Common (artist)
Common
At Men’s Health Magazine Party in New York City in September 2006.
Background information
Birth name
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.
Also known
as
Common Sense
Born
March 13, 1972 (1972-03-13) [1]
Origin
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genre(s)
Hip hop, Conscious hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, actor, poet, author
Years active
1992–present
Label(s)
Relativity, MCA, G.O.O.D. Music, Geffen
Associated
acts
Soulquarians, J Dilla, Native Tongues, No
I.D., YNot, will.i.am, Big Pun, Kanye
West, The Standard, Erykah Badu, The
Beatnuts, Pete Rock, Terror Squad, Mos
Def, Ed O.G., Masta Ace, Q-Tip, DJ
Premier
Website
thinkcommon.com
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13,
1972), better known by his stage name Com-
mon (previously Common Sense),
is an
American rapper and actor.
Common debuted in 1992 with the album
Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a sig-
nificant underground following into the late
90s, after which he gained notable main-
stream success through his work with the
Soulquarians. His first major label album,
Like Water for Chocolate, received wide-
spread critical acclaim and moderate com-
mercial success. Its popularity was matched
by 2005’s Be, which was nominated in the
2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album.
Common was awarded his second Grammy
for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group,
for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West) (from
Finding Forever), his first Grammy was awar-
ded in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of
My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah
Badu.[2][3] His best-of album Thisisme Then
was released on November 27, 2007. Com-
mon has also initiated a burgeoning acting
career, starring significant roles in such films
as Smokin’ Aces, Street Kings, American
Gangster, Wanted, and the upcoming Termin-
ator Salvation.
Biography
Common was born on Chicago’s South Side.
He is the son of educator Dr. Mahila Ann
Hines and former ABA basketball player
turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. Com-
mon’s parents divorced when he was six
years old, resulting in his father moving to
Denver, Colorado. He