Common is an actor, producer and, most famously, a rapper.
Along with John Legend, he took home an Oscar and a Grammy for the song “Glory” from the 2014 Civil Rights movie, “Selma.” He has just reunited with that film’s director, Ava DuVernay, for her documentary “13th,” a reference to the U.S. constitutional amendment that abolished slavery.
For "13th," which is about the mass incarceration of African-American men, Common wrote the song “Letter to the Free.” The song is also on Common’s new album, called “Black America Again.” He also has the song “Who Tells Your Story" on the brand-new "Hamilton Mixtape” album.
When Common came by The Frame, host John Horn asked him about his upbringing in Chicago, his mission as an artist, and how he got Ava DuVernay to put "Letter to the Free" in her film.
Interview Highlights:
On how he got involved in Ava DuVernay's film:
I'd been reading this book called "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander, who's [also] in the film. It's dealing with the trace [from] slavery to mass incarceration. This was all in my world so I just started writing. I was like, I want to write this. I'm going to try to present it to Eva. I end up seeing Eva at President Obama's birthday party in the White House. I walk up to Eva after a little bit of wine and I say, Eva, I want to do a song for [your film]. Let me rap it to you. I start saying part of the verse I wrote for her movie, which I'd never seen. She's like, It's pretty good. You can submit a song. I'll send you the film. And that's how it started.
On why he chose to include some of Trump's phrases in the song:
I started the song ... it was August. I was looking at this election, and from my perspective I was like, This just doesn't feel like this is a person who's running to better the country. I was listening to those catch phrases, like Make America Great Again. Are you doing your best to make it great for everyone? And [the lyrics] "Trump me" is putting that mentality, that divisiveness, on to all of us. All of the American citizens who don't want to be divided, who are open to whether you're Muslim, Christian, Jewish or Hindu. Embracing gays, transgender. Embracing black, Latino, white, Asian. Those are the people that I wanted to say, Hey, we're not going to get Trumped. We can't! I wanted "Letter to the Free" to express that sentiment.
On the obligations of artists at this time:
It is very important because these times seem so critical and delicate. It's important to address the issues and empower in the music and empower in the filmmaking. Also [to] give a voice to the voiceless. I've been around people who don't have [a voice]. Sometimes it's just the exposure of seeing something better that can give that person a chance to live a better life. I'm not judgmental in that way. I don't even judge the people that are out there pushing the hate. I'm on my Martin Luther King mentality of like, Man, we're going to overcome this hate with the strongest love possible.
On making music with a message:
I'm an artist. I want to create art that is great. I choose to have a message because I have this platform. To me, if you are given a microphone, you do have the blessing to say something if you can, and if it's in your heart. So it's in my heart. The music I grew up listening to — some of it was some of the greatest music. I didn't even realize it even had a message until I got to be a teenager or a young adult. I was like, I'm not into making message music. You want people to digest it. You want people to hear it and in some ways just enjoy it, but also be inspired.
On the song "Black America Again" and the video's use of the Alton Sterling shooting:
[Editor's note: Alton Sterling was a 37-year-old black man shot by Baton Rouge police officers last summer.] I didn't talk to Alton Sterling's family and I feel I could have taken more responsibility in making sure I got in contact with them. The director of the short that we did — his name is Arthur Jafa, a great director — he brought the footage of Alton Sterling into the whole picture and I initially was like, I don't know if I really want to use this because I don't watch those videos. I don't watch the videos because they affect me too much. I just don't want to see it. I don't feel like watching it is going to benefit me toward [making] change. When he showed it to me in the context, it put me in the mindset of what I wanted, what the seed of "Black America Again" was. "Black America Again" was created because there's been so many unarmed black men who've been killed — brown people too — at the hands of police officers. It made me think, beyond police, [about] the lack of value for black life. I wanted to show our humanity in a different way. Throughout all the struggle, we still are here as people in America that are loving, creative, that want unity and are good people. All of these things to me are showing the humanity of who we are, and that's really the gist of it.
On Stevie Wonder's line in "Black America Again": "We are rewriting the black American story":
Rewriting the black American story is removing the picture that all black people are criminals, all black people are monolithic. It's removing those thoughts and showing families, showing the love, showing the strength in us. Serena Williams is someone who is rewriting the black American story. Neil deGrasse is rewriting the black American story. Ta-Nehisi Coates. I think it's just about removing those stereotypes and showing new pictures of who we are.
On creating role models for young artists:
The first time I really realized I could win a Grammy is when I saw The Roots win a Grammy. It's because they were my friends and they were making music that was different. That's truly the idea is to let kids see themselves. And I'm grateful that we have "Moonlight" and that we have "Hidden Figures" and that we have "Fences." Even in films that are dealing with the superheroes. We want kids to see Latino superheroes and women superheroes and Asian superheroes and Black superheroes. Just like we got to see our president, now kids growing up know you don't have to be a certain color to be president. We've got to get over the hump of female presidents. We've got to really make that happen.
On what he hopes audiences take away from "13th":
I hope that a viewer will see that film and see some of the companies that are supporting private prison business and say, Maybe my first step is not going out and supporting those businesses. And if they step back and say also, Let me figure out what I can do. This is unjust. This is not right — what's going on in our criminal justice system and with our prison system. I just want the person to step back and look within themselves and say, This is how I want to be part of the change.
That's all I really would like for the movie and the song to do. Obviously, for me, it made me go out — and I'm continuing to do that — and find out more about policies, about things that I can be active in changing when it comes to mass incarceration. One of the things I did find out specifically is that a lot of people coming back into society, they feel lost. This is a country, as we say, of second chances. So I would like for those people to have those chances. I would encourage anybody who watches the film to, whatever way you can empower yourself and others, figure that passion out and go do it.