Common

Alternative hip-hop artist Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. in Chicago in 1972. He formed the trio C.D.R. at school, who were eventually considered good enough to open for rap acts NWA and Big Daddy Kane. His solo career as Common Sense began with the release of his critically acclaimed album Can I Borrow a Dollar? in 1992. The single "Take It EZ" reached the Top 10 of the Hot Rap Singles chart, helping to establish his reputation. This was secured by his next album Resurrection, later included in The Source magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums list.

An LA reggae band of the same name caused Common Sense to change his name, and it was as Common he made One Day It'll All Make Sense in 1997. The album featured collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and De La Soul and took an alternative hip-hop stance, anti-gangsterism. It made the Top 100 of the Billboard chart.

Common joined the Soulquarian collective along with J. Dilla, D'Angelo and ?uestlove. The collective explored alternative styles of hip-hop. The Soulquarians would be heavily involved in Common's next two albums, one of which, the critically acclaimed Like Water for Chocolate, was Common's first gold record and he received a Grammy nomination for the single "The Light".

There was a change in style for Electric Circus with the introduction of electronic, neo-soul and rock influences. The album was well received critically for its scope, but the record buying public didn't seem to get it and it didn't do as well as his previous release. The single "Love of my Life" (sung with Erykah Badu) won the Grammy for Best Urban Alternative Performance and was used in the film Brown Sugar.

After working on a track for Kanye West's debut album, West returned the favour by helping to produce Common's 2005 album Be, which went to No.2 in the Billboard 200 and received four Grammy nominations. West also worked on the 2007 album Finding Forever which debuted at No.1 in the Billboard 200. West predicted that it would win the 2008 Grammy for the Best Rap Album, though in the end, West won it for his own album, Graduation.