Hey folks, Sam Johns here. Welcome to another edition of Off-camera, the show where I get to talk to iconic, creative, curious artists, and find out how they got that way and in this episode I sit

down with rapper actor and author Rashid Lynn better known as common common is a man who is anything but and he's been evolving as an

artist since the start of his three-decade-in-counting career as a freestyling and

hustling young rapper from the south side of Chicago. These days, in addition to being a Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar-winning artist,

Common is an established actor known for his work on AMC's Hell On Wheels

and films like American Gangster, Selma, and just Right, and an author

who is published not only an autobiography, but also two children's books.

Common describes himself as a conscious artist, someone who uses his platform to encourage social and political change.

He believes it's the responsibility of an artist to say, I see what you're going through and I'm going to stand up and use my voice, my talents, and

my energy towards making our world better.

In his song Black America again, he uses the power of music to show us the problems that arise from systemic racism and what we can do to resolve them.

Despite his success, he's not living a life disassociated from the common people.

You might even spot him on the 405 freeway during rush hour

riding a new song on his car.

Yes, he even looks at gridlock as creative opportunity.

That mentality started young when

Common discovered his knack for improvisational raps, otherwise known as

freestyling and would never hesitate to grab the mic at a house party and

throw down. Ultimately, Common is an artist who cherishes the opportunity to grow and evolve,

so if he has it his way, he'll be freestyling into his 70s.

Common joins off camera to discuss the responsibility of an artist, the

socioeconomic underpinnings of hip-hop braggadocio, and why he loves to feel

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