Common is featured in Men’s Health Hip-Hop 50 celebration, highlighting the impact of Nas when reflecting on his own single “Respect for Life.”
Speaking with writer Keith Nelson, Common revealed a fan once said the single helped in his decision to have his kid. Common revealed the song came from a life experience but stated that it was the same personal energy, the ability to connect fans through music, Nas captured through Illmatic.
The legendary @common gets candid about how his experiences with abortion and child molestation resonated with others. https://t.co/0yymY9YWG1
“He experienced it, and the way he told it was just beautiful. In ‘One Love,’ he talks to his boy in prison,” Common said. “That’s one of the greatest songs ever written. Recently, there was a dude at the play I did called Between Riverside and Crazy who was in a wheelchair. His mother was talking to me, and she said, “He’s so happy to meet you. He loves you, loved the play, and really loves your music.” A friend of his was dying, and he told him to listen to my music. That hit me in a different way because he told him to listen to it because it would give him some hope.”
You can read more of Common’s Men’s Health feature, chronicling his journey in Health here.
It’s pretty common for Nas to get massive praise from both rap fans and other rappers. Common became the most recent to do so in an interview with Men’s Health. In the interview, he talks quite a bit about his history with hip-hop. “I remember being at a performance and then walking outside of the show, and this dude came up to me, and he said, ‘Common, I really love your music.” He explained the meaning behind the song next, “I want to tell you that your song “Retrospect for Life” made me decide to have my kid,’” he began the interview. “I wrote that song because I had been through that experience. And there was a moment when I was on the way to the abortion clinic, and the mother of my child decided, ‘We can’t do this again,’.”
That’s what he circled back to Nas, whose influence he credited. “That’s why we related to when Nas talked about what he talked about on Illmatic. He experienced it, and the way he told it was just beautiful. In ‘One Love,’ he talks to his boy in prison. That’s one of the greatest songs ever written.” The song he’s referencing appears on Nas’ classic album Illmatic. Praise for the entire record is also easy to find. In a recent New York Times story they got 50 rappers to tell the story of hip-hop. Eminem specifically spoke about the influence of the album on his career and told the story of how he first found it.
Common Has Nothing But Praise For Nas
The legendary @common gets candid about how his experiences with abortion and child molestation resonated with others. https://t.co/0yymY9YWG1
Nas just released his newest album Magic 2 last month. It’s a follow-up to his 2021 album Magic. The project also features references to another ongoing series of projects he’s working on with Hit-Boy called Kings Disease. Magic 2 sees Nas teaming up with 21 Savage and making a song with 50 Cent for the first time in decades. The album followed up last year’s Kings Disease III.
What do you think of Common’s feelings towards Nas’ song “One Love,”? Let us know in the comment section below.
Rumors have swirled that rapper Common and singer Jennifer Hudson have been quietly dating for over a year now, despite neither of them publicly confirming the romance. Eyewitnesses caught photos of Jennifer Hudson and rapper Common on a cozy dinner date in Philly.
On the blog site Deux Moi, where the readers submit the tea, Jen and Common were presented as a couple after being spotted at Vedge in Philadelphia.
Well now it seems Jennifer just inadvertently confirmed the news…
In an impromptu interview with TMZ, Jennifer says, “Thank you,” when the paparazzi reporter calls her and Common ‘a beautiful couple’ and acts surprised that the reporter knew about the summer vacation they took together.
Noname initially announcedSundial in April and pegged July 2023 for its release. More recently, her announcement of Jay Electronica as the featured artist on her “Balloons” single received some backlash and caused Noname to reconsider in a string of since-deleted tweets.
“y’all don’t want the album. fine,” Noname wrote last week. Another tweet read, “oh the song fa sho coming out lol. the album is another story. i’m good on the selective outrage. anyways hip-hop is in a great place right now. another noname album ain’t really necessary.”
Noname had a change of heart, it appears.
On Thursday morning, July 20, Noname posted the Sundial tracklist. If that wasn’t enough to indicate that the album is, indeed, still coming out, she made it explicitly clear in her Instagram caption.
“Sundial Tracklist [sunshine emoji] my album Sundial will drop august 11th,” Noname wrote. “i was going to release the single balloons tomorrow but i’d rather share it with the rest of the album. see y’all in a few weeks :)”
Sundial comes nearly five years after Noname’s last album, Room 25. Check out the tracklist below.
