Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name
Common (formerly
Common Sense), is an American
hip hop recording artist, actor, film producer and poet from
Chicago,
Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album
Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant
underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the
Soulquarians. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, and, in the past, has released music under various other labels such as
Relativity,
Geffen and
GOOD Music, among others.