WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – It’s long been established that rapper Common is one of hip-hop’s most poetic and respected lyricists. Even still, it was fascinating listening to the Chicago native and Grammy-winning street poet break down the motivational factors behind some of most critically acclaimed hits at the “How I Wrote That Song” event at the House of Blues, sponsored by BMI and the Los Angeles Times.
It was alternatively poignant, sad and funny to hear Common break down the song “It’s Your World” as a sort of uplifting anthem for a prostitute he ran into while was driving around the city one day. Driving, Common told a packed audience on the eve of the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, is one of his best ways to come up with banging lyrics.
“It’s good for me to ride around in L.A. and see the water. But it’s also important for me to ride around in Chicago and see the struggle and see what’s going on with the people so that I can really channel those emotions and those expressions,” Common began. “Sometimes you just see someone [at] the bus stop and see what they are going through.
“I wrote a song called ‘It’s Your World,’ … about this prostitute,” Common continued. “And I really actually sat down and sang to this prostitute. And I just stopped one day and really hollered at her … she probably thought that I was trying to pull a trick or something. I said ‘Naw, I ain’t got to pay for nothing like that,’ ” he said as the room exploded in appreciative laughter, sensing that indeed Common has few, if any, problems in that area of his life. “So I sat there and she told me her story. And I tried to tell her story and turn it into something good, something positive.”
Common’s most recent album, Universal Mind Control, produced in large part by Pharrell, was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Album category.
–terry shropshire
