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Hip-Hop Legend: Common
RnB/Hip Hop | Tuesday 24th January 2012 | Osh
Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Common first made his mark on the underground scene with the release of 1992's “Can I Borrow a Dollar?,” and has been considered a founding father of higher-minded hip-hop culture ever since.
In the ‘90s, he joined up with fellow socially-conscious MCs Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Q-Tip as a core member of the New York-based Native Tongues, and then later collaborated with Eyrkah Badu, Questlove and J Dill as a part of the hip-hop collective, Soulquarians. Known for their highly abstract and Afrocentric lyricism, it was with them that Common enjoyed his first taste of mainstream success.
Since then, he’s taken off - recently producing his ninth studio album, “The Dreamer, the Believer”, to incredible fanfare. Romantic, swelling and righteous, one of the tracks even features longtime friend and famed poet Maya Angelou, who performs one of her works on “The Dreamer". Upon hearing the final final product, however, Angelou admitted to being disappointed in it. Particularly with regard to Common’s frequent usage of the n-word. “I had no idea that Common was using the piece we had done together on [a track] in which he also used the ‘N’ word numerous times,” said Angelou to the New York Post. “I’m surprised and disappointed. I don’t know why he chose to do that. I had never heard him use that [word] before. I admired him so because he wasn’t singing the line of least resistance.” To which the Chicago-born rapper responded, “I told her what ‘The Dreamer’ was about and what I wanted to get across to people. I wanted young people to hear this and feel like they could really accomplish their dreams.”
That wasn’t the first time that his controversial lyricism made headlines. In early 2011, after being invited by Michelle Obama to a poetry reading at the White House, his invitation was revoked following protests by members of the New Jersey State Police who found his track, “A Song For Assata” to be particularly offensive as it refers to Assata Shakur - a member of the Black Liberation Army who in 1977 was convicted of the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.
In an age populated by over-produced rap and "bitches and hoes" themed lyricism, Common's altruisim and his work as an advocate for social justice makes him a stand out. And it is for this that this month, we take a minute to pause and salute him.
