Common

2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards - Nominations Announcement

Common in 2012, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn

Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Date of Birth: March 13, 1972

Ethnicity: African-American

Common is an American hip-hop recording artist, actor, poet, and film producer. He was a member of rap trio C.D.R. He is the son of Lonnie Lynn, an NBA player and youth counsellor, and Mahalia Ann Hines, an educator. His parents were/are both black. Common has a daughter.

A picture of Common’s mother can be seen here.

He gained fame as a skilled and respected MC in the ’90s, releasing three albums, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?,” “Resurrection,” and “One Day It’ll All Make Sense.”

Common won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, along with John Legend, for their song “Glory,” from the film Selma (2014).

Common’s paternal grandfather was named Lonnie Lynn.

Common’s paternal grandmother was named Mabel/Mable Malone (the daughter of Charlie/Charles Malone and Millie Sanders/Saunders). Mabel was born in Tennessee. Her family was from Covington, TN.

Sources: Biographical article about Common’s father and his family – https://www.westword.com

Common’s paternal grandmother, Mabel/Mable Malone, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Death record of Common’s paternal grandmother, Mabel/Mable (Malone) Lynn – https://www.familysearch.org

23 Responses

  1. maestro says:

    there is no Black American (unless of course they recently came from Africa) whom are 100% sub saharan african in terms of their DNA, he (Common) obviously has a lot of European heritage.

    ethnically he is still African-American, though.

  2. malabo girl says:

    es i think the same thing , he s not looking like black africans of the west , i think he have 60% white in him and 40%or less black

    • midori29 says:

      @malabo Girl NO you are wrong. This girl is 100% black West African and could be Commons sister. yes you can be light skin black and not mixed at all.
      https://youtu.be/XvrfB7ENqvY

    • midori29 says:

      @Malabo girl he definitely does not look 60% white thats ridiculous. You people are really ignorant as to what black people look like. We come in like 20 different skin tones . Black is not all dark. There are many many shades, skin tones.

  3. fuzzybear44 says:

    @Check7t

    (His skin is very light — even by by African-American standards )

    Even by African American standards????There are NO standards,about what AA are supposed to look like.I don’t know what the black people around you look like,or who you have seen.However around me,his coloration is just like his name (Common)

    • Check7t says:

      Don’t be ridiculous here, he doesn’t look like a typical Afram.

      He obviously is more admixed than usual.

      • fuzzybear44 says:

        @check

        There are 42 million plus AA in this country, you have no idea what the typical one looks like.I’ve been around them my entire life, and couldn’t tell you that.He doesn’t have to be more admixed than anyone else, it could simply be a trait that’s pass down.AA are mgm’s, no telling what traits they would inherit

      • midori29 says:

        He looks typically African American, I see absolutely nothing particularly mixed looking about him.

  4. Check7t says:

    His skin is very light — even by by African-American standards — he has freckles too so it appears that Common phenotypically has a decent amount of European admixture.

    • midori29 says:

      Not really, my ex mother in law was three shades lighter then Common, with freckles and she had two dark skinned black parents. Some blacks are born lighter period. Complexion is the least determinant of admixture. Common has completely kinky afro hair

      • malabo girl says:

        no way , his mom loook arabs or with arab or middle admixture , and probabily him have 60% white or other ancestry and 40 or less black subsaharian western ancestry

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