Common - Announcement video featuring Pharrell from his new album Invincible Summer

New Common video Interview with Tim Westwood on BBC Radio 1

SMIRNOFF SIGNATURE MIX SERIES PRESENTS “THE LIGHT ‘08 (IT’S LOVE) (SMIRNOFF SIGNATURE MIX)” BY COMMON AND JUST BLAZE

The second song from the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series is downloadable for FREE at http://www.SmirnoffSignatureMixSeries.com

The Smirnoff Signature Mix Series is a campaign pairing three acclaimed rappers with some serious beatmakers to create new versions of iconic hip-hop songs. Internationally renowned artists Common, Q-Tip, and KRS One are joining musical forces with Just Blaze, Cool & Dre, and DJ Premier to re-imagine Common’s “The Light,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Midnight,” and Boogie Down Productions’ seminal “Criminal Minded.”

The site launched last week with KRS One and DJ Premier’s “Criminal Minded ‘08 (Smirnoff Signature Mix).”
This week download Common and Just Blaze’s “The Light ‘08″ featuring vocals by Marsha Ambrosius and Bilal. And on March 4th, be on the lookout for Q-Tip and Cool & Dre’s “Midnight ‘08.”
Be sure to keep checking the site for exclusive videos and content.

STREAMS: The Light ‘08 (It’s Love) (Smirnoff Signature Mix)”
Windows Media - QuickTime

7 GRAND RECORDS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF GURU’S JAZZMATAZZ: THE TIMEBOMB/BACK TO THE FUTURE MIXTAPE FEATURING DAMIAN MARLEY, LORD TARIQ, ZION I, COMMON, DOO WOP, TONY TOUCH, ACEYALONE, NATURE, K-BORN, HIGH POWER, MR. LIF, AND MORE.

PRODUCED BY SUPERPRODUCER SOLAR HOSTED BY THE MIXTAPE LEGEND DJ DOO WOP.

(7 Grand Records, New York, NY January 3, 2008) - Fresh off an international tour, Guru, super-producer, Solar, and 7 Grand Records announce the February 2008 release of Guru’s Jazzmatazz: The Timebomb/Back To The Future Mixtape, the “raw” companion to the Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 album. The Mixtape carefully and superbly crafted by Super-producer Solar exhibits the “Golden Era” New York essence along with a cutting edge futuristic twist! Hence the title, “Back To The Future.”

The tracks are pure “bangers” and the guest appearances are classic as they compliment Guru’s iconic yet streetwise vocals! The MC’s selected represent the best of America’s true Hip Hop artists that hail from the “Underground” scene that Guru has remained so true to. There are features such as reggae artist Damian Marley, Aceyalone and Zion I from the West Coast, Blue Scholars from Seattle, Mr. Lif from Boston, Yungun from London, as well as legends Lord Tariq from the Bronx, Nature from Queensbridge, C. Knowledge from Digable Planets and Tony Touch to name a few. The album also features up-and-coming 7 Grand Records artists K. Born & Highpower from Philadelphia and Young Pablo from Paterson, New Jersey. This is no ordinary mixtape CD as it is hosted by the Mixtape King himself, DJ Doo Wop, who is featured on a couple of tracks.

“Since the inception of Jazzmatazz, one of our main focuses has been to create music for every generation, for the music lover. The Jazzmatazz series has always been about charting new territories, blurring genre lines, and collaborating with artists to create music that’s timeless and relevant.”

With a career that spans over a decade and one that is now eleven-LP’s deep, Guru has been able to stay relevant when many of his counterparts have faded into the background. Now with a musical and business partnership in full motion with Solar, and the formation of their new label, 7 Grand, Guru feels even more reinvigorated. “7 Grand Records allows me not only to be creative, but to finally be in control of my creativity. Between us you’ve got a legendary spitter that’s still hungry and still relevant, teamed up with the hottest New York producer in the game, which makes for a musical vision that is powerfully important and virtually unstoppable.” Solar adds, “7 Grand Records is the epitome of what great NY Hip-Hop represents taken to the new millennium and beyond! Now in control of our own label, we’re free to introduce forward-thinking Hip-Hop concepts to the masses,” explains Solar.

