Hip Hop Star Common’s Passion Goes Beyond the Mic

“[Hip-hop’s] constantly evolving. I think as much as it does go through stagnant periods, it’s still a powerful force. It’s become bigger than music, you know?” Hip-hop star Common took some time after performing with College-loving opener Asher Roth to a packed-house at Lupo’s to discuss his craft.

If there’s one thing a concertgoer can always expect at a hip-hop show, it’s that the artist will never hit the stage at his scheduled time. Of course, Common was no exception, stepping onto the stage just shy of a half-hour after the intended beginning of his set.

In support of Universal Mind Control, which was released this past December, Common made sure to incorporate some of his older hits into the set such as “Testify” and the street anthem “I Used to Love H.E.R.”.

The Renaissance man has made a name for himself in Hollywood as of late, starring in blockbusters such as American Gangster and last summer’s Wanted. Though music was his first artistic love, film has recently taken up a large part of his life.

“Since I wrote Universal Mind Control and released it, I’ve been focusing on different film things so I hadn’t been writing,” said Common. “I just wrote my first rap in about five months for Malik Yusef, this poet from Chicago, who Kanye [West] and I just did a song called “Magic Man”.

Common enjoys acting so much that if it boiled down to it, he said he would choose acting over rapping.

“It’s such an infinite way for me to express myself and it’s still so new to me…It’s just so much fun, reading scripts, learning characters, becoming that person, improving,” he claimed. “It’s just a beautiful, expressional art. I really appreciate that facet of life. You learn so much about people doing it.”

Fellow comic book geeks who have been on any forums of late may have heard word about a film expected to be released in 2011 tentatively titled Justice League: Mortal, about the epic alliance of The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. How does Common figure into all of this?

“We don’t know when it will happen,” he said, “When it does happen, God willing, I will be the Green Lantern.”

Common has definitely paid his dues in the music world. 17 years into his career he’s won two Grammy awards, had ten singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold about three million records.

Throughout his impressive career he’s worked with artists Lily Allen, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend, among countless others. So who does he hope to get into the studio with next?

“Oh, Shadai. I would like to do something with her. Radiohead, too. Maybe Nas.”

Expect to see Common in the movie theater in this spring’s Terminator Salvation and the release of his 9^th studio effort, tentatively titled The Believer, reported to drop sometime this year.