1. “Black Mirror”
2. “Hold Me Down” Feat. Jimetta Rose and The Voices Of Creation
3. “Balloons” Feat. Jay Electronica and Eryn Allen Kane
4. “Boom Boom” Feat. Ayoni
5. “Potentially The Interlude”
6. “Namesake”
7. “Beauty Supply’
8. “Toxic Afro Futurism”
9. “Oblivion” Feat. Ayoni and Common
10. “Gospel?” Feat. $ilkMoney, Billy Woods, and Stout
This August, Yankee Stadium will host Hip-Hop 50 Live, a star-studded concert paying homage to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. To call the lineup “star-studded” would be doing it an injustice; it’s fair to say that the names billed include nothing short of hip-hop legends. Headlined by rap pioneers Run-DMC, the lineup includes Common, Eve, Fat Joe, Ghostface Killah, Ice Cube, Lil Kim, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Remy Ma, Slick Rick, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Trina, and more.
Hip-hop pioneers Grandmaster Caz, Kool Herc, Melle Mel, and Roxanne Shante will headline a Pillars of Hip-Hop set, while Eve, Kim, Remy, and Trina will front a Queens Of Hip-Hop set. DJs such as Battlecat, Clark Kent, Mannie Fresh, and Marley Marl will spin, as well.
The event is billed for August 11, 2023 — which is what’s remembered as hip-hop’s official 50th birthday, the anniversary of the Kool Herc-led block party widely recognized as the moment the culture officially gelled into the foundation of what came after. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, June 8.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Run said, “I am honored to hit the stage in the Bronx, the birthplace of Hip Hop and celebrate all of my heroes,” while his partner-in-rhyme DMC added, “August is Hip Hop’s 50th birthday! So ’Up in the Bronx’ where it all started we will be celebrating this historic moment in history! I am honored to pay tribute to the culture that allowed this little shy kid from Queens to grow up and become The Mighty King of Rock! Thank you Hip Hop!!!”
Hip hop and awards shows have always had a tumultuous relationship. The Grammys didn’t even recognize the genre until 1989, which, in hindsight, is simply ridiculous. However, rappers have been treated with even less regard when it comes to other “prestigious” awards shows. The first rap track to even get nominated at the Academy Awards wasn’t until 2002. There hasn’t exactly been a deluge of nominations or wins since then.
Regardless of the hard-traveled roads these awards shows create for hip hop artists, there have been some big wins at both. While the Grammys have plenty of rap-centric categories, the limited space the Oscars present has always been a hurdle. However, some rappers have broken through at “Hollywood’s Biggest Night.” Some took home a statue in surprising categories. As of this writing, there have been a total of three rap artists who have won both a Grammy and an Oscar. AND THE WINNERS ARE:
Since 2000, Eminem has earned 15 Grammy Awards and twice as many nominations. In fact, Slim Shady has earned the fourth most wins overall, only bested by icons like Kendrick Lamar, Ye, and Jay-Z. The Detroit rapper’s victories have been spread out over several Grammy categories, including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video.
Despite having a litany of music industry accolades under his belt, Eminem’s most surprising win was earned in 2003. At the 75th Academy Awards, he took home the Best Original Song Oscar for “Lose Yourself” from the film 8 Mile. Directed by Curt Hanson (L.A. Confidential), the semi-autobiographical film garnered praise from critics and fans of Marshall Mathers alike. While Eminem didn’t receive a nomination for acting, he did make Academy Awards history by being the first rapper to win an Oscar.
Eminem’s Academy win didn’t exactly open the floodgates for hip hop artists, but it did set a precedent. Two years later, Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia would win in the same category for their track “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from the film Hustle & Flow. Other artists like Kendrick Lamar would go on to earn nominations years later. Sadly, the next rapper to win an Oscar for Best Original Song wouldn’t be until 2015.
The Chicago-based rapper Common underwent several artistic evolutions during his illustrious career. However, he has always been a conscious figure in rap music, proselytizing street-smart politics through smooth delivery and insightful bars. Despite being nominated twenty times, the rapper has only won three Grammy awards.
Common won his first for the Erykah Badu song “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)” in 2003. The song was a duet between Badu and Common, who were romantically involved at the time of its recording. The track was from the film Brown Sugar and helped propel the soundtrack to No. 16 on the Billboard 200 charts. In 2008, he won his second Grammy for “Southside” from his seventh album Finding Forever. Along with Kanye West, he took home the award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group award.
However, the biggest win for Common was the one-two punch of earning an Oscar and Grammy for the same song. At the 2015 Academy Awards, Common won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Glory” from Selma. A year later, Common and co-writers John Legend and Rhymefest would also win the Best Song Written for Visual Media Grammy. In 2017, Common won an Emmy, leaving him just a Tony award away from the coveted “EGOT.”
