Lonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage
name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American rapper, actor and
writer. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?,
gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album Resurrection, and
maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, after which
he gained mainstream success through his work with the
Soulquarians.Common's first major-label album Like Water for Chocolate
(2000) received commercial success. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award
for Best R&B Song for the Erykah Badu single "Love of My Life". His
2005 album Be was also a commercial success and was nominated for Best
Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common received his second Grammy
Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside"
(featuring Kanye West), from his 2007 album Finding Forever. His
best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released in late
2007. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own
record label imprint, having previously released music under various
other labels including Relativity, Geffen, and GOOD Music.Common won
the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy
Award for Best Original Song, for his song "Glory" from the 2014 film
Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James
Bevel. Common's acting career also includes roles in the films Smokin'
Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation,
Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve, Run All
Night, Being Charlie, Rex, John Wick: Chapter 2,Smallfoot and Hunter
Killer. He also narrated the documentary Bouncing Cats, about one
man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through
hip-hop/b-boy culture. He starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western
television series Hell on Wheels.Common was born on March 13, 1972 at
the Chicago Osteopathic Hospital in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood,
the son of educator and former principal of John Hope College
Preparatory High School, Mahalia Ann Hines and former ABA basketball
player turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. He was raised in the
Calumet Heights neighborhood. Lynn's parents divorced when he was six
years old, resulting in his father moving to Denver, Colorado. This
left Lynn to be raised by his mother; however, his father remained
active in his life, and was able to get Lynn a job with the Chicago
Bulls as a teenager. Lynn attended Florida A&M University for two
years under a scholarship and majored in business administration.
name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American rapper, actor and
writer. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?,
gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album Resurrection, and
maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, after which
he gained mainstream success through his work with the
Soulquarians.Common's first major-label album Like Water for Chocolate
(2000) received commercial success. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award
for Best R&B Song for the Erykah Badu single "Love of My Life". His
2005 album Be was also a commercial success and was nominated for Best
Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common received his second Grammy
Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside"
(featuring Kanye West), from his 2007 album Finding Forever. His
best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released in late
2007. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own
record label imprint, having previously released music under various
other labels including Relativity, Geffen, and GOOD Music.Common won
the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy
Award for Best Original Song, for his song "Glory" from the 2014 film
Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James
Bevel. Common's acting career also includes roles in the films Smokin'
Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation,
Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve, Run All
Night, Being Charlie, Rex, John Wick: Chapter 2,Smallfoot and Hunter
Killer. He also narrated the documentary Bouncing Cats, about one
man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through
hip-hop/b-boy culture. He starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western
television series Hell on Wheels.Common was born on March 13, 1972 at
the Chicago Osteopathic Hospital in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood,
the son of educator and former principal of John Hope College
Preparatory High School, Mahalia Ann Hines and former ABA basketball
player turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. He was raised in the
Calumet Heights neighborhood. Lynn's parents divorced when he was six
years old, resulting in his father moving to Denver, Colorado. This
left Lynn to be raised by his mother; however, his father remained
active in his life, and was able to get Lynn a job with the Chicago
Bulls as a teenager. Lynn attended Florida A&M University for two
years under a scholarship and majored in business administration.
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