In the past, Guru’s Jazzmatazz endeavors have enabled him to collaborate with a who’s who list of legendary musical icons including Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Chaka Khan, Isaac Hayes, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis and popular cross-over favorites including Macy Gray, The Roots, Erykah Badu and Angie Stone. When asked how he has been able stay such a viable force in the music industry Guru states matter of factly “be honest with yourself, be original, be open to criticism and don’t be afraid to reinvent and recreate yourself.”

With Guru’s Jazzmatazz Volume 4: The Hip-Hop Messenger (Back To The Future) and it’s companion mixtape Guru’s Jazzmatazz: The Time Bomb (Back To The Future Mixtape), Guru and Solar have delivered another fresh approach, one that’s not only an interesting attempt at boundary-crossing but also a compelling enough to bridge the jazz, hip-hop & soul enthusiast all at the same time

ABOUT 7 GRAND RECORDS

7 Grand Records are dedicated to the art of hip-hop and beyond. Whether it’s providing an outlet for challenging and stimulating music or releasing records with high artistic value, Guru and Solar are committed to providing an independent outlet for highly creative and uncompromising art.

Source

According to VIBE Magazine. Common is planning to ditch his music career for Hollywood, because he feels he will be more successful as an actor than he will ever be as a rapper.

The star - born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. - has garnered critical acclaim for his lyrical skills in his 15 years in the music industry, but has already made a name for himself as an actor in his short time on the big screen, with roles in movies like Smoking Aces and the newly-released American Gangster. But he is contemplating making the career change more permanent.

He tells Vibe magazine, “I need a new fulfillment as an artist. I feel like I can become a bigger actor than I am a rapper. It’s scary thinking, ‘Damn, if I don’t sell no records, what am I going to do?’ When you haven’t made multi millions in this game, you got to think about what you want to be doing when you’re 50 or 60. I found an art that I really love and it’s infinite.”

Common’s G.O.O.D Music/Geffen Records gold-selling release Finding Forever wins the “CD of the Year” award at the BET Hip Hop Awards show held in Atlanta, GA. on Saturday, October 14th (Common tied with platinum-selling hip hop star T.I. in winning the top award). Common also won the award for “Lyricist of the Year” and performs “Drivin’ Me Wild” on the show which airs on Wednesday, October 17th @ 8PM.

Common’s 4th video in support of Finding Forever, the star-studded “I Want You” (produced by Will.I.Am) which features Kerry Washington (Co-Director), Alicia Keys, Derek Luke, Kanye West, Serena Williams and Will.I.Am will debut on AOL on 10/23.

Look out for Common as he acts alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the highly anticipated feature film, The American Gangster, which opens in theatres on November 2. Also be sure to watch BET on 10/23 as Common premieres the video for “I Want You” on “106 and Park.” Common is also featured in MTV’s “52 Bands” week of October 29th, appears on Jimmy Kimmel on November 1st and performs “I Want You” on Letterman on November 6th.

FIRST COMPILATION EVER ISSUED ON COMMON,

SPANNING EARLY YEARS, 1992-1997

thisisme then: the best of common

15 TRACKS FROM FOUR INFLUENTIAL CHICAGO RAP ALBUMS:

• “Take It EZ,” “Breaker 1/9,” “Soul By The Pound,” “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” “Book Of Life,” “Retrospect For Life” featuring Lauryn Hill, “Reminding Me

(Of Sef)” featuring Chantay Savage, “All Night Long” featuring Erykah Badu, “G.O.D. (Gaining One’s Definition)” featuring Cee-Lo,

“Stolen Moments Pt. III” featuring Q-Tip, and more

Also: Four CD extra bonus videos – “Take It EZ,” “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” “Retrospect For Life” featuring Lauryn Hill, and “Invocation”

Compilation on Grammy Award-winning star of American Gangster and Smokin’ Aces – whose most recent album, Finding Forever debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart – arrives in stores November 27, 2007, on Relativity/Legacy

“It would be hard to imagine hip-hop without Common Sense.”

– Leah Rose, liner notes to thisisme then: the best of common

“Sometimes the most telling aspects of an artist’s career are their early works,” writes Leah Rose, Music Editor, XXL, *Lip Service* Shade 45/Sirius, “the ambitious and sometimes rough attempts that show the world who they are and who they are about to become.”

