Jam: Spotlight on Music StarsCommon Makes Sense
When you've been a recording artist for nearly 20 years, your music is bound to change. Hip-hop artist Common is no exception.
"I feel like I have experienced new things so my music reflects that," the 39-year-old says. "I get to hear new music, I'm introduced to new art, and along with that I just feel more confident in my music. I feel even more passionate. My music has broadened as my perspective has broadened."
A lot's changed about the world of music as a whole since Common -- who started recording under the name Common Sense -- cut his first album in 1992. Namely, the digital music explosion. Though the debate rages on about the future of the industry in the face of ever-evolving technology and weakened CD sales, Common, who recently hosted a Hollywood event for Blackberry's BBM music sharing app, says there's room for both old school and new school ways of thinking.
"Being able to introduce music to people through the sharing of music definitely can be beneficial," he says. "But I also want to say that I think as a consumer, you should be open to also going out to purchasing the music that you love, but I see nothing wrong with just being able to share music."
Common will be sharing his next album, titled The Dreamer/The Believer, with the world when it's released on December 20, and according to the man himself, it's going to rival some of his best work. "My favorite album I ever put out is Be and I think this album going to be in my top two," he insists.
When he's not singing, Common is focused on a dizzying number of other projects including several philanthropic endeavors and his role on the new AMC series "Hell on Wheels," in which he plays a recently freed slave in the 1865-set drama. It was a role he couldn't pass up. "I had never come across a character -- as a black actor -- that was that powerful and had that much depth," he explains. "Taking on a role from this period and depicting American history and black history, it's a lot of responsibility and weight and I wanted to take that on."
Something he didn't mean to take on earlier this year was a controversy that made national news after Common -- who also writes poetry -- accepted an invitation to perform at a White House poetry night last May. Conservatives from Sarah Palin to Fox News pundits claimed a poem he read a few years back on "Def Poetry Jam," titled "A Letter to the Law," which included the phrases "my uzi weighs a ton" and "burn a Bush" made him an inappropriate choice for the event. Others in law enforcement, including an association of New Jersey State Troopers, took issue with the fact that Common's tune "A Song for Assata" supports a woman convicted of killing a police officer. Common, however, believes there were ulterior motives behind the criticism.
"I'm not saying I'm perfect … but I do know that my perspective on life and my perspective on art is something that is positive and uplifting," says the singer, who founded the Common Ground Foundation, which is focused on giving underprivileged youth leadership skills. "I think that the people who were saying different things about me just didn't know me. I don't think their true motivation was about me."
Though Common may have had to deal with a media firestorm, his evening spent with the president and first lady sounds like it was well worth it. "It was like an out of body experience in my life, in my career, to be able to go to the White House and do that. It was fun, man. It was exciting. It felt like a spiritual moment for me."
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