Common (rapper and actor)

Common is the first rapper to take home a Grammy, an Oscar and an Emmy, according to the Recording Academy's own news story [3]. He was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. on March 13, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois [1] [4].

Like Water for Chocolate and the road to acting

The Recording Academy's 20th-anniversary Q&A describes his fourth studio album as a major career high. Common himself calls the period "one of the greatest times in my life" [5]. The title comes from the film Like Water for Chocolate. Common says that film was about people cooking food and showing their love, and he wanted to express something similar through music [5].

The article calls "The Light" the album's first hit, and Common says it was the first song he had on mainstream radio. He says, "I knew it sounded great but I never knew what it would get to be" [5]. The Recording Academy's artist page lists "The Light" under Best Rap Solo Performance in 2001 [1].

Femi Kuti is on the record, and Common says getting him on it "was incredible." Geto Heaven was actually created for D'Angelo. D'Angelo really loved "Chicken Grease" and asked to have it, offering something in return. Common says he got D'Angelo on "Geto Heaven" [5]. By Common's account, Chicken Grease would have been his, in the same vein as Cold Blooded, before it ended up on D'Angelo's album Voodoo [5]. Common says Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson did the sequencing and truly executive-produced the album [5].

Common says his A&R, Wendy Goldstein, introduced him to his acting coach [5].

An Oscar for Glory

At the 87th Academy Awards, Best Original Song went to Glory from Selma. The Academy credits it to John Stephens (John Legend) and Lonnie Lynn (Common) [2]. The Television Academy lists it as a 2015 Golden Globe win for Best Original Song [4].

At the 2016 Grammys, Glory was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and it won Best Song Written for Visual Media [1]. Common played the civil rights leader James Bevel in Selma, a 2014 film [4].

An Emmy for 13th

In 2017, Common won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. The winning song was Letter to the Free, which the Television Academy lists under the show 13th, with Netflix as the platform [4]. He shared the award with Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins [3]. The Television Academy records one Emmy nomination for him, and that nomination was the win [4].

The Recording Academy's article on the win said the Emmy put him one Tony win away from EGOT, the club of performers who have won all four awards. It described that club as having 13 members so far [3].

Grammy nominations over two decades

The Recording Academy's artist page lists nominations for Best Rap Album in 2006 for Be, in 2008 for Finding Forever, in 2010 for Universal Mind Control, in 2015 for Nobody's Smiling and in 2025 for The Auditorium, Vol. 1 [1]. The same page lists Southside as a 2008 nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group [1].

The page shows three wins and 22 nominations in total [1].

Film and television roles

Beyond Selma, the Television Academy's bio lists American Gangster, Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve, Run All Night, Being Charlie, Rex, John Wick: Chapter 2 and Smallfoot [4]. He also narrated the documentary Bouncing Cats [4].

The Auditorium, Vol. 1 with Pete Rock

Complex reports that Common and Pete Rock first collaborated nearly 30 years before the album, on Common's 1996 diss track The Bitch In Yoo. It says The Auditorium, Vol. 1 marks both artists' first full-length releases since 2021 [6]. Common has said there may be a second volume [6].

The album earned a 2025 Best Rap Album nomination, and its track When the Sun Shines Again was nominated for Best Rap Performance [1].

Where the award counts differ

The Television Academy bio and the Recording Academy artist page do not agree on every win. The Television Academy says Common won the 2003 Best R&B Song Grammy for Love of My Life, the Erykah Badu single, and a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Southside, without giving a year [4]. The Recording Academy's artist page calls Love of My Life his first career GRAMMY win, and it lists Southside under 2008 without marking it as a win [1]. The Southside win is therefore disputed here.