Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, record producer, DJ and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He met Chicago rapper Common and fellow Detroit musician J Dilla both in 1996, and served as an extensive contributor for releases by both artists. He produced for Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense, did so on much of his further projects, and formed the musical trio August Greene with the rapper alongside fellow jazz instrumentalist Robert Glasper in 2018. Furthermore, he formed the Jahari Massamba Unit with Madlib in 2020, and has also worked with prominent music industry artists including Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Denzel Curry, Earl Sweatshirt, and Norah Jones, among others.

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.