Common 是Hip-Hop音乐界的一个标志性的人物,是史上最有天分的说唱(Rap)艺人和作词家,被称为说唱界的Bob Dylan。Common有文化的歌词和流畅的爵士说唱风格,使他成为美国说唱界少有的几个有影响力并“有教养”的说唱歌手之一。
Common始终坚持着以精致的文学化的说唱技巧演唱,在那个商业色彩浓厚的匪帮说唱几乎垄断了整个说唱音乐界的年代,使得爵士说唱得以绵延生息。他的文化性、聪明、敏锐和政治敏感显然与当时的潮流不相符,因而只能成为地下说唱歌手,但这毫不影响他赢得大批忠实的歌迷,长久以来他都被认为是最优秀的地下说唱大师。到90年代末期时,波西米亚风情的复苏令Common的音乐迅速得到广泛认可。他创新式的说唱音乐不仅赢得了乐评人们的纷纷赞扬,还获得了与大公司签约的机会,让他从地下走到了地上。
Common出生于并不拥有肥沃Hip-Hop音乐土壤的芝加哥。可他却以自己的勤奋练习和天才的乐感赢得了Combat和Ruthless公司的青睐,并先后发行了几张专集,例如1992年推出的Can I Borrow a Dollar和1994年推出的Resurrection。在后一张专集里的歌曲“I Used to Love H. E. R”中,Common还巧妙的批评了说唱音乐逐渐沦入商业元素所需要的性和暴力的低俗阶段。
签约大厂牌Relativity后, Common于1997年发行了One Day It’ll All Make Sense,在这张有一班包括Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, De La Soul, Erykah Badu等星光熠熠的明星倾情担任嘉宾的专辑里,Common把自己散发着知性光彩的Hip-Hop发挥到了极致,因而大碟获得大把的好评追捧和巨大的商业成功。接下来的几年,Common不断的与着名的音乐人合作,在Pete Rock的Soul Sorvivor,Mos Def和Talib Kweli的 Black Star还有The Roots的Things Fall Apart里都有Common的身影。这样的经历使Common迅速入主主流Hip-Hop音乐世界。与主流大厂牌MCA签约后他推出了大碟Like Water for Chocolate,这张专辑为他带来了空前的成功,奠定了他Hip-Hop大师的地位。这一次与他合作的朋友名单中有Macy Gray, MC Lyte, Cee-Lo, Mos Def, D'Angelo, 爵士乐手Roy Hargrove等等。不仅大碟好评如潮,其中的单曲The Light更是为他赢得了当年Grammy最佳说唱演唱的提名。02年他与Mary J. Blige合作了红遍全球的No More Drama,接着他便推出了一张把个性发挥得淋漓尽致的实验性专辑Electric Circus,再次在Hip-Hop音乐界掀起风浪。
05年,Common 和其制作人Kanye West 打造出了一支最具才气的组合, 推出了个人第6张专辑《Be》。
07年夏,Common推出全新大碟《Finding forever》。专辑封面即与之前大部分专辑的怀旧不同,与03年的实验专辑有些相似的超现实风格。曲目一样是首首精心打造。一样标志性的舒缓的带有爵士感的开场;由老搭档Kanye west制作的《The people》;两人合唱《south side》;更有请来Black eyed peas首脑will i am跨刀合作《i want you》。整张专辑毫无疑问美妙无比,给人无比享受的50分钟。无处不透露着Common的才华横溢。让我们期待他以后更伟大的成就吧。
Common (originally Common Sense) was a highly influential figure in rap's underground during the '90s, keeping the sophisticated lyrical technique and flowing syncopations of jazz-rap alive in an era when commercial gangsta rap was threatening to obliterate everything in its path. His literate, intelligent, nimbly performed rhymes and political consciousness certainly didn't fit the fashions of the moment, but he was able to win a devoted cult audience. By the late '90s, a substantial underground movement had set about reviving the bohemian sensibility of alternative rap, and Common finally started to receive wider recognition as a creative force. Not only were his albums praised by critics, but he was able to sign with a major label that guaranteed him more exposure than ever before.
Common was born Lonnie Rashied Lynn on the South Side of Chicago, an area not exactly noted for its fertile hip-hop scene. Nonetheless, he honed his skills to the point where — performing as Common Sense — he was able to catch his first break, winning The Source magazine's Unsigned Hype contest. He debuted in 1992 with the single "Take It EZ," which appeared on his Combat-released debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?; further singles "Breaker 1/9" and "Soul by the Pound" helped establish his reputation in the hip-hop underground, although some critics complained about the record's occasional misogynistic undertones. Common Sense subsequently wound up on Ruthless Records for his 1994 follow-up, Resurrection, which crystallized his reputation as one of the underground's best (and wordiest) lyricists. The track "I Used to Love H.E.R." attracted substantial notice for its clever allegory about rap's descent into commercially exploitative sex-and-violence subject matter, and even provoked a short-lived feud with Ice Cube. Subsequently, Common Sense was sued by a ska band of the same name, and was forced to shorten his own moniker to Common; he also relocated from Chicago to Brooklyn.
Bumped up to parent label Relativity, Common issued the first album under his new name in 1997. One Day It'll All Make Sense capitalized on the fledgling resurgence of intelligent hip-hop with several prominent guests, including Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, De La Soul, Erykah Badu, Cee-Lo, and the Roots' Black Thought. The album was well received in the press, and Common raised his profile with several notable guest spots over the next couple of years; he appeared on Pete Rock's Soul Survivor, plus two watermark albums of the new progressive hip-hop movement, Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black Star and the Roots' Things Fall Apart. Common also hooked up with indie rap kingpins Rawkus for a one-off collaboration with Sadat X, "1-9-9-9," which appeared on the label's seminal Soundbombing, Vol. 2 compilation.
With his name popping up in all the right places, Common landed a major-label deal with MCA, and brought on Roots drummer ?uestlove as producer for his next project. Like Water for Chocolate was released in early 2000 and turned into something of a breakthrough success, attracting more attention than any Common album to date (partly because of MCA's greater promotional resources). Guests this time around included Macy Gray, MC Lyte, Cee-Lo, Mos Def, D'Angelo, jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and Afro-beat star Femi Kuti (on a tribute to his legendary father Fela). Plus, the singles "The Sixth Sense" and "The Light" (the latter of which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance) earned considerable airplay. Following that success, Common set the stage for his next record with an appearance on Mary J. Blige's No More Drama in early 2002. He issued his most personal work to date with Electric Circus, a sprawling album that polarized fans, in December of that year. Be, a much tighter album that was produced primarily by Kanye West, followed in May 2005, netting four Grammy nominations. Also featuring extensive assistance from West, Finding Forever came out two years later.