Common’s early works (before his 1999 major label signing) were the first three albums he recorded for (then) indie label Relativity Records: Can I Borrow A Dollar? (1992, for Combat, distributed by Relativity), Resurrection (1994, on Relativity’s Ruthless imprint), and One Day It’ll All Make Sense (1997, for Relativity proper). All six chart singles from those albums, plus a baker’s dozen critically chosen album tracks (including a contribution to the Soul In The Hole movie soundtrack) are gathered on thisisme then: the best of common, the first compilation of his career. The new album will arrive in stores November 27th on Relativity/Legacy, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

thisisme then: the best of common includes guest appearances by Lauryn Hill (“Retrospect For Life”), Chantay Savage (“Reminding Me [Of Sef]”), Erykah Badu (“All Night Long”), Cee-Lo Green pre-Gnarls Barkley (“G.O.D. [Gaining One’s Definition]”), and Q-Tip (Intro/Outro on “Stolen Moments Pt. III”) – Q-Tip being Common’s partner in a new supergroup, the Standard. All five of those selections originated on the 1997 album One Day It’ll All Make Sense.

Adding to the compilation are four CD extra bonus video tracks: for “Take It EZ” (Common’s first Rap chart single, from Can I Borrow A Dollar?); “I Used To Love H.E.R.” (from Resurrection); and “Retrospect For Life” (featuring Lauryn Hill) and “Invocation” (both from One Day It’ll All Make Sense).

In 1992, 20-year old Chicago-born and raised freestyler Common Sense (as he was first known) could hardly imagine where the future would take him. One decade later, his heartfelt rhymes and uncompromising hip-hop attitude earned him his first Grammy Award (Best R&B Song for the #1 “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)” with Erykah Badu), and the first of several high-profile movie roles. Film has expanded the scope of his art into new directions, climaxing with his part in American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, opening November 2007.

Four months earlier, Common’s most recent album, Finding Forever (produced mostly by Kanye West) debuted at #1 the Billboard Top 200 Album chart – Common’s first #1 debut. In the school of hip-hop noted by the positivism of such literate (and often jazz-influenced) artists as De La Soul, Digable Planets, the Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, Gang Starr, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and others – Common has staked out his own unique and important position. That position is explored fully in the CD booklet liner notes essay written by Leah Rose.

The road to Relativity began on Chicago’s teeming South Side, where Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (son of pro basketball player Lonnie Lynn) was raised by his single mother, a doctor, in an environment isolated from the feuding East Coast and West Coast rap scenes. He admired mc’s from both factions – Rose’s liner notes cite “Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and the other MCs he grew up admiring … everything from Rakim to N.W.A.” He was even in a high school rap group of his own before going off to college. At Florida A&M, he continued to write and record demo material. In October 1991, some of his rhymes were featured in The Source magazine’s “Unsigned Hype” column, which led to a signing offer from Relativity, and a slot on its primarily core-metal label, Combat.

Dropping out of college to the disappointment of his mom, Common packed off to New York with an entourage of 15 Chicago friends, and his producers No I.D. (aka Immenslope) and Twilite Tone. Can I Borrow A Dollar? was recorded in a fast two weeks at Calliope Studio (where A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul made some of their early records). The rapper was barely out of his teens when the album was issued in September 1992, and spun off two well-received hits on the Rap charts, “Take It EZ” and “Breaker 1/9.” They were distinguished by their decidedly breezy jazz-inflected non-gangsta approach – at a time when gangsta was dominating rap.

Three more tracks from Can I Borrow A Dollar? are included on thisisme then: “Soul By The Pound” (the third single, and first to cross over from Rap to the R&B chart; from this point onward, most of his singles were crossovers), “Charms Alarm,” and “Heidi Hoe,” produced by the Beatnuts, the album’s only outside production.

A fast-track process of socio-cultural, religious and musical maturation took place over the next two years, which ran the gamut from absorbing John Coltrane (who “influenced the way he put his rhymes together,” Rose writes) to exploring Islam via the teachings of the Koran. This personal growth took shape on October 1994’s Resurrection, the second Relativity album, as he moved over to the Ruthless imprint. Most significant was the single “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” his personification of hip-hop as a lover who has become debased and exploited – an allegory that was openly critical of West Coast gangsta style.

