Historical Figure
Common
b. 1972
American rapper and actor (born 1972)
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Biography
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known professionally as Common, is an American rapper, actor and activist. 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.
Timeline
The story of Common, told in moments.
Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. in Chicago. His father was a basketball coach and ABA player. His mother, Mahalia Ann Hines, was an educator. He grew up on the South Side.
Released his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? under the name Common Sense. A trademark dispute later forced the name change to Common.
Signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music label. The album Be, produced by West, was critically acclaimed and went gold.
Won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with John Legend for "Glory" from the film Selma. He performed it at the Oscars ceremony.
In Their Own Words (19)
I look into my daughter's eyes. And realize that I'ma learn through her. The Messiah, might even return through her. If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her
"Be (Intro)" (Track 1), 2005
The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun, where drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones
"Be (Intro)" (Track 1), 2005
Be the author of your own horoscope
"Be (Intro)" (Track 1), 2005
We write songs about wrong cause its hard to see right
"The Corner" (Track 2), 2005
We got arms but wont reach for the skies
"Be (Intro)" (Track 1), 2005
Artifacts (15)
. In 2015, Maguire spoke with Democracy Now in a sit-down interview titled,
d arrest outside the White House in 2003 (see below), "whenever I now come into America, I'm always questioned as to what my background is". In 2015, Maguire spoke with Democracy Now in a sit-down...
I think they've been tremendously courageous in telling the truth
cribed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as "very courageous". She has also praised Chelsea Manning. "I think they've been tremendously courageous in telling the truth", she has said, adding that "the...
When I think about nuclear weapons, I've been to Auschwitz concentration camp
in December 2004, Maguire compared Israel's nuclear weapons to the Nazi gas chambers in Auschwitz. "When I think about nuclear weapons, I've been to Auschwitz concentration camp". She added, "Nuclear...
and yet he continues the policy of militarism and occupation of Afghanistan, ins...
his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples", she said, "and yet he continues the policy of militarism and occupation of Afghanistan, instead of...
Nuclear weapons are only gas chambers perfected ... and for a people who already...
bers in Auschwitz. "When I think about nuclear weapons, I've been to Auschwitz concentration camp". She added, "Nuclear weapons are only gas chambers perfected ... and for a people who already know...
the American government and NATO have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan. Their next...
aised Chelsea Manning. "I think they've been tremendously courageous in telling the truth", she has said, adding that "the American government and NATO have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan. Their next...
and to me the Nobel Peace laureates should not be hosted by a State Department t...
summit in Chicago, she changed her mind because the event was hosted by the U.S. State Department, "and to me the Nobel Peace laureates should not be hosted by a State Department that is continuing...
I have seen children dying with their mothers next to them and not being able to...
sh Prime Minister Tony Blair to end the bombing of Iraq and to permit the lifting of U.N. sanction. "I have seen children dying with their mothers next to them and not being able to do anything",...
Armies with all their advanced weapons of mass destruction are facing the Iraqi ...
arch, Maguire addressed an audience of 300 people in a chapel at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. "Armies with all their advanced weapons of mass destruction are facing the Iraqi people who have...
Daily we sit, facing Mecca in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in...
y in the days that followed, Maguire described the invasion as an "ongoing and shameful slaughter". "Daily we sit, facing Mecca in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Iraq, and we ask...
They say this is for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplo...
ointment with the selection of U.S. President Barack Obama as winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. "They say this is for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and...
As we, with sorrow and sadness, remember the Holocaust Victims, we remember too ...
re asked that Mordechai Vanunu be remembered together with the Jews that perished in the Holocaust. "As we, with sorrow and sadness, remember the Holocaust Victims, we remember too those individuals...
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