Out, Ghost Writing For Diddy Too]". ''Sohh.com''. Retrieved 2006-12-07.</ref>

[[Image:Common in Copenhagen.jpg|thumb|upright|Performing at Store Vega, [[Copenhagen]], Denmark in December 2007.]]

Common's seventh LP titled ''[[Finding Forever]]'' was released on July 31, 2007. For this album, he continued his work with [[Kanye West]], as well as other producers such as [[will.i.am]], [[Devo Springsteen]], [[Derrick Hodge]], and [[Karriem Riggins]], as well as the only [[J Dilla]]-produced track, "So Far To Go". The album features guest spots from artists such as [[Dwele]], [[Bilal (musician)|Bilal]], [[D'Angelo]], and UK pop starlet [[Lily Allen]].  The first single from the album was "[[The People (Common song)|The People]]" b/w "[[The Game (Common song)|The Game]]". West predicted that ''Finding Forever'' would win the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.<ref>Reid, Shaheem (April 19, 2006). "[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528967/04182006/west\_kanye.jhtml?headlines=true Kanye Says He Won't Do 'Fast-Food' Music — 'M:i:III' Track Took 50 Hours]". ''MTV News''. Retrieved 2006-12-06.</ref> The album was nominated for Best Rap Album, but did not win, losing to West's ''Graduation''; however, Common did win his second Grammy for "Southside," which won the 2008 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group.

On July 31, 2007, Common performed a free concert in Santa Monica, California on the 3rd Street Promenade to promote the release of ''Finding Forever''. Common explained to the audience that the title "Finding Forever" represented his quest to find an eternal place in hip-hop and also his wishes to be an artist for the rest of his life. The album debuted at #1 on the national [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] charts.

Common was instrumental in bridging the trans-Atlantic gap by signing UK's Mr Wong and J2K to Kanye West's Getting Out Our Dreams recording outfit. Common met the pair during his tour in the UK earlier on in the year. It is speculated that the deal is not only to bring the UK and US hip hop genres together but that to rival Syco Music's cross-Atlantic success with Leona Lewis. He also has a deal with Zune mp3 players. In 2008 Common made an estimated 12 million dollars, making him equal in earnings to [[Eminem]] and [[Akon]], tied for the 13th highest grossing Hip-Hop artist.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

The album's [[eponymous]] [[lead single]] "[[Universal Mind Control (song)|Universal Mind Control]]", was officially released on July 1, 2008, via the US iTunes Store as part of ''The Announcement EP'' (sold as ''Universal Mind Control EP'' in the UK). The song features Pharrell, who also produced the track. ''The Announcement EP'' included an additional track titled "Announcement", also featuring Pharrell. The video for the lead single was filmed in September by director Hype Williams. In 2009, Common was prominently featured throughout his GOOD Music label-mate [[Kid Cudi]]'s debut album ''[[Man on the Moon: The End of Day]]'', as a narrator and featured artist. In late 2009, it was revealed Common was nominated for two [[Grammy Awards|Grammys]] at the [[52nd Annual Grammy Awards]], including [[Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group]] for "[[Make Her Say]]", alongside Kid Cudi and Kanye West, as well as [[Best Rap Album]] for ''Universal Mind Control''.

=== 2011–2013: Think Common Ent. ===

====''The Dreamer/The Believer'' and feud with Drake====

====Artium Recordings and ''Nobody's Smiling''====

== Other work ==

=== Acting ===

In 2007 Common played the role of ''Smokin' Aces'' co-star [[Alicia Keys]]'s boyfriend in the music video "[[Like You'll Never See Me Again]]".

=== Modeling and clothing ===

[[File:Common-08-mika.jpg|thumb]]

In 2006, Common was a model for photos of [[Gap (clothing retailer)|The Gap's]] fall season collection, appearing on posters in stores. Later that year, he performed in The Gap's "Holiday in Your Hood" themed ''Peace Love Gap.'' In February 2007, Common signed a deal with New Era to promote their new line of Layers fitted caps. Common also stars in a television commercial for the 2008 Lincoln Navigator.  He appears in NBA 2K8 in NBA Blacktop mode. In the fall of 2008, Common appeared in an ad for Microsoft's [[Zune]], comparing his new song, "[[Universal Mind Control]]", to "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]", a song from hip hop pioneer [[Afrika Bambaataa]]. Also, he featured in the [[Diesel (brand)|Diesel]] campaign for a new fragrance called "Only The Brave". His song "Be (intro)" is featured in a commercial for [[BlackBerry]] as of January 2011.

In December 2008, Common launched a new clothing line in partnership with Microsoft titled "Softwear", based on 1980s computing.

=== Writing ===

[[File:9.13.11CommonDrHinesByLuigiNovi2.jpg|thumb|Common and his mother, Dr Mahalia Ann Hines, at a September 13, 2011, signing for his memoir at the [[Barnes & Noble]] in [[Tribeca]], Manhattan]]

At another poetry reading, Common said, "flyers say 'free Mumia' on my freezer", a reference to [[Mumia Abu-Jamal]], who was controversially convicted of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Common stated, "The one thing that shouldn't be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day."

[[Jay Carney]], the [[White House Press Secretary]] at the time, spoke for President Obama on the matter by saying the president does not support, but actually opposes, some of the kind of words and lyrics that have been written by Common and others.<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com">Dirner, Cullen. [http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/white-house-condemns-some-of-commons-lyrics-but-praises-his-larger-body-of-work.html "White House Condemns Some of Common's Lyrics but Praises his Larger Body of Work"]. ABC News. May 11, 2011</ref> Even though the president does not support the lyrics in question, he believed that some reports were distorting what Mr. Lynn stands for more broadly. Common gave a single line response to the entire controversy: "I guess Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me."<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com"/>

In September 2011, Common published his memoir, ''One Day It'll All Make Sense'', through Atria Books. As the book details how his close relationship with his mother influenced his life, it is partially narrated by her.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/One-Day-Itll-Make-Sense/dp/1451625871/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315793449&sr=8-1 ''One Day It'll All Make Sense'']. [[Amazon.com]]. accessed September 11, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Common made a visit to Eastern Michigan University, along with speaking, he freestyled and engaged in a book signing for ''One Day It'll All Make Sense''. It was epic.</ref>

=== Activism ===

== Personal life ==

== Discography ==

{{Main|Common discography|List of Common songs}}

\* ''[[Can I Borrow a Dollar?]]'' (1992)

\* ''[[Resurrection (Common album)|Resurrection]]'' (1994)

\* ''[[One Day It'll All Make Sense]]'' (1997)

\* ''[[Like Water for Chocolate (album)|Like Water for Chocolate]]'' (2000)

\* ''[[Electric Circus (album)|Electric Circus]]'' (2002)

\* ''[[Be (Common album)|Be]]'' (2005)

\* ''[[Finding Forever]]'' (2007)

\* ''[[Universal Mind Control]]'' (2008)

\* ''[[The Dreamer/The Believer]]'' (2011)

\* ''[[Nobody's Smiling]]'' (2014)

== Filmography ==

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