“I Used To Love H.E.R.” sparked a well-publicized cross-country feud with Ice-Cube that was eventually mediated by Louis Farrakhan. In addition to the follow-up title tune single, “Resurrection,” the album is represented by “Book Of Life” and the track that gives this compilation its title, “thisisme.” The success of Resurrection also had another unexpected result, when a reggae group named Common Sense threatened to sue unless he changed his name – thus, he became Common.

By the mid-’90s, so-called ‘alternative rap’ had come into its own, eschewing lurid themes of misogynist sex and violence, in favor of thoughtful rhymes that assayed social and political and interpersonal consciousness. Common was at the center of this movement, and one of the reasons that One Day It’ll All Make Sense, his next album, was not completed until September 1997, was because of the quorum of like-minded hip-hop and R&B artists who wanted to get on-board. Another reason was the profound effect on Common of the news that his girlfriend was pregnant (his daughter was born soon after the album was released). Impending fatherhood added another layer of responsibility and introspection to Common’s poetry.

thisisme then includes five high-profile guest appearances from some (some!) of Common’s collaborators on One Day It’ll All Make Sense, starting with “Retrospect For Life” with Lauryn Hill – who gave birth to her own first child the month before the album release. The track was issued as a non-chart single with a video directed by Hill. The second single was “Reminding Me (Of Sef)” with fellow Chicago R&B singer Chantay Savage, which became a Top 10 Rap hit.

Other notable partners from One Day It’ll All Make Sense heard on this compilation are neo-soul icon Erykah Badu (“All Night Long”), whose debut album was issued at the beginning of 1997; Atlanta’s Goodie Mob heavyweight Cee-Lo Green (“G.O.D. [Gaining One’s Definition]”), nearly a decade before Gnarls Barkley; and New Yorker Q-Tip (Intro/Outro on “Stolen Moments Pt. III”), the founding leader of A Tribe Called Quest, who was about to begin his solo career in 1998, when the Tribe disbanded. In 2007, Common and Q-Tip have organized a supergroup named the Standard.

The audio portion of thisisme then ends with “High Expectations,” Common’s contribution to the Relativity movie soundtrack of Soul In The Hole, a 1997 documentary about Brooklyn playground basketballers who dream of turning pro. Common was in the company of Wu Tang Clan, Dead Prez, M.O.P., Big Pun, Exzibit, Mobb Deep, and others.

Following his initial success at Relativity, Common was signed to major label MCA in 1999, where he scored an R&B hit single with “The Light” in 2000. It sent his first album for the label, Like Water for Chocolate, to Top 5 R&B and RIAA gold. In 2002, Common’s Electric Circus album managed a Top 20 R&B hit with “Come Close To Me” featuring Mary J. Blige. But it was Common’s collaboration with Erykah Badu on “Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip-Hop)” from the Fox/MCA soundtrack of the Taye Diggs movie Brown Sugar, that won him his first Grammy Award: Best R&B Song, as a writer (shared with Badu). Interestingly, the song was an extension of the personification concept first suggested in 1994, on “I Used To Love H.E.R.”

Common was heard from again in 2005 with Be, his first album produced by Kanye West, a #1 R&B/#2 pop smash that passed the RIAA gold mark without the benefit of a major hit single – although “Testify,” “The Corner,” and “They Say” collected nearly a dozen BET, Grammy, NAACP Image, MTV VMA, Soul Train, and Vibe Awards nominations. To his credit, Common had become a true album artist, who had transcended the singles market – as proved by the success of Finding Forever this past summer.

With music as his artistic foundation, Common has followed the footsteps of other rappers (such as Ludacris and Mos Def) into film. His first support role was last year’s Las Vegas-based action-comedy Smokin’ Aces, starring Ray Liotta and Jeremy Piven. Following his current role in American Gangster, Common will be seen in two films next year: The Night Watchman, a rogue cop thriller with Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, and Forest Whitaker, written by James Ellroy; and Wanted, the adaptation of the graphic comic novel, starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman.

