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1. Do you remember when Harold Washington was elected Mayor of Chicago?

 

Yeah, of course. That was the hope. That was the best, man. We wore little buttons when I was [in] grammar school that said Harold Washington. They were blue with white writing. Man, we were so overwhelmed. Brother Harold, they used to call him; and our parents felt hopeful. Everybody felt like, somebody was paying attention and listening, somebody who cared. From a child knowing they have a parent that loves them to somebody who get doctors that heals, Sometimes that healing comes from just receiving love. Now if you can get that in politics that’s a beautiful thing.

 

2. You’ve undergone some changes and growing pains—kind of in the public eye—I think. If you weren’t an artist, for money, do you think you would have undergone some of the same changes?

 

I don’t think I would have been able to express myself as much. But, like working in the corporate world, I was going to school for business administration. If I had gotten into that world, I would have been fighting to express myself.

 

3. You went to Fam, right?

 

Yeah. 

 

4. So did you know at that time that you weren’t going to continue?

 

Yeah, I felt like I was going to make it as a rapper. That was my dream. So I did well in school, but at a certain point when I had the opportunity for the contract, I was like I’m getting up out of school. My mother was like, “stay in school.” But something told me to just follow this dream. My mother didn’t know much about rappin’. But now she knows everything.

 

5. How did you decide on the guests that you wanted to be on the album?

 

Martina Topley-Bird and Cee-Lo did something for this song called “Make My Day.” That’s really it. You know I ain’t really loading my album up with a lot of guest appearances. As producers, The Neptunes took the music somewhere we could really be creative. We created Common music, but it’s really danceable. You can move to it, just let loose. I create  my music to have a soul to it and to have a good feeling. It’s very thoughtful. This music shows that this is the way I enjoy myself It’s more about feeling.

 

6. Ok. So are you excited about it?

 

I’m super excited about it. It’s some of the most fun music I’ve ever done. The fact that people call me and say they hear my songs at the club is like victory to me because I’ve never had that. When I was touring I went through Prague and I kept picturing how I want my music to be played there. I was watching people enjoy themselves to all this music. I was like I’m missing that from my palate. So, I created that organically with The Neptunes and Mr. DJ. And it feels right. Now, I think I got some music that people will enjoy themselves to, so I’m really enthused about it!

7. Let’s talk about movies. What’s your dream role? We’ve seen you do, in Smoking Aces, the henchman with soul..  That seems to be a theme throughout all the roles that you’ve played.

 

 I definitely remember telling my acting coach when I would go to class, “Man, I want to do some dark stuff.” People always see me as Mr. Peace, and that’s what I strive to be. But, I felt like wanted to express that [darker] side.  I wanted people to see me as an actor because I didn’t come in here to play something that’s so close to me. My dream role would just be a leading role where the character has a lot of layers to him, a lot of depth. Something like, a preacher who’s dealing with a lot of stuff.

 

8. What kind of stuff would he be going through for instance?

 

Well, he might have been like having an affair. Or, it could be something like, his faith might be wavering because somebody in his family might be dying. It might be something that could give me the chance to be an actor.

 

9. I know you have a big show that you’re planning in Chicago. So I want to hear about your vision for the Common Ground Foundation.

 

My vision for the foundation is to really have a hands-on type approach of helping children find out what their dream is and really encourage them to get there. A lot of that comes from just listening to them to find out what they want to be and do in life, and encouraging them to be entrepreneurs, encouraging them about education, self-love and health education. I want to, in the scope of things, be able to really impact children by teaching them about life and giving them [opportunity] to just advance in their lives. By being healthier you learn spiritually who you are. By being educated, you see there’s a world out that that you can touch. Here’s the next step for you to get there. You know I want to do those things.