“It was a lesson for Liam, I think,” Common says. “He felt that way because of what happened to his friend
- we’ve all at some point experienced a bias towards a certain group because one person did something.
When he said that, I felt more than anything – because I’ve been around him – that he had learnt you can’t
stereotype a whole race. Even though he’s obviously still hurting about the fact something happened to his
friend... I think he was caught up in that, and he learnt his lesson from it.”
There’s a line on the song “Good Morning Love”, on the new album, where Common raps: “I’m a cake, just
let me bake, goddamn.” He recites it now, before recalling a gospel song he used to love in church, which
preaches patience as people grow. “That’s the philosophy I have for myself and others,” he says.
He admires Jay-Z, who spoke about attending therapy in a 2017 New York Times profile. “That moment
when he said the hardest work he had to do was on himself. To see this successful person who’s been a
shining example to so many of us... that was inspiring,” he says. “To see that masculinity being dismantled,
slowly but surely. It takes a lot – to unlearn that mentality.”
Then there’s his friend and fellow Chicagoan Kanye West, whom he has known since they were teenagers
and collaborated with numerous times. “Ain’t none of us perfect over here,” he says when I venture the
subject of West’s controversial praise for US president Donald Trump.
“I don’t agree with everything Ye thinks... I never did!” he adds with a warm burst of laughter. “And he
don’t agree with everything I think. But I knew that was a real sensitive subject – his thoughts were in
support of somebody affecting people’s lives. I’ve seen him go out and do stuff for the community, do stuff
for incarcerated people. Ye wants to help. I think part of his deal was, ‘Everybody is so against this, we’re
not getting everywhere, so let me go talk to the guy.’ But, you know, we all observed, and I felt that his
heart is definitely in the right place.
“I admire people who can speak their mind in the moment,” he says after a pause. “It’s a freedom, you
know? I aspire for that, but I don’t want to do it if it’s going to hurt another person.”
He wants men to be allies in the #MeToo movement, “in a way that is supportive – it’s a movement that has
to be led by women”. He cites his mother, a professor, as the person who set the tone for his attitude
towards women and life in general: “She’s a powerful, intelligent woman with a beautiful soul. I’m attracted
to women like that.”
As well as being romantically linked to Erykah Badu, Angela Rye and Taraji P Henson, Common dated
tennis superstar Serena Williams for over three years. The pair remain friends, and he was one of many to
speak out in her defence last year, following her row with umpire Carlos Ramos at the US Open.
“Someone as gifted and passionate as Serena won’t always be calm,” he says. “But that kind of emotion is
perceived as something negative... people degrade you, they see a ‘mad black woman’. Black people and
women are not afforded the room to be human. So, you’ve got to set these other people straight, and remind
them that we all feel these things at some point.”
The world progresses when you take the good things that were passed on and allow the younger generation
to bring what is new and advanced
“I felt like I had to speak up,” he adds. “Serena is one of the leaders in culture, she inspires so many people
and she’s done so much for the sport, for women and for black women. And she’s someone I care about
personally. For me, that is truly understanding what love is. It didn’t work out relationship-wise and we
went our separate ways, but I still care for her as a human being.”