Common: Chasing Uncommon Ambitions

Chicago-born rapper and actor Common (born Lonnie Lynn) remembers first hearing music at the feet of his babysitters. He was three years old when he started to absorb the songs that would change his life. His babysitters, two sisters from a music-loving family, would play vinyl records from acts like Chaka Khan, The Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire. To this day, Common says, parts of Chicago still feel like they’re living in the 1970s with the familiar fashion and melodies swirling in the air.  

A few years later, Common acted in his first school play. He already loved movies and he quickly fell for the stage. But after performing in a modest production, Common says, he didn’t quite get the proper adoration he’d hoped he’d get from the audience. Thus, his momentum for acting slowed. Nevertheless, for Common, whose father was a professional ABA basketball player and whose mother was an influential educator, success in the spotlight was in his DNA. Armed with his passion for music, he began to write lyrics. This, of course, would soon lead him to win three Grammys and an Oscar in 2014.