“Common’s first three albums are truly a coming of age,” Leah Rose concludes. “As one of rap music’s most talented MCs, he literally grew up in the music that his loyal listeners still cherish more than a decade after its initial release. This collection of songs draws from that much missed era in hip-hop, when lyrical prowess was the hallmark of a rapper’s success.”

thisisme then: the best of common (Relativity/Legacy 88697 19338 2) Selections:
1. Take It EZ (A) •
2. Breaker 1/9 (A) •
3. Soul By The Pound (A) •
4. Charms Alarm (A) •
5. Heidi Hoe (A) •
6. I Used To Love H.E.R. (B) •
7. Book Of Life (B) • 8. Resurrection (B) •
9. thisisme (B) •
10. Retrospect For Life (featuring Lauryn Hill) (C) •
11. Reminding Me (Of Sef) (featuring Chantay Savage) (C) •
12. All Night Long (featuring Erykah Badu) (C) •
13. G.O.D. (Gaining One’s Definition) (featuring Cee-Lo) (C) •
14. Stolen Moments Pt. III (Intro/Outro: Q-Tip) (C) •
15. High Expectations (D) •

CD Extra bonus videos:
16. Take It EZ (A) •
17. I Used To Love H.E.R. (B) •
18. Retrospect For Life (featuring Lauryn Hill) (C) •
19. Invocation (C).

Album key:

A – from Can I Borrow A Dollar? (released Sept. 1992, as Combat/Relativity 1084)

B – from Resurrection (released October 1994, as Ruthless/Relativity 1208)

C – from One Day It’ll All Make Sense (released Sept. 1997, as Relativity 1535)

D – from Soul In The Hole o.s. (released 1997, as Relativity 1836)

One of the most mature Hip Hop artists further affirms his place with the next video from the album “Finding Forever”

“I Want You” Produced by Will.I.AM. Video starring Common, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Serena Williams and more…Check it out October 23rd on 106 & Park and AOL

Common - Launches Foundation To Empower Urban Youth!!!

*Rapper Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in Chicago, has announced the launch of The Common Ground Foundation, Inc., an effort dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth through education.

“I always believed that if we started with the youth then we would be planting the seeds for our future to blossom,” says the socially conscious emcee, who stars opposite Denzel Washington in the upcoming film, “American Gangster.”

Additionally, The Common Ground Foundation supports and focuses on AIDS/HIV prevention programs targeted towards youth and young adults, reaching beyond our national borders to serve communities throughout Africa.

Common also recently wrapped filming on “Wanted” with co-stars Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, and David Ayer’s “The Night Watchman” starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker.

Q-TIP HITS THE ROAD WITH COMMON ON 2K SPORTS BOUNCE TOUR NEW ALBUM THE RENAISSANCE SCHEDULED FOR EARLY 2008 RELEASE

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST TO BE RECOGNIZED AT VH1 HIP HOP HONORS

New York, NY- Q-Tip will hit the road this Fall alongside Common for the 2K Sports Bounce Tour including stops in Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles (see complete schedule below). The popular video game series NBA 2K8 features Q-Tip as a playable character. He can also be heard on the soundtrack alongside Talib Kweli on the J Dilla track “Lightworks.” The game hits shelves October 2nd.

While on the road, the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist will offer up new material from his highly-anticipated release The Renaissance- due early 2008 via Universal Motown. Featuring a unique mix of samples and a live band, the album is the latest chapter in one of the most storied careers in urban music. The first single- “WorkItOut”- is currently available for download on iTunes.

VH1 will pay tribute to A Tribe Called Quest at the fourth annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors- premiering Monday, October 8th at 10PM Eastern/Pacific. Inspiring generations of hip-hop artists, Q-Tip and fellow Tribe members Phife Dawg & Ali Shaheed Muhammad played a key role in turning the genre into the mainstream phenomenon it is today. With infectious beats and socially-conscious lyrics, the Tribe discography is a staple in any hip-hop fans collection.

Q-TIP TOUR:
9/22 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
9/24 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
9/25 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
9/27 - Charlotte, NC - Amos’ Southend
9/28 - Greensboro, NC - N Club
9/29 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
9/30 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
10/1 - Atlanta, GA - Earthlink Live
10/3 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
10/5 - Washington DC - Love
10/6 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
10/7 - NYC - Nokia Theatre
10/8 - Norfolk, VA - Norva
10/10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10/14 - LA, CA - The Roxy