Common

Released: July 10, 2005

Songwriter: Common Erykah Badu Raphael Saadiq James Poyser Bobby Ozuna Glenn Standridge Madukwu Chinwah Rev Run Fatlip

Producer: Raphael Saadiq James Poyser Erykah Badu

[Intro]
A freak freak y'all, and you don't stop
A-to the beat y'all, and you don't stop
A freak freak y'all, and you don't stop
A-to the beat y'all, and you don't stop, come on
Freak freak y'all, and you don't stop
A-to the beat y'all, and you don't stop
A freak freak y'all, and you don't stop
I wanna see if y'all up on this hip-hop right here

[Run's verse from Run-DMC's "Sucker MC's"]
Two years ago, a friend of mine
Asked me to say some MC rhymes
I said this rhyme I'm about to say
The rhyme was def but then it went this way
Took a test to become an MC
And Orange Krush became amazed at me
Derek put me inside the Cadillac
The chauffeur drove off, where we take 'em to, Dummy?

[Erykah Badu sample from "Love of My Life"]
(Way back) Uh, where we goin' y'all? We go ooh-ooh-ooh
(Way back, yeah) Sing it with us y'all, over here, where we goin'?
(Way back) Uh, over here, go ooh-ooh-ooh
(Way back, yeah) Alright, see if y'all know this

[Fat Lip's verse from The Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By"]
Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian
Now the world around me keeps on movin' in slow motion
Whenever she happens to walk by, why does the apple of my eye
Overlook and disregard my feelings no matter how much I try?
Wait, no, why didn't I pursue my little princess with persistence
Was so low key that she's unaware of my existence
From a distance I desired her, secretly admired her
Wired her a letter, and it went:
My dear, my dear, my dear, you do not know me
But I know you very well
Now let me tell you about the feelings I have for you
When I try or make some sort of attempt, I simp
Damn, I wish I wasn't such a wimp

But I'ma take y'all (Way back)
Uh, yeah, where goin' y'all? Where goin', come on
We go (Way back, yeah)
I can't hear y'all, sing it with me Den Haag
(Way back) Uh, yeah, uh, it go ooh-ooh-ooh
(Way back, yeah) Alright, see, y'all gotta know this

[Common's verse from "Love of My Life"]
Y'all know how I met her
We broke up and got back together
To get her back, I had to sweat her
Thought she roll with bad boys forever in many ways
Boys made her better, to grow, I had to let her, let her
She needed cheddar, I understood that (That)
Lookin' for cheese, that don't make her a hood rat (Rat)
In fact she's a queen to me, her light beams on me
I love it when she sings to me
It's like...

[Erykah Badu sample]
Love of my life
Ooh, you know you rock my world and
Love of my life
You b-boy and I b-girl and
Love of my life
We don't stop until the break of dawn, ooh...

Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop...
...Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Hip-hop...

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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