Common

Common

CountryUnited States United States
GenderMale
Birthdaymars 13, 1972
BiographyLonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), known professionally as Common (formerly known as Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. The recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records at the age of 20. The label released his first three studio albums: Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective Soulquarians.

After attaining a major label record deal, he released his fourth and fifth albums, Like Water for Chocolate (2000) and Electric Circus (2002), to continued acclaim and modest commercial response. He guest performed on fellow Soulquarian, Erykah Badu's 2003 single, "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)", which yielded his highest entry – at number nine – on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best R&B Song at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. He signed with fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West's record label GOOD Music, in a joint venture with Geffen Records to release his sixth and seventh albums Be (2005) and Finding Forever (2007); both were nominated for Best Rap Album Grammys, while the latter became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200 and contained the song "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), the recipient of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. His eighth album, Universal Mind Control (2008), was met with a critical decline and served as his final release with GOOD. Common's label imprint, Think Common Entertainment, was founded in 2011 and entered a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records to release his ninth album, The Dreamer/The Believer (2011), and later No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his tenth album, Nobody's Smiling (2014). Both received critical praise and further discussed social issues in Black America; his eleventh album, Black America Again (2016) saw widespread critical acclaim and served as his final release on a major label.

Lynn won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song "Glory" (with John Legend), which he released for the film Selma (2014), wherein he co-starred as civil rights leader James Bevel. His other film roles include Smokin' Aces (2006), Street Kings (2008), American Gangster (2007), Wanted (2008), Date Night (2010), Just Wright (2010), Happy Feet Two (2011), Run All Night (2015), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), and Smallfoot (2018). In television, he starred as Elam Ferguson in AMC western series Hell on Wheels from 2011 to 2014, and has played a supporting role in the Apple TV+ science fiction series Silo since 2023. His song "Letter to the Free" was released for the Ava DuVernay-directed Netflix documentary 13th (2017), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. He made his Broadway acting debut on the play Between Riverside and Crazy (2023), which won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Biography from the Wikipedia article Common (rapper). Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Part of Crew

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Sandman
Running

The Sandman

A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic — and human — mistakes he's made during his vast existence.

Krapopolis
Running

Krapopolis

Set in mythical ancient Greece, Krapopolis is centered on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world's first cities without killing each other.

On the Case with Paula Zahn
Running

On the Case with Paula Zahn

Led by Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula Zahn, On the Case features in-depth interviews and original reporting that go beyond the headlines in search of fascinating mysteries from within our nation's justice system. Each episode is highlighted by Zahn's riveting exclusive interviews, which draw out different viewpoints from the people personally connected to tragedies that rocked their local community and the investigations that attempted to piece together the truth On the Case with Paula Zahn.

The Amazing Race Canada
Running

The Amazing Race Canada

The Amazing Race Canada will provide a uniquely Canadian take on the original series, with competitors discovering the world within the borders of Canada.

GenreTravel
Criminal Minds
Running

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again.