Common

Released: December 10, 2002

Featuring: Erykah Badu

Songwriter: Common Erykah Badu J Dilla ?uestlove James Poyser Jeff Lee Johnson Pino Palladino

Producer: ?uestlove James Poyser Jeff Lee Johnson Pino Palladino

[Verse 1: Erykah Badu & Common]
Everyone hides their faces
Behind a mask they wear
Jimi was a rock star
Searching for that magic place
That he could touch in the sky
Just to get his people high

[Verse 2: Erykah Badu & Common]
Life is so colorful
Reds, blues and dreams
Jimi lives in a purple haze
In a psychedelic maze
Playing the streets like an instrument
Pulling strings wherever he went
Angel sent from the sky
Just to get his people high

[Bridge: Erykah Badu & Common]
Women all around
Fast cars and sound
And freedom he was bound
Couldn't see the ground
Jimi, come out why don't you set me free? (set me free)

[Verse 3: Erykah Badu & Common]
So high, born to fly
Getting high off his own supply
With the most highs of the sky
Everybody follows the same lord
Choosing his light to guide the way
You do, but who do you choose?
Some try things but few die so young
Something among Jimi was stung
Everyone hides their faces
Behind a mask they wear

[Outro: Erykah Badu]
(Jimi, come out why don't you set me free?)
[Repeat until fade out]

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is a Grammy and Oscar-winning rapper and actor from Chicago, Illinois. Common’s inspired mix of poetic flow and hip-hop soul has helped him earn his status as one of the most respected rappers in the game.

After being a ball boy for his hometown Chicago Bulls as a teen and attending Florida A&M University for business administration, Common Sense kicked in and he left school to become a rapper. He gained national attention after being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine in 1991. He released his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? through Relativity Records in 1992, followed by his breakthrough second album Resurrection in 1994, which features his hip-hop classic single “I Used To Love H.E.R.”

As his career began to take off, he was sued by the music group Common Sense over the name, leading Common to drop the “Sense” and allude to the change in the title of his third album, One Day It’ll All Make Sense (1997). He has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Like Water For Chocolate (2000), which features his J Dilla-produced hit single “The Light”, and Be (2005), which was released under fellow Chicago musician Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint. He also joined musicians Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper to form the group August Greene, and the trio released their self-titled album in 2018.

more tracks from the album

Electric Circus

From the album

Electric Circus (2002)

Common popular songs

JImi Was a Rock StarCommon

Common

Electric Circus