Will Smith
Will Smith has been a facet of pop culture for nearly four decades. From being in the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince to starring in summer blockbusters, Smith has dominated every artist field he’s entered. His cultural presence has practically been unmatched by his peers. In 1989, Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff won the inaugural Grammy award for Best Rap Performance for the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” The track would go on to be a playful anthem for kids everywhere.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince would also earn their second Grammy in 1993 for the song “Summertime.” The duo would eventually call it quits a year later as Smith was looking to pursue his acting career full-time. However, in the late ‘90s, Smith would return to music as a solo artist. His return to music earned him two more Grammys for the songs “Men in Black” and “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.”
While Smith’s music career has seemingly been put to rest, his acting has only gained more momentum. Smith was nominated for his first Oscar in 2002 for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic Ali. Five years later, he would earn his second Academy Award nod for the film The Pursuit of Happyness. But apparently, the third time was a charm when Will Smith finally took home the statue in 2022. Smith played Richard Williams, father of Serena and Venus Williams, in the film King Richard. The film not only earned Smith the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar but also a Best Picture nomination.
There’s no denying that Common is one of the godfathers of hip-hop. The Chicago-based MC pioneered the hip-hop sub-genre surrounding neo-soul, flowing over orchestral beats throughout the early ’90s. Common would become the voice of reason for Chicago, rapping about the dark corners of the Windy City in a vulnerable manner. In an interview with the L.A. Times, he stated, “I felt a responsibility to be a voice for the people of Chicago, to represent their humanity.” Catapulting himself from a rapper to an actor, he’s placed tracks from Chicago creatives such as Chance the Rapper, NoName, and B.J. The Chicago Kid on the show The Chi.
His rap career started in 1992 when he released his debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar? Garnering an underground following throughout the 90s, he would begin to hit mainstream success in the 2000s. In 2004, Common appeared on Kanye West’s The College Dropout, kickstarting a relationship between the iconic MCs. Soon after, he signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music record label. The two would top off their collaboration with Be. In an interview with Sway, Kanye stated, “This album was like a great experience for me. Say if this album never came out or went Platinum. Just the experience of being around [Common], he was someone who pushed me as a person.”
“Be” Revived Common’s Career
Be was more than an iconic hip-hop album from the Chicago-based legend Common. After a three-year hiatus, the project symbolized the revival of a career struggling to maintain relevance. His prior project, Electric Circus, was critically acclaimed by some, but responses were mixed. Opting for an ambient-induced hip-hop experience for the record, some found adjusting to Common’s experimental project difficult. Like Jay-Z, Common recruited Chicago kid Kanye West to pioneer a revival of his sound. In fact, Be was more than a resurrection.
Common has been at his best throughout his career when his music derives from a source of happiness and purity. That’s exactly what Be is. From the upbeat piano chords on the live version of “The Food” to the glistening synths on “GO!,” the project is meant to inspire at its core. You also have “They Say,” which garners features from John Legend and Kanye West. The three reflect on the double-sided coin of fame, specifically in the music industry. West states, “I know they can’t wait till ya outta ya deal / Look at how they did D’Angelo ask him, “How does it feel?” From going through hard times to navigating changing friendships due to fame, it’s one of the more lyrically compelling tracks.
“Be”: An Ode To Chicago Life
Sampling the likes of Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, Be‘s upbeat melancholy quality will have listeners reminiscing on a Sunday morning coffee. While the record isn’t blindly positive, the overarching tone of the album is that hard times are temporary. Unlike Electric Circle or Like Water for Chocolate, Be opts for consistency rather than grandiosity. Running 11 tracks for 42 minutes, the record’s brevity is why many fans hold it as his best album. It’s reflected in the numbers, with Be far outperforming the numbers of his other albums. In addition, the album was nominated for four different awards at the 48th Grammys, including Best Rap Album.
“Be (Intro)” introduces us to the record with a smooth bassline, which morphs into a horn-focused beat. The transition from darkness to bright instrumentation speaks volumes to the album’s creative direction. Kanye’s unique production chops become readily apparent. The audience travels directly into the coldness of a Chicago night, where he states, “Drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones.” However, Common’s balanced references to the negativity of Chicago life aren’t black and white. He’s stubbornly optimistic throughout the record, counteracting rough nights with a rising bank account or an improved love life.
“Be” Considered A Common Masterpiece
Common isn’t doing anything groundbreaking on Be. He isn’t switching up his flow or inflexing Hall of Fame-level rhyme schemes. While the album reinforced the new sample-based production that Kanye West was bringing to the genre, the record isn’t highly influential to the overall hip-hop scene. The magic lies in the consistency of the record, making it better and better with each listen.
