Video After The Jump
In this episode of People's Party, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, actor, author, activist, philanthropist, and Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Oscar winner...
C O M M O N
In this two hour episode, Common and Kweli's many years of collaborating and touring together, as well as their decades-long friendship, gives way to an incredible interview. Things get started with a talk about their original collab together -- recording Black Star's classic song and video "Respiration." They then go on to discuss Common's mother Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and her influence on him growing up as a teacher, as well as his father Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, who was famously featured on Common's "Resurrection" album. They also touch on the importance of HBCUs, and violence in Common's hometown of Chicago being weaponized by politicians. Common is asked to reflect on the making of one of the greatest concept records of all-time in "I Used To Love H.E.R" -- digging into all the things that compelled him to write that song, and the profound influence it had on the culture, which naturally leads into talk about his beef with Ice Cube stemming from a perceived diss to the West Coast tucked in those lyrics. Common details where he was when he heard the first shots from Cube, the point in time when he felt he had to fire back with his own diss track, and how they eventually reconciled with the help of Minister Farrakhan. Common and Talib go on to reflect on their shared experience of meeting with activist Assata Shakur in Cuba through the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, as well as discuss recording at the famous Electric Lady Studios and how special that place is.
Later, Common reflects on the making of another one of his most iconic recordings in the song "The Light," produced by the late great J Dilla. He expands on his close friendship with Dilla, being roommates with him while he was making "Donuts," with his health steadily declining. The conversation moves to Kanye West and his recent announcement to run for president in 2020. Common provides his thoughts the moment he read the tweet, and answers the question of if he supports his bid. Common also goes on to talk about his work as an actor, and why he chose the roles that he did. He speaks on opening up in his new book about surviving childhood sexual abuse, his work as an activist for prison reform, and toxic masculinity and how much it's ingrained in our culture. Common also gets to talk about his philanthropic work in the city of Chicago with his "Common Ground Foundation" and the A.I.M. charter school.
In closing, Common is asked about his higher purpose, and what he feels like he owes the next generation. His answer is thoughtful, wise, and deeply heartfelt.
TIME-STAMPS:
3:10 -- Talib kicks things off by thanking Common for collaborating with him on Black Star's classic song "Respiration." Kweli first gets into detail on how and why he pursued Common so hard for the collab, Common details how he remembers it, and they both discuss recording the song and shooting the famous music video.
8:40 -- Common gets to speak about his mother Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines. Talib and him discuss how their shared background of having teachers as parents connected Talib, Common, and Kanye with each other. They discuss the importance of knowledge to the art of writing and emceeing, how their upbringing of having teacher parents clearly translates through their subject matter, and Common remembers how his mom would open her doors to underprivileged kids in the neighborhood to hang out and expand their minds.
17:50 -- Common's father Lonnie "Pops" Lynn Jr. gets a big shout-out, who passed away in 2014. Talib brings up how he always looked out for Talib when he performed in Denver, Common speaks on how profoundly wise he was, as well as a little bit crazy at times, Pops' deep love and respect for hip hop culture, at one point even having interest in doing his own EP. He also mentions his hanging out with Dr. Sebi before passing, and they reminisce about a time when Dave Chappelle, got Common and Talib to jump in a pick-truck at 4am to visit the place where Pops met Common's mother Mahalia.
23:33 -- Jasmin brings up Common and her both attending Florida A&M University, and asks him what about HBCUs makes them such a vital part of promoting black excellence. He reflects on how going there gave him the opportunity to expand his knowledge base of the black experience beyond his hometown of Chicago, and they touch on some of the greats that HBCUs have produced over the years.
26:57 -- Talib brings up Common's song/album titled "Nobody's Smiling" inspired by the violence and high crime in Chicago. He asks Common how he feels about the current state of Chicago being weaponized in political conversations. Common talks about his concern in seeing his home-town's situation being exploited by politicians, how it's struggles are viewed with a complete lack of empathy, and expresses how he feels black people generally can't depend on the government for help.
29:52 -- Common is asked about the evolution that took place from his first album "Can I Borrow A Dollar" to his second "Resurrection", made very apparent with his immortal classic "I Used To Love H.E.R.". Talib asks Common to touch on the things that inspired him to write the song, and if he had any foresight as to how much it would inspire the culture. Common notes what he felt when he first heard the beat, and the reaction of a friend of his during his performance when he didn't understand the concept until the last line. He also clarifies how it wasn't about hating on the West Coast contribution to hip hop.
