Common Joins Forces With MAKERS To Celebrate The Influence Of Women

Photo by Vickey Ford for Okayplayer

Common honors his mother and other influential women in his life in a new interview.

Speaking with MAKERS the Chicago rapper spoke about the support and love he has gotten from his mother throughout his life.

"My home and my foundation has been my mother. She really taught me how to love by example and in some ways could be very disciplinarian," Common says.

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He then discusses how he became interested in rapping, saying how poets such asDr. Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni inspired him to write his first rap as a 12-year-old.

Fast forward to1990, and Common is attending Florida A&M University while sending out demo tapes to become a rap artist. A year later he was offered a recording contract and had to tell his mother that he was dropping out of school to pursue a rap career.

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"Knowing that my mother worked hard for me to be able to get into college and she really barely knew I even rapped," Common says. "It was a tough back and forth but when my mother saw that I was truly sincere and passionate she embraced it."

The interview then goes into some of Common's most notable accomplishments, including collaborating with Dr. Angelou on his song "The Dreamer," as well as acting in Ava DuVernay's filmSelma.

Check out the interview below.

H/T: Makers.com