Common

Born as Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., Common is known for his sophisticated and conscious lyrics with political subtexts. He has been on the scene since the 90s with his first album, Can I Borrow a Dollar and released his most recent album, The Dreamer, The Believer, in December of 2011.

In the 2003, Common tried his luck with acting and snagged quite few roles in movies such as Smokin’ Aces, American Gangster, Wanted, and Date Night. He received lead opposite to Queen Latifah in romantic comedy Just Wright and most recently led his voice to Happy Feet Two and this years The Odd Life.

Outside of acting and music, Common is most known for his poetic abilities. He was involved in the White House controversy in 2011 when he was invited to appear at a poetry reading which caused an uproar from the New Jersey Police who felt like his political song “A Song for Assata” shouldn’t have allowed him to be invited to perform. Last year he also published his memoir, One Day It’ll All Make Sense.

This year Common was featured alongside Dr. Maya Angelous in a BET special, Soulmates: Dr. Maya Angelou and Common. He also was linked to minor beef with Drake that started over Serena Williams. He is set to perform at Rock The Bells this year .

Follow him on twitter: Common
Visit his website: ThinkCommon.com