Common

Released: August 30, 2019

Featuring: A-Trak

Songwriter: A-Trak Common

Producer: Burniss Earl Travis II Samora Pinderhughes Karriem Riggins

[Verse 1: Common]
I'm into Chi-Town heroes like Fred Hampton
And neighborhood Deebos, the rebirth of D. Rose
The eye of a eagle, I keep on the people
Some gettin’ repoed, some Niclo
Since I was a shorty I had vision like Calico
Opportunity knocks, I'm lookin' through the peephole
In my daughter’s laugh, I can hear a deep soul
E was my first love, now I'm on the sequel
Heart stay open, in you I keep gold
Crossroads of beast mode to peace mode
Southeast cold, Avalon to Eckersall
Too much on my back to set it off
From the offset, I just wanna be, be, be
Like Cardi or 'Oncé, or Harry Belafonte
Whenever I eat, my peeps get the same entrée
Like they my fiance
It ain't easy, when niggas like, "Feed me"
When I ain't got it they don't believe me
Read me truth, lead me truth
The birth of freedom can't be induced
We reproduce, so our fruits can see
The fruit's a harvest for the world that the mustard seed produced
Faith walk my thoughts through yellow tape and chalk
Tiger style, gettin’ it back on course

[Chorus: Samora Pinderhughes]
Well, well, well, well, well, well, well
They want us to be in jail
But you know we’ll never fail
We goin' up, yeah, we goin’ up
No this soul is not for sale
I won't put that on them scales
And I know we will prevail (Will prevail, will prevail)

[Verse 2: Common]
Man, I'm strugglin', man, I be strugglin’
'Til something inside tell me to come again
Like when you fuckin' and you get another wind
I'm from the City of Wind, that's another win
Take the L, green line, red line, get your paper, headlines
Tryna feed your fam, get fed time
It happens, trappin' and rappin' got us backed in
To a corner, it's normal for black men
The Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley reenactment
Savion with a beard, yo, I'm tapped in
Stretch money and make it do a back bend
Frontin' niggas try to front you on the back end
Live from the Chi' where, guns be clappin'
Poetic justice, with raps I'm snappin'
Meditatin' took Kamasi song, ask him
Robbin' in Baskin, our heroes ain't masked men
When I do it, Com' do it with passion
My compassion for brown and black skin
In the hood I used to backspin
Now I'm spinnin' back in the hood
When I'm back, "Yo, what's good?"
If you stand up, then that's understood
I tell the black sheep, "Don't react to them wolves"
Crib love, our heroes are on murals
So five Euros get told in their earlobe
That they can let fear go
Souls clear the way, let these palms pirouette
Or pirouette, in the silhouette of blackness and cigarettes

[Chorus: Samora Pinderhughes]
Well, well, well, well, well, well, well
They want us to be in jail
But you know we'll never fail
We goin' up, yeah, we goin' up
No this soul is not for sale
I won't put that on them scales
And I know we will prevail (Prevail, prevail)

[Outro] [Scratch: A-Trak]
I-I-I-I don't support the rights of people because I'm a politician
I support the rights of people because it's deep within me
A natural part of my own development
I am the outroll plan of this father and mother
A-And the results afforded to my years of struggle

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.

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