While the laid-back production can make for an underwhelming first listen, its replay-ability makes the record just as relevant approaching two decades after its release. There’s plenty of debate about whether or not Be is Common’s best record. However, the consensus is that it’s his best-produced project to date, behind the production chops of Kanye West and J-Dilla. Like Water for Chocolate is regarded as his most lyrically in-depth album.
Things obviously didn’t work out between Common and Tiffany Haddish. Still, that’s not stopping the rapper from finding love with someone new. Since February, he’s been linked to American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson romantically. Of course, the pair have been friends for quite some time now. Cameras have caught them out and about together in the past, though little is known about how serious the nature of their budding romance is. This past week, however, gave some indication that things may be heating up between Hudson and her beau.
On Thursday (May 4), she and Common were photographed walking arm in arm through a Chicago neighbourhood near her home. Sources told TMZ that the lovers strolled for about 90 minutes, taking their time while enjoying the local scenery. Hudson has reportedly been spotted more frequently than ever over the past few days. She usually spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, where her syndicated talk show is filmed. However, the ongoing writer’s strike has put a halt to that. This gives the vocalist plenty more time to spend with Common at home.
Common and Jennifer Hudson attend the 4th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) on September 5, 2014, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
It appears that their connection moved from a platonic to a romantic one during their time together on the set of Breathe. They’ve since been seen grabbing romantic dinners at Nobu, and even Haddish took the opportunity to crack a joke about her ex moving on. “Girl, he never gave me no damn earrings. He probably gave those to Jennifer,” he comedian quipped on TikTok after being asked about jewelry previously given to Common to pass off to her.
It’s hard to say after just a few months, but so far, to co-stars seem to be fitting into each other’s lives seamlessly. See paparazzi photos from Common’s time in Chicago with Jennifer Hudson here. Afterward, tell us if you think the new couple has what it takes to build a lasting relationship in the comments.
Members of Hip-Hop are sharing their memories and honoring the late Bobby Caldwell. Chicago emcees Common and Chance the Rapper hit social media to share their memories.
Common sampled Caldwell’s “Open Your Eyes” for “The Light,” which dropped in 2000. Hitting Instagram, Common thanked Caldwell for his work.
“I can’t thank you enough!” Common wrote. “May God bless the soul of Bobby Caldwell!”
Also hitting Instagram, Chance the Rapper revealed a DM with Caldwell, where the late legend allowed a sample clearance.
This never happens. I’ve never received a message from an artist thanking me for sampling their record. This is a record that hasn’t even come out, and the legend himself reached out. I was so excited to meet you, I have not felt broken like this at a strangers passing in so long. You are a true legend and incredible person who I know I will see one day RIP THE GREAT BOBBY CALDWELL
Blue-eyed soul legend Bobby Caldwell died at age 71. The “What You Won’t Do for Love” singer died in his sleep on Tuesday night at his home in New Jersey, his representative confirmed.
According to TMZ, Caldwell was battling illness for years. For the past five years, Caldwell was unable to walk and had painful bouts of neuropathy and a ruptured ankle tendon.
His wife, Mary Caldwell, issued a statement on Twitter:
Bobby passed away here at home. I held him tight in my arms as he left us. I am forever heartbroken. Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years. He had been “FLOXED,” it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. Rest with God, my Love. -Mary Caldwell
Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love” dropped in 1978, cracking the Billboard top 10 and powering his self-titled debut album to double platinum.
“What You Won’t Do for Love” is heavily covered, featuring renditions from Roy ayers, Michael Bolton, and lately, Snoh Aalegra. The single is also include as a sample in Tupac’s “Do for Love,” released in Feb. 1998.
The song was also sampled in DJ Jazzy Jeff’s “My Soul Ain’t for Sale,” “What They Do,” by 8Ball & MJG, “If I Could Change” by Master P, “Triangle Ship” by Terrace Martin and Kendrick Lamar, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” by Aaliyah and more.
On this date in 1972, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., the rapper, actor, and poet also known as Common was born in Chicago, Illinois. The Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist is not only an icon of Windy City’s Hip Hop scene, but he has also helped to blaze a trail for Golden Era rappers into other aspects of entertainment as he has with his roles in blockbuster movies such as American Gangster, John Wick 2 and Glory just to name a few. The newly signed HBO producer has come a long way since he was known as Common Sense asking Can I Borrow A Dollar?
As we salute Common on his born day, let us send him a keen reminder of his first love that brought him into our living rooms, literally making him a household name.
RIP THE GREAT BOBBY CALDWELL 