38:13 -- Common speaks about his past beef with Ice Cube. He gets into specifics on where he was when he first heard that Cube dissed him on "Westside Slaughterhouse", and the tipping point when he decided he had to make his own diss record response with "The Bitch In Yoo". He then goes into detail on how Louis Farrakhan got involved to help them reconcile and that neither ever felt any real animosity toward one another, with Common even starring in a "Barbershop" film. Common also talks about his producers No I.D., Twilite Tone, and Dug Infinite in how essential they were in creating the sound and tone for his early albums.
45:04 -- Common and Talib discuss the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement sending both of them to Cuba at different times to meet with activist Assata Shakur. Common speaks on how that experience impacted his career, how it was the first time he really felt like he was an active participant in a movement, how Assata she proved to him how you can be an activist and still have fun, and tells about a dinner conversation that gave him pause when an FBI agent brought up Assata's name.
50:43 -- Talib brings up Electric Lady Studios in New York, where both him and Common have recorded albums. Common explains how special and unique the place is, with it's rich history of amazing music being made there since Jimi Hendrix had it built in the 1960's. He details the memorable sessions there when he, Talib, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and others were all recording simultaneously, and how inspiring that was.
53:40 -- Common is asked about J Dilla's production for "The Light'', and if he knew it was going to become such a classic of it's time. He details how he felt when he first heard it before he even penned the lyrics, he mentions who he had in mind when writing it, and how liberating it was to be able to drop a hip hop love song, and have it be embraced by everyone. They also talk about the layers of human beings and how people should be given a chance to evolve from past mistakes.
1:02:16 -- Common speaks on his time being roommates with J Dilla, and how they would pool their record collections together. All contributing to the making of Dilla's "Donuts" album, which he produced in their living room, and in his hospital bed. Common reflects on how much he appreciated that time in his life, as well as noting the bittersweet aspect of dealing with the fact of both of them being at the peaks of their careers while his brother was suffering from a serious illness.
1:06:30 -- Common explains how he's maintained such close friendships with his exes throughout the years. Talib also brings up the tours they've done together, and how he's met some of his favorite musicians while on the road with him, and also asks Common what made him want to sign on, and work so closely with Kanye West. He outlines how the partnership came together, all happening at a time when Common was searching for a new sound.
1:14:57 -- Jasmin brings up Kanye's announced run for president in 2020. Note: The episode was taped on July 5th, the day after West made international news by announcing a presidential bid via tweet. Common goes into what came to his mind the moment he read the tweet, Talib and Common share their personal reservations about the idea, they discuss the low bar that's been set for presidential candidates, Common speaks on voting for policy stances over the candidate, and his evolution of thought on politics in general.
1:22:03 -- Talib pivots the convo to movies, and brings up Common's work in cinema. He asks Common why he was taking so many tough guy roles especially early in his career with films like "Smokin' Aces", "Street Kings", and Terminator, despite his famously nice-guy persona in real life. Common also goes into what he was hoping for when he got into acting, and they also discuss breaking down black stereotypes in Hollywood.
1:26:18 -- Common reflects on his recently released book titled "Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir", where he opens up about being molested as a child. Talib asks him how he came to the point of wanting to share this with the world, and Common credits it to a conversation he had that helped him realize how important it was to be included in the book as to help erase the stigma of discussing these experiences.
1:31:49 -- Common and Talib mutual friend, film producer Scott Budnick gets a shout-out and his work as an advocate for prison reform. Talib asks Common about his own activism for reform of the criminal justice system. Common talks about meeting with author Michelle Alexander who wrote "The New Jim Crow" and her schooling him on how much prisons are at the heart of the destruction of the black community over so many generations. Common also opens up about the perspective he gained when he started talking to these prisoners, and hearing their stories.
1:37:21 -- Talib harkens back to the topic of toxic masculinity and homophobia, admitting to his own past mistakes and needing to evolve. He asks Common to detail his evolution of thought, leading to talk about his growing up in South Side Chicago, and how ultra-masculinity was ingrained in the culture and seen as a way of survival. He talks about the things that helped him move past that mentality and shares a story of what two gay men said to him after a show about some of his lyrics.
1:43::45 -- Jasmin brings up Common's "Common Ground Foundation" that's been going strong for many years, and asks what they're current focus is. Common expands on how they've been helping inner-city youth in Chicago through mentoring and college preparation programs. Focusing on areas of nutrition, healthy living, financial literacy, character development, and creative expression. He also touches on his work as a primary partner for the A.I.M. (Arts In Motion) Charter School.
1:48:16 -- Common expounds on his work to hold politicians accountable to their promises in the improvement of black and brown communities, in having sit-downs with community members and those running for office. Jasmin then goes on to reference Common's recent song "Black America Again ' while she asks what's his higher purpose, and what he feels like he owes the next generation.
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