Common
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1972-03-13
Place of Birth
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Common
Biography
Lonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. He has received three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, and gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album Resurrection. He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s. He achieved mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major-label album Like Water for Chocolate (2000), received commercial success. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for the Erykah Badu single "Love of My Life". His 2005 album Be was also a commercial success and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common received his second Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released in late 2007. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, having previously released music under various other labels including Relativity, Geffen, and GOOD Music. Common won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song, for his song, co-written and performed with John Legend, "Glory" from the 2014 film Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel. Common's acting career also includes roles in the films Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve, Run All Night, Being Charlie, Rex, John Wick: Chapter 2, Smallfoot and Hunter Killer. He also narrated the documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture. He starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western television series Hell on Wheels. Description above from the Wikipedia article Common (rapper), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also Known For
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Sep 12, 2005
Terminator Salvation
May 20, 2009
Street Kings
Apr 10, 2008
Fool's Paradise
May 12, 2023
American Gangster
Nov 02, 2007
Between Riverside and Crazy
Jan 31, 2023
Smokin' Aces
Dec 09, 2006
Wanted
Jun 19, 2008
Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]
Mar 22, 2005
Chris Rock: Road To Live Special
Mar 04, 2023
Date Night
Apr 08, 2010
Just Wright
May 14, 2010
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Nov 20, 2021
You're Watching Video Music Box
Dec 03, 2021
Happy Feet Two
Nov 17, 2011
Beef
Aug 03, 2003
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Jul 08, 2011
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Aug 15, 2012
LUV
Jan 18, 2013
Now You See Me
May 29, 2013
The Legacy of J Dilla
Apr 07, 2023
Movie 43
Jan 24, 2013
The Notorious B.I.G BET Official presents
Jan 01, 2005
Pawn
Apr 23, 2013
Chamber Check: Evolution of a Fight Scene
Jun 13, 2017
Bouncing Cats
Apr 29, 2010
Run All Night
Mar 11, 2015
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records
Jun 21, 2013
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
Jun 15, 2012
X/Y
Apr 19, 2014
Breathe
Apr 04, 2024
Selma
Dec 25, 2014
5 Sides of a Coin
Nov 12, 2004
Diane Warren: Relentless
Jan 10, 2025
Killing Me Softly with His Songs
Nov 10, 2022
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
Dec 10, 2023
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Apr 15, 2016
Every Secret Thing
Apr 20, 2014
Suicide Squad
Aug 03, 2016
Entourage
Jun 03, 2015
Unity
Aug 12, 2015
The Wiz Live!
Dec 03, 2015
Being Charlie
May 06, 2016
Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
Oct 01, 2015
Hip-Hop and the White House
Apr 22, 2024
Love Beats Rhymes
Dec 01, 2017
John Wick: Chapter 2
Feb 08, 2017
Two Trains Runnin'
Apr 08, 2016
Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central
Jun 09, 2024
Hunter Killer
Oct 19, 2018
New Year's Eve
Dec 08, 2011
Megan Leavey
Jun 09, 2017
A Happening of Monumental Proportions
May 05, 2017
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
Oct 14, 2016
Chasing Trane
Apr 14, 2017
Misdirection: The Real Magic
Jun 13, 2017
The Informer
Aug 30, 2019
Girls Trip
Jul 21, 2017
The Words That Built America
Jul 04, 2017
Brown Sugar
Oct 05, 2002
Feel Rich: Health Is the New Wealth
May 23, 2017
All About Nina
Sep 28, 2018
The Tale
Jan 20, 2018
Here and Now
Nov 09, 2018
Smallfoot
Sep 20, 2018
The Hate U Give
Oct 19, 2018
Black America Again
Oct 21, 2016
BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration
Nov 15, 2016
Ocean's Eight
Jun 07, 2018
The Kitchen
Aug 08, 2019
Ava
Jul 02, 2020
Saint Judy
Sep 22, 2018
Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]
Mar 22, 2005
Brave New Voices 2010
Jan 01, 2010
Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life
May 16, 2007
Music
Oct 15, 2010
The Price of Protest
Aug 18, 2019
A Most Beautiful Thing
Jun 18, 2020
Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince
Apr 21, 2020
Letter to the President
Mar 29, 2005
Letter to the Free
Nov 01, 2016
Alice
Mar 18, 2022
Pete Rock: Soul Survivor
Nov 10, 1998
Hate to See You Go
One World: Together at Home
Apr 18, 2020
Soundz of Spirit
Feb 08, 2005
Paragraphs I Manifest
Bilal: Live at Glasshaus
Nov 20, 2024
Wick Is Pain
May 08, 2025
Godfathers and Sons
Oct 02, 2003
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
Jul 11, 2016
Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott
Dec 10, 2025
We're Still Here (Now).... A Documentary about nobody
Aug 26, 2016
Hell on Wheels
Nov 06, 2011
One on One
Sep 03, 2001
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jan 26, 2003
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out
Jul 28, 2005
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Sep 05, 1988
Girlfriends
Sep 11, 2000
Tamron Hall
Sep 09, 2019
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
May 25, 1992
Scrubs
Oct 02, 2001
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Sep 13, 1993
I Love the '70s: Volume 2
Jul 10, 2006
Shut Up and Dribble
Nov 03, 2018
Never Have I Ever
Apr 27, 2020
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy
Feb 16, 2022
Black in the 80s
Feb 01, 2005
TRL
Sep 14, 1998
Saturday Night Live
Oct 11, 1975
Framework
Jan 06, 2015
The Daily Show
Jul 22, 1996
MTV Video Music Awards
Sep 14, 1984
Lip Sync Battle
Apr 02, 2015
The Mindy Project
Sep 25, 2012
The Chris Rock Show
Feb 07, 1997
America Divided
Oct 29, 2016
Game Over
Mar 10, 2004
Chelsea
May 11, 2016
American Masters
Jun 23, 1986
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sep 12, 2022
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Sep 08, 2015
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Sep 09, 2019
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Feb 25, 2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Feb 17, 2014
The View
Aug 11, 1997
Entertainment Tonight
Sep 15, 1981
Activate: The Global Citizen Movement
Sep 05, 2019
StoryBots: Answer Time
Nov 21, 2022
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Sep 08, 2015
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Jul 16, 2009
The Simpsons
Dec 17, 1989
Real Time with Bill Maher
Feb 21, 2003
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Feb 06, 2014
Silo
May 04, 2023
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Oct 14, 2007
Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices
Sep 01, 2020
Home Movie: The Princess Bride
Jun 29, 2020
Chappelle's Show
Jan 22, 2003
Bottomless Brunch at Colman's
May 03, 2020
The Chi
Jan 07, 2018
Evolution of the Black Quarterback
Sep 24, 2024
Fraggle Rock: Rock On!
Apr 21, 2020
Mark Twain Prize
Jan 20, 1999
Obama
Nov 27, 2020
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Jun 10, 1992
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Feb 17, 2014
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Sep 08, 2003
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association
Feb 12, 2026