Common (rapper)

Common
Common at a signing for his book, One Day It'll All Make Sense in Tribeca, Manhattan in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.
Also known as	Common Sense
Born	(1972-03-13) March 13, 1972 (age 44) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, actor, poet, film producer
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Think Common, Artium, Def Jam, Universal (current) Relativity, MCA, Geffen, GOOD, Warner Bros. (former)
Associated acts	Cocaine 80s, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, Pharrell, Soulquarians, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, John Legend, Fort Minor, Tef Poe, Kid Cudi, will.i.am
Website	thinkcommon.com

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American rapper, actor, film producer and poet from Chicago, Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, and, in the past, has released music under various other labels such as Relativity, Geffen and GOOD Music, among others.

Common's first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success. His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life", with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.