Early Life
Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., on Chicago's South Side on March 13, 1972. He is the son of educator Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and former ABA basketball player turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. They divorced when he was six years old, resulting in his father's moving to Denver, Colorado. This left Common to be raised by his mother, but his father remained active in his life and landed Lonnie Jr. a job with the Chicago Bulls during his teens. While a student at Luther High School South in Chicago, Lynn with his childhood friends, record producer No I.D., and Corey Crawley formed C.D.R. a rap trio that opened for acts that included N.W.A. and Big Daddy Kane.
Common attended Florida A&M University for two years under a scholarship and majored in business administration. After being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Lynn debuted in 1992 with the single "Take It EZ", followed by the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, under stage name Common Sense.
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