Common + Erykah Badu

♦→  ‘The Corner’  ↓ [ft. The Last Poets]

[Verse 1: Common]
Memories on corners with the fours & the moors  [pronounced ‘foes’ & ‘moes’]
Walk to the store for the rose talking straightforward to
Got uncles that smoke it some put blow up they nose
To cope with they lows the wind is cold & it blows
In they socks & they souls holding they rolls
Corners leave souls opened & closed hoping for more
With nowhere to go rolling in droves
They shoot the wrong way cause they ain’t knowing they goal
The streets ain’t safe cause they ain’t knowing he code
By the fours I was told either focus or fold
Got cousins with flows hope they open some doors
So we can cop clothes & roll in a Rolls
Now I roll in a «Olds» with windows that don’t roll
Down the roads where cars get broke in & stole
These are the stories told by Stony & Cottage Grove
The world is cold the block is hot as a stove
On the corners

[Hook: Kanye West]
I wish I could give ya this feeling
I wish I could give ya this feeling
On the corners, niggas robbing, killing, dying
Just to make a living (huh)

[Spoken: The Last Poets]
We underrated, we educated
The corner was our time when times stood still
And gators and snakes gangs and yellow and pink
And colored blue profiles glorifying that

[Verse 2: Common]
Streetlights & deepnights cats trying to eat right
Riding no seat bikes with work to feed hypes
So they can keep sweet Nikes they head & they feet right
Desires of streetlife cars & weed types
It’s hard to breath nights days are thief like
The beast roam the streets the police is Greeklike
Game at it’s peak we speak & believe hype
Bang in the streets hats cocked left or deep right
Its steep life coming up where sheeplike
Rappers & hoopers we strive to be like
G’s with 3 stripes seeds that need light
Cheese & weaves tight needs & thieves strike
The corner where struggle & greed fight
We write songs about wrong cause it’s hard to see right
Look to the sky hoping it will bleed light
Reality’s and I heard that she bites
The corner

[Hook]

[Spoken: The Last Poets]
The corner was our magic, our music, our politics
Fires raised as tribal dancers and
war cries that broke out on different corners
Power to the people, black power, black is beautiful

[Verse 3: Common]
Black church services, murderers, Arabs serving burger its
Cats with gold permanents move they bags as herbalist
The dirt isn’t just fertile its people working & earning this
The curb-getters go where the cash flow & the current is
It’s so hot that burn to live the furnace is
Where the money move & the determined live
We talk play lotto & buy german beers
It’s so black packed with action that’s affirmative
The corners

[Hook]

[Spoken: The Last Poets]
The corner was our Rock of Gibraltar, our Stonehenge
Our Taj Mahal, our monument,
Our testimonial to freedom, to peace and to love
Down on the corner…

•→‘I used to love H.E.R.’ ⇐[Common]

Ohh, my, my, my … I’m feelin’ high
My money’s gone – I’m all alone
Too much to see, the world keeps turnin’
Oh what a day, what a day, what a day

Peace & blessins’ manifest
With every lesson learned
If yo knowledge were yo wealth
Then it would be well earned
If we were made in His image
Then call us by our names
Most intellects do not Believe in God
But they fear us just the same

Oh On & On and On & On
My cipher keeps movin’ like a rollin’ stone
Woo On & On and On & On
All night till the break of dawn
I go On & On and On & On
My cipher keeps movin’ like a rollin’ stone
Ooohhh On & On and On & On
God damn it I’mma sing my song

I was born under water
With three dollars & six dimes
Yeah, you may laugh
‘Cuz you did not do yo math
Like one, two, three
Damn, Ya’ll feel that?
Like one, two, three
The world keeps turnin’
Oh what a day, what a day, what a day

The man that knows something
Knows that he knows nothing at all
Does it seem colder in yo summer time
And hotter in yo fall
If we were made in His image
Then call us by our names
Most intellects do not Believe in God
But they fear us just the same

Oh On & On & On & On
My cipher keeps movin’ like a rollin’ stone
On & On & On & On
Allnight ‘till the vultures swarm
I go on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on
My cipher keeps movin like a rollin stone
Buu On & On & On & On
Mad props to the god Ja’Born

I’m feelin’ kind of hungry
‘Cuz my high is comin’ down
Don’t feed me yours
‘Cuz your food does not endure
I think I need a cup of tea
The world keeps burnin’
Oh what a day, what a day, what a day

