Rapper, actor, and social activist Common did a book signing and photo op after his panel discussion this past Tuesday, less than a month after the release of his latest book “And Then We Rise: A Guide to Loving and Taking Care of Self.” The event was hosted at the Bovard Auditorium by Dr. Alissa Richardson, the director of the USC Annenberg Charlotta Bass Journalism and Justice Lab, in affiliation with the USC Visions and Voices initiative.
Common opened the event by discussing how his diverse environment affected his upbringing and mindset growing up in the southside of Chicago. He said that the town provided a “beautiful and colorful foundation” for the person he would become and cited the diversity present in his community as the reason for his current open-mindedness.
“Growing up, my mother put me in an unapologetically Black non-denominational church, and with that came spirituality, self-love and self-pride,” Common said. “I was around very different kinds of people and it all shaped and put me on the path of who I wanted to be. It helped me find myself and I felt confident because of how accepted I was in my community.”
While Common said that the love and support offered by his community was a cornerstone of his development as an artist and person, he recognized the shortcomings of growing up in an environment where discussions around mental health and self-love were stigmatized and completely nonexistent.
“Within the writing of this book, I was thinking about some of my friends who hadn’t been exposed to concepts like taking care of themselves or dismissed the idea of therapy,” Common said. “I wanted these Black and brown men and women to know that it’s okay to seek out help and talk to someone who isn’t a family member about emotional traumas and things you’re going through. Going to those deep places allows you to heal, which is liberating.”
A lifelong activist, Common’s involvement with “high potential” communities has stretched far beyond discussions about mental health. He talked about how his work with the “Imagine Justice” foundation is helping those affected by the mass incarceration “epidemic” in the United States and how prison reform was a cause he was passionate about.
“I’ve been visiting prisons here in California and bonding with the most beautiful and enlightened individuals that might not ever get out of prison,” he said. “The current system is built around punishment instead of healing, and I want those incarcerated to come back better instead of being locked in a punishing cycle.”
Common’s activism work has been a major proponent of his career, as well. He won Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for his song “Glory,” which is featured in the historical drama “Selma” about the voting marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. With the variety of causes that Common has covered over his lifetime, he said that one of the biggest lessons that he has learned during this time is the importance of self-care, which is how he came up with his book title.
“Without really taking care of myself, I would never be able to fully provide a community or the world with what I want to do,” Common said. “I came up with the name ‘And Then We Rise’ because if I love and take care of myself, I’m going to organically elevate my community by allowing my light to shine through my work.”
Common stated that writing “And Then We Rise” was a “therapeutic” experience for him because of the intense period of reflection it provided.
“We have so much stuff going on in our lives that sometimes we forget to remember who we are,” he said. “Writing this book let me revisit that. People ask me if I was always like this, and while I had love and peace in me growing up, I learned so much more once I left Chicago. It’s really helped me remember where I came from and how I’ve grown.”
Common said that he saw the idea of organically elevating the people around him that was presented in his book three days before the panel, when he talked to a veteran who was escorting him during an All-Star basketball game in Indianapolis.
“The guy escorting me told me that he was overseas during intense periods of war and had to deal with a lot of loss happening around him,” Common said. “And he told me that the people he was serving with listened to my music to see a hopeful side of life and it really helped him get through the war. It really made me recognize the power that a microphone held.”
Student reactions to Common’s panel were overwhelmingly positive and many were deeply moved by his anecdotes. Senior Amari Ponds said that Common’s words to USC students were more relevant than ever and was grateful that he shared the lessons that he had learned throughout his life.
“I feel like Common has so much wisdom to share, and I see it in his spoken word and his music, which are [both] very powerful,” Ponds said. “At a PWI [Predominantly White Institution] specifically, I feel like it is just so important to have these influential people come and speak with us and have this representation for us, especially during Black History Month, because it’s something that will bring together the Black community at USC.”
Zamaria Demby, a recent USC Marshall alum, also said she was glad that the Bass Lab hosted the event because she believed that it would inspire students who were creatively focused and interested in the activist work that Common championed.
“One thing that USC does really well is foster creatives, entrepreneurs and people who are just really driven and I think that’s what Common is all about,” Demby said. “So this just seems like a really good match. Since he’s rapping about social injustice, a place of academia is where he needs to be to meet the audience that he’s talking to, people that are understanding what he’s talking about, and maybe want to do something about it.”
Common closed out the event by surprising students with an impromptu rap performance, joking that he couldn’t call himself a real MC without doing a fun rap to the crowd of cheering students.
“It’s pentatonic the way I be bending phonics; It was written like I’m living in a sonnet,” Common rapped. “They be marveling at me like I’m in a comic; I ain’t sharp as iron man, it’s ironic.”
Nolan Ezzet contributed to this story.