Common

Released: December 10, 2002

Songwriter: Common J Dilla ?uestlove James Poyser

Producer: James Poyser ?uestlove J Dilla

[Intro: Common]
Yeah, for the world!
Keep going so you can, yo, you can rock on
We keep going so you can, yo, you can rock on
We keep going so you can, yo, you can rock on
We keep going

[Verse 1: Common]
Nigga breathe, I can tell by how you rap you don't believe
Ain't hungry no more, so off me you feed
I hustle at a speed between greed and need
On the streets where intuition and weed are breed
Shoot the gift and viff, at the myths uplift
My rhyme the clip, it's like the boom bip to tip
In gangways where cats that rhyme the same way
Spending nights over Egypt to learn a brave day
Paint a picture of the ghetto like JJ
You're the Ray J of this rap world
I travel the globe with a black girl named Becky
Grand like Auto Theft 3
Style so developed, the law can't arrest me
You walk with blood on your shirt like Jesse
Jackson trying to test the reaction of the people
See through, tryna out act Don Cheadle
I speak to original Hebrews, you know how we do
And bleed through the needle with truth
That needs no preview to proof, it's in the people
And how they react, still in the business of smacking
Rappers is wack, you had a dope track, I guess opposites attract
My mind state is black, black like Bernie Mac
No cowards, soul power in the words we rap

[Hook]
As, as
As we walk together
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul, soul, soul power
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul, soul, soul, soul
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)

[Verse 2: Common]
Picks with fist, thick grease, dark nipples
My guy buy ice, I search for the dark crystal
Racing for paper, these broads is starter pistols
I spit through gang wars and strange doors
Out the sky, flames pour, the beats claims war
I see niggas with flags, who they waving them for?
I'm the nigga, that you put the chain on the door for
The nigga, that you started changing the laws for
Orator of hardcore and more
My raps the portal for the blue collar
You made a hit and came up on a few dollars
I'd rather listen to silence than you holla
Borrowed your persona from the late that made Dear Mama
My realness is my armor that I wear up in this boy
For truth your a decoy
Common Sense is like the future of the B-boy
I fall down and get up like Don McClurkin
Hit push and listen to it whistle while I'm twerkin'
Break it down like herb
The nympho of info, I'm fucking what you heard
You ain't ready for war, you're stuck in the reserves
I mastered my high so I'm bucking at the birds
I've been wanting to fly so now I do it with the words
For those in the fast lane, I'll show you how to merge
Get your own
You see, it's like home grown herb black economics
The people we serve with soul power

[Hook]
As we walk together
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul, soul, soul, soul
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul power (soul power!)
Soul, soul, soul, soul
Soul power (soul power!)

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

Soul PowerCommon

Common

Electric Circus