Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known professionally as 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. At the age of 20, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), which was met with critical acclaim along 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.
"I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common Sense. Released in September 27, 1994 as the lead single from his second studio album Resurrection, "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat samples "The Changing World" by George Benson. It is often regarded as one of the greatest hip hop recordings ever.
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.
Like Water for Chocolate is the fourth studio album by American rapper Common, released on March 28, 2000, through MCA Records. It was Common's first major label album and was both a critical and commercial breakthrough, receiving widespread acclaim from major magazine publications and selling 70,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified Gold on August 11, 2000, by the Recording Industry Association of America. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 748,000 copies by March 2005. The video for "The Light" was frequently shown on MTV, adding to Common's exposure. The album also formally marked the formation of the Soulquarians, a collective composed of Questlove, J Dilla, keyboardist James Poyser, soul artist D'Angelo and bassist Pino Palladino, among numerous other collaborators. This group of musicians would also be featured on Common's next album, Electric Circus.
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.
"Come Close" is a single by rapper Common featuring guest vocals by Mary J. Blige. The song is produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell's production team, the Neptunes. Peaking at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Come Close" is the only song from Common's 2002 album Electric Circus to make an appearance on the national music chart. It was released in conjunction with a promo video directed by Sanaa Hamri and Questlove of the Roots. The song's lyrics are a loving marriage proposition to Common's then girlfriend Erykah Badu. Jack LV Isles of Allmusic describes it as a "slow-paced dialogue [...] that borders on typical," but will inevitably be a commercial success. Mark Anthony Neal of Pop Matters comments on its mainstream sound saying that it's not a "sell-out" track, just a "fly love song" in which the Neptunes "brought their A-game."
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.
Dr. Octagonecologyst is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and Ultramagnetic MCs member Kool Keith, released under the alias Dr. Octagon. Originally titled Dr. Octagon, it was released on May 7, 1996, on Bulk Recordings in the United States and Mo' Wax in the United Kingdom. The album was reissued with a different track listing by DreamWorks Records in 1997 under the title Dr. Octagonecologyst. The album was produced by Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and featured the work of turntablist DJ Qbert. KutMasta Kurt provided additional production work. The artwork for Dr. Octagonecologyst was drawn by Brian "Pushead" Schroeder.
Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31, 2007, on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, Be (2005), Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper. Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold. Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.
"The Corner" is the second single released by rapper Common on his sixth album, Be. It features a chorus and production by Kanye West as well as spoken word lyrics by The Last Poets. The song's lyrics deal with street corners in poor neighborhoods. The song's beat contains samples from "You Make the Sun Shine" by The Temprees and "What It Is" by The Temptations. Because of the song's gritty sound, some fans considered it to be a return to Common's Resurrection days. A music video directed by Kanye West was made for "The Corner."
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 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.
"Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. " is the third single from rapper Common's 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate. It features Macy Gray and was produced by Questlove and James Poyser, both of whom are members of the Soulquarians. Its title is a reference to MFSB's 1974 "TSOP "; it contains positive lyrics that are pro-woman and slightly religious. It is featured on the alternate release of Like Water for Chocolate, but on the original pressing, a song named "Geto Heaven Part 2" is found instead. "Geto Heaven Part 2" features D'Angelo and was originally intended to be on the latter's 2000 album Voodoo. The remix reached number sixty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A music video directed by Nzingha Stewart was made for the remix.
"Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" is a song by American rappers Kanye West, Nas, and KRS-One. Produced by Rick Rubin and DJ Premier, it was released as a single on February 20, 2007 by Nike Records. It was performed live at the Nike Air Force Ones 25th anniversary party shown on MTV2.
"Go Hard" is the second single from DJ Khaled's third studio album, We Global. The hip-hop track features American rapper Kanye West and American singer T-Pain and their trademark auto-tune effect. The song is produced by The Runners. It first charted on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip Hop chart on December 4, 2008, debuting at number 25, where it peaked at number 15, and charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs debuting at number 85 and then rising to number 53. It also debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week the album We Global was released due to digital downloads, also at number 19 on the Hot Rap Tracks.
"Always Strapped" is the first single from rapper Birdman's fourth studio album, Priceless. It was released officially on iTunes on March 17, 2009. The song features Lil Wayne and Mack Maine, and was produced by Mr. Beatz. The song peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Snake" is a song by the American recording artist R. Kelly, featuring Big Tigger, from his fifth studio album, Chocolate Factory. The remix features Cam'ron. It was released on February 25, 2003, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The R&B song with Latin music inspiration was written and produced by R. Kelly, and co-written by Darian Morgan, as a tribute to Stevie Wonder's musical experimentation. The song also inspired the dancehall reggae riddim called Baghdad.
"Worst Behavior" is a song by Canadian recording artist Drake from his third studio album Nothing Was the Same (2013). "Worst Behavior" was produced by DJ Dahi, and was written by Drake, Anthony Palman, DJ Dahi, and Detail. The song peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On June 9, 2014, the song was serviced to urban contemporary radio in the United Kingdom as the album's seventh single.
PRhyme 2 is the second studio album by American hip hop duo PRhyme, consisting of Royce da 5'9" and DJ Premier. Produced entirely by DJ Premier, the album features samples composed by producer AntMan Wonder. It was released on March 16, 2018 via their own record label PRhyme Records and INgrooves Music Group, and is a sequel to the eponymous album PRhyme. The album features guest appearances from rappers 2 Chainz, Big K.R.I.T., Dave East, Rapsody, Roc Marciano, Yelawolf, Chavis Chandler, bassist Brady Watt and singers Novel, CeeLo Green and Denaun Porter.
