Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He first signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), and gained further critical acclaim with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective, Soulquarians.
Common performing in 2018
Common performing with Mos Def in 1999
Common in New York City, 2003
Common in 2006
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Slum Village. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective, while Q-Tip's original group A Tribe Called Quest served as another inspiration behind the Soulquarians.
From left: Common and Mos Def, members of the collective, in 1999
Electric Lady Studios in 2013
Bilal in 2007