Common Greatness

Academy Award-winning rapper anchors First Amendment Week at LMU

By Emily Barnett

In a TED Talk-esque motivational speech, Common encouraged LMU students to be exceptional Photo by Corey Hambly 18 / LMU Photo

Hip-hop artist and actor Common took to the mic last Tuesday at Loyola Marymount University as keynote speaker for the schools First Amendment Week, an annual celebration of our constitutional rights to free expression.

Just two days earlier he was in front of a very different crowd at the Oscars, where he and John Legend (a prior LMU First Amendment Day speaker) performed their song Glory, which was written for the film Selma and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

With more than 700 students and community members on their feet, Common (born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in 1972) approached the stage with a warranted swagger.

Peace, everybody, he said with a grin, getting the crowd going with a freestyle rap before launching into a TED Talk-esque motivational speech on greatness.

In the Common dictionary, he said with an over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek confidence, greatness is using your potential and your gifts to the highest level to inspire others to reach that greatness.

Previous First Amendment Week speakers have included James Carville, Ann Coulter, Arianna Huffington, Bill Maher, Karl Rove and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

While Commons connection to the topic of free expression is obvious, its also not so obvious. He plays a lesser-known role as founder of the Common Ground Foundation, a nonprofit that employs the arts as a tool to empower underprivileged youth and expose them to new educational, leadership and creative opportunities.

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Common Greatness