You rush into destruction
‘Cuz you don’t have nothing left
The mothership can’t save you
So yo ass is gon’ get left
If we were made in His image
Then call us by our names
Most intellects do not Believe in God
But they fear us just the same

Oh On & On & On & On
My cipher keeps movin’ like a rollin’ stone
Doh on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on
You can’t fuck wit’ me, so just leave it alone
Ooh way On & On & On & On
My cipher keeps movin’ like a rollin’ stone
Oh On & On & On & On On
And On & On

This rapper’s had a love affair with hip hop all his life. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re taking a look at the life and career of  Common ⇒

• Musical Beginnings

Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. was born March 13th, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois. In his youth, his high school rap trio C.D.R. opened for hip hop heavyweights like N.W.A and Big Daddy Kane.

• Debut as Common Sense

In 1992, Lynn signed a record deal with Relativity Records and released his first single “Take it EZ” under the name Common Sense. It hit number five on the Hot Rap Singles chart and was followed by his full-length debut Can I Borrow a Dollar? that year. The album was produced by Common’s close friend and soon-to-be super-producer No I.D., who helped legitimize Chicago hip hop.

• Sophomore Album

Common Sense expanded his fan base outside of his hometown to catch the attention of critics and hip hop fans across America with his follow-up effort. 1994’s Resurrection was a critical success and was named his defining record.

• “I Used to Love H.E.R.”

The album’s standout single was “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” in which the rapper speaks to hip hop as if it were a woman. The song has been commonly upheld as one of his all-time greatest, as well as one of the best recordings in hip hop history. Despite this acclaim, the song created friction between Common Sense and rap group Westside Connection, which felt the lyrics insulted West Coast rap. The rivals then released a series of diss tracks but eventually settled their differences at the insistence of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

• Critical Success as Common

In 1997, he released his third album One Day It’ll All Make Sense under the shortened moniker Common following legal action by a California reggae band called Common Sense. The critically successful disc featured collaborations with artists such as Canibus, Lauryn Hill and The Roots’ drummer, Questlove.

• Soulquarians

After signing with MCA Records and moving to New York, Common started recording with the Soulquarians in 1999. The musical collective was comprised of artists like Mos Def, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, J Dilla and Questlove.

• Breakthrough

Common’s critical and commercial breakthrough was 2000’s gold-certified Like Water for Chocolate. The single “The Light” was included on that record, and received heavy rotation on MTV.

• Experimentation and Top Five Success

Up next was the boundary pushing but less commercially successful effort Electric Circus. Then came 2005’s well-received Be, which reached the second spot on the Billboard 200 charts. The disc produced the single “Go!” featuring John Mayer and Kanye West.

• More Albums

2007’s Finding Forever topped the Billboard 200 chart and sold one hundred and fifty five thousand copies in its first week. The next year, the gold-certified album also won a Grammy for a track featuring Kanye West. Also in 2008, Common dropped the album Universal Mind Control to mixed reviews.

• Acting

During the last years of the decade, Common began appearing on the big screen. In 2007, he was seen in the crime movies “Smokin’ Aces” and “American Gangster.” The next year, he had roles in the action films “Street Kings” and “Wanted.” Before returning to music, Common also acted in the films “Terminator Salvation,” “Date Night” and “Just Wright.”

• Beef with Drake

2011 saw the release of the No I.D.-produced The Dreamer/The Believer. Besides the single “Ghetto Dreams,” the top twenty record contained the track “Sweet,” which saw Common taking shots at rapper Drake. As a result, the two traded barbs in song form for a few months until Common ended the beef at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

• Other Pursuits

In addition to music and acting, Common dabbled in modeling and fashion, and even published a memoir. He has been a spokesperson for several brands, supported various social causes, and he established the Common Ground Foundation for disadvantaged children.

• White House Poetry Reading 

Despite his philanthropy, Common has been involved in scandal: in 2011, a media storm erupted when he was invited to the White House for a poetry reading by First Lady Michelle Obama due to his sometimes controversial lyrics.

• Musical Career

With his smooth flow and poetic lyrics, Common paints vivid imagery with his words. In a genre where one-hit wonders and superficial lyrics reign supreme, he is a breath of fresh air. So when you look at Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.’s love and respect for hip hop, you realize there is really nothing Common about him.