Common
by Jason Newman
Photography by David Yellen

When Forbes magazine released its annual feature on “Hip-Hop’s 20 Biggest Earners” earlier this year, readers may have been surprised to see Rashid Lynn, better known to the world as Common, sandwiched in at number 12 between Eminem and Akon. Since his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? hit in 1992, the rapper has taken on numerous incarnations, including young street poet, lyrical wordsmith, introspective father-to-be, artsy bohemian, revolutionary and eclectic rocker. Over the course of eight albums, Common has displayed a range most emcees can only imagine, and with his latest album Universal Mind Control, the 36-year-old emcee delivers his most up-tempo and fun album to date. “I didn’t want to over-rap it,” he said at a listening session earlier this year. “I want kids to rap to this, so I didn’t want to make it too intricate.” Not that UMC is any less creative than past efforts. Produced primarily by The Neptunes, the album delves into electro-based, Afrika Bambaataa-inspired sounds (“Universal Mind Control”), church revival anthems (“What a World”) and breezy tones more suited for summer listening (“Make My Day” with Cee-Lo).

If that were all, we’d still co-sign on our man from Chicago for a cover story. But a whole new fan base has been discovering Common as “The Actor.” Since his 2003 guest spot on the television show “Girlfriends,” and more recently in his cinematic debut in last year’s Smokin Aces, the rapper has been steadily adding to his acting resume, appearing in American Gangster, Wanted and Street Kings. Next year, he’ll join Christian Bale and Bryce Dallas Howard in Terminator Salvation and has signed on to play the Green Lantern character in the live-action film Justice League of America.

On an unseasonably warm October day in New York, Common jets quickly from YRB’s photo shoot to CBS Studios to tape a spot on BET’s 106 & Park. Despite a tight schedule, (“We can’t miss that train,” he says of the Amtrak to Baltimore for a show later that night) the artist greets every employee—receptionists and security guards, hosts and producers—with a smile and a handshake, displaying an everyman charm rarely seen in your average multi-millionaire. En route to the studio, Common opened up about his dual careers, opening for N.W.A and why a bad review in a fifth grade play postponed his attempts at acting superstardom.

YRB: Your recent tour with N.E.R.D defies the stereotype of your standard hip-hop concert and feels more like a “show.” How important is performing to you and where does that come from?

Common: I take a lot of pride in performing and always enjoyed that aspect of being an artist. Shows were something that always amazed me as a kid, whether it’s me getting to see Jackson 5 on their Victory tour [in 1984] or Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy and N.W.A. I opened for N.W.A [when I was a teenager]. Being fans of them, we looked at everybody that made records like they were superstars. That’s all we knew. Chicago boys had never seen rap artists that were on TV. When we got there and started sound checking with N.W.A, they had forgotten one of their records that they needed to perform, so one of my boys had to drive Ice Cube to the store to get the record. We were surprised, first of all, that they forgot their records. Dang, that was stuff that we did. And two, they needed a ride to the store to get the record. [Laughs]

YRB: Do you ever think about your legacy in hip-hop?

Common: As an artist, you’re constantly evolving, so there’s no time for me to think what people are going to remember me by. I still got things to do in the world, and I’m still discovering things I want to do creatively. But I create every album I make to be timeless. I’m thinking like, man, I want this to be around for thousands of years the way people still read Shakespeare. You definitely don’t just try to create music where you feel it’s just gonna hit for the day. For me, if a beat don’t last over two weeks, then it ain’t gonna last for 20 years, so I don’t keep that beat.

YRB: What was your definition of success in 1992, and how has that changed today?

Common: Well, in ‘92, my definition was getting on <Yo! MTV Raps> making a gold record and being on Arsenio Hall. I saw a quote that said, “Success is a journey, not a destination,” and that really resonates with me. Kanye once told me you can’t really wallow in what you did before because things are constantly changing in the world and your job as an artist is to keep living and keep growing. I don’t listen to my old albums. By the time I finish an album, I’m already on to the next one.

YRB: Earlier this year, you mentioned the up-tempo tone of Universal Mind Control as a response to going to clubs and not hearing your own music. Was that a conscious plan going into recording?

Common: I think it evolved naturally. My experiences always come through in my music. I ain’t get up to Pharrell and say, “Make dance music.” Those words never came out of neither one of us. But in my mind, I knew I wanted to have some music that people could dance to. When I did Electric Circus [in 2002], I wanted to do some music that was “out there.” That was the only way I could describe it to the producers. That’s what my experiences were and what I was listening to at the time. This time, I was inspired to just make fun music. A lot of people see what’s going on in the world and awareness is at a high level. The information is out there. At this point in my career, it’s not necessary to tell people what’s going on or how to resolve the situation. More than anything, I wanted to give people something they could enjoy. A lot of times, I still was having fun in my life but I felt I needed to make some music that could inspire some people in other ways.

YRB: At this point in your career, is it harder to create music from a position of success?

Common: I feel more confident, and I have more space to create. It’s not as much of a strain to create music because I have other outlets and sources creatively and financially. I can be even more free with my music, and music is becoming easier for me. Because I love art and music, it ain’t hard. God willing, I’ll be a big movie star—and I will be—and from that point, I still want to be making music. I love doing this. I don’t want to have a time limit on how long I can make music. Rap is just getting to its adult level where artists are still existing in their thirties. But I love making movies and acting, and I want to do plays and produce movies.

YRB: Speaking of that, when did you first get the acting bug?

Common: It’s funny, I didn’t think about acting when I was young, but I was in a play in the fifth grade. I was Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, and my manager Derrick played Scrooge. After the whole play, all everyone talked about was how good Derrick was so it stopped right there for me until 2000 [laughs]. That’s when I decided I wanted to do something else creatively and find a new outlet. I felt like I was bursting to do something new. I went to an acting class and felt I was really developing as an actor and human being just going to class in between albums or tours.

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