The following is a list of songs by Common organized by alphabetical order. The songs on the list are all included in official label-released albums, soundtracks and singles, and may include some white label or other non-label releases. Next to the song titles is the album, soundtrack or single on which it appears. Remixes and live versions of songs are listed as bullet points below the original song, but clean, explicit, a cappella and instrumental tracks are not included.
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. 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 wider 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 his first mainstream success through his work and affiliation with the black music collective, Soulquarians.
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
Tony Louis Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and music producer from The Bronx. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi-Tek featured on his second album, Hi-Teknology 2.
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs. Original jam sessions, also called "free flow sessions," are often used by musicians to develop new material (music) and find suitable arrangements. Both styles can be used simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator or host acts as a "gatekeeper" so that appropriate-level performers take the stage to sophisticated improvised recording sessions by professionals which are intended to be broadcast live on radio or TV or edited and released to the public.
James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots.
Bilal Sayeed Oliver is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is an independent artist, noted for his wide vocal range, work across multiple genres, and intense live performances.
Electric Circus is the fifth studio album by American rapper Common, released on December 10, 2002, on the now-defunct MCA Records. The album was highly anticipated and praised by many critics for its ambitious vision. However, it was not as commercially successful as his previous album, Like Water for Chocolate, selling under 300,000 copies. An eclectic album, Electric Circus features fusions of several genres such as hip hop, pop, rock, electronic, and neo soul. "I wasn't feeling hip hop," the rapper remarked. "So my motivation for that album were other genres of music, like Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't hip hop." This was Common's second and last album for MCA, as well as the final album released under the label, which would soon be merged into Geffen Records a year later.
Karriem Riggins is a multi-talented American musician who has made a name for himself as a Jazz drummer, Hip Hop producer, DJ and songwriter. With a career spanning over two decades, Riggins has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Kanye West, Common, and Diana Krall. His unique style and versatility have earned him critical acclaim and a loyal fan base.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, also known as Block Party, is a 2005 American documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.
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 and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. 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.
The discography of Common, an American rapper, consists of fourteen studio albums, one collaborative album, one extended play, two compilation albums, forty-nine singles and twenty-one music videos. It also contains the list of Common songs. Common sold more than 2.8 million albums in the United States. Common released his first album, Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), and follow suit with his second album, Resurrection, which met with critical acclaim, calling the album as one of the classic of the 90s. Common released his third album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, which was a little commercial success, follow suit with his fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate, which was met with critical acclaim from music critics, calling it the best rap album of the year. The album was also a commercial success certifying it gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His fifth studio album Electric Circus was met with acclaim from music critics. However, it failed to meet the commercial success with Like Water for Chocolate, which only peaked at number 47 on the US Billboard 200.
"The Light" is the Grammy-nominated second single from Common's 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate. It was produced by Jay Dee and features keyboards performed by James Poyser. It samples "Open Your Eyes" as performed by Bobby Caldwell and the drums from "You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart" by The Detroit Emeralds. Framed as a love letter, it is a confession of Common's love for a woman – specifically, his girlfriend at the time, Erykah Badu. Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters describes it as a "charming, tender, and undeniably soulful declaration of affection and respect." The music video features Common, Erykah Badu and "recognizable sensual delights" including "a homemade Minnie Riperton cassette, a mango, a pink lava lamp [and] a deeply green water-beaded leaf."
"The Blast" is a hip hop single from Reflection Eternal's debut album, Train of Thought. It features rapping from the duo's emcee, Talib Kweli, as well as from its producer, DJ Hi-Tek. It is the only Reflection Eternal song that Hi-Tek raps on, and like all Reflection Eternal songs, he produces it. The song has a somber and jazzy beat backed by vocals from Vinia Mojica. It has a music video directed by Little X in which Kweli and Hi-Tek are rapping in a rainstorm. Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def, Pharaohe Monch and Kweli's grandmother, Javotti Greene make cameo appearances. The music video version is extended in length, and gives Talib Kweli an extra verse. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and was engineered by Guy Snider. The official remix features new verses by Talib Kweli as well as neo-soul singer Erykah Badu.
"All Night Long" is the third single from rapper Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense. It features vocals from Erykah Badu and production from The Roots, and contains re-sung elements from "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples. The Brand New Heavies remixed it for the single's b-side and The 24 Hour Woman soundtrack.
American singer Erykah Badu has released five studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one mixtape, 31 singles, three promotional singles and 20 music videos. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in her hometown; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Records. Her debut album, Baduizm, was released on February 11, 1997. It spawned three singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime", and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Badu's first live album, Live, was released on November 18, 1997, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
The Mama's Gun World Tour was a concert tour and the second by American R&B singer Erykah Badu in support of her multi-platinum selling album Mama's Gun. The tour started in North America on February 10, in Cleveland, Ohio at the Allen Theatre. Badu will perform two nights each in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Talib Kweli Greene is an American rapper. He earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with solo success including collaborations with producers and rappers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media.
The following list is a discography of production by J Dilla, an American hip hop record producer and recording artist from Detroit, Michigan. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title.