Grammy Award winning rapper and actor Common spoke to a full house in the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on April 7 as part of Life 101, a speaking series organized by the Office of Special Events and Projects that brings accomplished people in their fields to campus to share their experiences with students.
Common answered questions posed by Mark Cavanaugh, Ph.D, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences. He also answered the audience’s questions during the Q&A session that followed.
Aarika Camp, director of Residential Life and Housing and Common fan, said, “I loved his honesty. Even questions he didn’t want to answer he answered honestly.”
Cavanaugh introduced Common as the king of conscious hip-hop who wanted to “bring values to a genuine artistic medium.”
Cavanaugh’s questions progressed from the artist’s childhood to the present.
Common said he remembers his early childhood teachers’ names and said they had a positive influence on him.
Lucy Dorlus, a teacher at New River Middle School and NSU alumna, said, “I loved that he spoke about his experiences in school. It means a lot that teachers make a difference. I want students to remember me in 10 years.”
Common’s mother was also a teacher and taught him the importance of language and reading. He said he watched as she spoke with two different dictions, one professional and one for the “hood.” He said he learned the appropriate language for different circumstances.
His mother also inadvertently helped Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., choose his stage name. It was originally Common Sense, but he shortened it because another act had the same name.
“Mom always said, ‘Boy, you’d better use your common sense,’” he said.
His love for hip-hop started in high school as a writer and the master of ceremonies for C.D.R., a rap group he founded. While studying business at Florida A&M University, he was featured in Source Magazine’s column, Unsigned Hype.
Now he is a famous rapper and songwriter with many albums and a Grammy for his single, “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop),” with singer and ex-girlfriend Erykah Badu. He said the movie “Brown Sugar” was based on that song.
Common also spoke briefly of his feud with rapper Ice Cube in the early 1990s. Ice Cube felt insulted by the lyrics to “I Used to Love H.E.R.” that criticized the path hip-hop was on. He publicly insulted Common in song, which surprised the rapper.
Common said, “At first I felt a jolt of joy that he had dissed me because at least he knew who I was. I’m a peaceful warrior, but I finally had to respond with my song, and I shut him down.”
One of his albums that played a significant role in his life and mindset was “Be.” He had broken up with Badu and was going through tough time. He said he really started believing in himself while making that album.
“You gotta let your light shine no matter what situation you’re in” he said. “Don’t be afraid and dim your light for anybody.”
Cavanaugh’s questions eventually led to the rapper’s acting career. Common said he took an acting class and realized that was where he was supposed to be. He has since acted in movies alongside Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington.
“During ‘American Gangster,’ I just stopped and thought, ‘Man, I’m in a flick with Denzel,’” he said.
But Common said he found the movie “Just Wright” with Queen Latifah to be the type of film he wanted to make — one that could make a difference. He said it showed that beauty does not have to come in one size or one color.
He recently finished filming “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” a Disney movie in which he plays a soccer coach who learns valuable lessons from an adopted child.
Common said his career’s success inspired him to find ways to give back to the community. He took part in the compilation album “America is Slowly Dying,” a project to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
He is also involved with PETA and was a part of will.i.am’s video “Yes We Can,” inspired by a speech by President Obama.
“I claim to be the first rapper to say Obama’s name in a song,” he said.
He also founded the Common Ground Foundation, a charity that seeks to “empower youth and keep them in a healthy mind and body.”
