The Tanning Interview with Common

Here’s another interview I did for Steve Stoute’s The Tanning Of America website. This round, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my favorite rap artists of all time: Common. I used to listen to his Resurrection album non-stop when I was in high school (I saw him live at Tramps back in those days too), and of course I’ve been a fan ever since. Here’s my intro, with the link to the full interview below…

There was a time in Common’s life when he was known simply as a rapper. Well, that young man from Chicago has come a long way since the release of his breakthrough album, Resurrection, in 1994, expanding his visibility from the Rap City countdown to the silver screen, appearing in films alongside Hollywood’s brightest stars, such as Just Wright with fellow rapper turned thespian Queen Latifah, and Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. He even landed himself a role in the new AMC television drama, Hell On Wheels, playing a post-Civil War freed slave, which has welcomed in a whole new audience for him as well. To boot, his memoir, One Day It’ll All Make Sense, was just released to stellar reviews, creating different opportunities for press and public appearances. Quite impressively, Common has successfully managed to maintain a reputable presence in the hip-hop community throughout his transformation from rapper to rapper/actor/author. In fact, his new LP, The Dreamer, The Believer, is one of the most anticipated albums dropping in the fourth quarter, largely due to his reunion with producer No I.D. We spoke to Common about the various “tanning” moments he’s had in his professional career as a rapper, actor, and now an author. We also got his take on the recent backlash he received for his poetry reading appearance at The White House, typecasting in Hollywood for black actors, and his friend and collaborator Kanye West’s VMA incident with country music star Taylor Swift.

Watch Common’s newest videos too. All three songs are off his new album, and are produced by No I.D….

“Ghetto Dreams” f/ Nas