related items
A badass. A tough guy. A badass tough guy. That’s essentially how we've seen Common on the big screen.
Not anymore: His first leading role, in the romantic comedy “Just Wright,” allows him to show a softer side as a New Jersey Nets star who bonds with his physical therapist (Queen Latifah).
The rapper and actor, born Lonnie Rashied Lynn Jr., also shows off his skills on the basketball court, squaring off against NBA stars like Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade. And thanks to the movie, the night before our interview he got to realize a long-time dream of being on “Inside the NBA.”
What were you thinking as the Nets almost had the worst season of all time and you’ve got a movie coming out with the Nets as one of the best in the league?
I was thinking, “Man, the Nets could really use me right now.” I was like, “Is this really bad for the movie or is it good for the movie?” Because some people that don’t watch basketball as much actually could look at the movie because they don’t know the players for the Nets, could be like, “Does this guy really play for the Nets?”
How excited were you to play a leading role?
I was very excited to be able to play a leading role just for what I knew I could do and for what I wanted to show and express. When I seen the poster I just got excited. My friends are calling me telling me, “Man, we seen the billboards of you when we were riding on the Dan Ryan.” Honestly I used to have on my phone when they first sent me the artwork for the poster, I kept it on my phone. People would ask me, “What are you doing next?” I’d be like, “Hey, I got this movie coming out with Latifah.” I was that excited. It feels like when my first album was coming out or when “Be” was coming out. There was so much energy around it because we were passionate about it.
How many rappers would be willing to play a role where the character is called a sweetie pie?
[Laughs] I don’t know, man. I think that’s what allows me to know that I’m not just a rapper. Because my mentality was never like, “Hey, OK, you’re a rapper. This is all you are.” And two, as a hip-hop artist, I express my emotions in song. I talk about the light, I talk about being abstinent in songs, and “Man, this woman is the light of my life.” You don’t hear that a lot in hip hop, that type of expression of love. So me taking on a character like that was definitely not a problem.
In the film your fiancée (Paula Patton) won’t eat in public. What’s one of your pet peeves that women do?
I don’t like if a woman is not sure of herself. And that comes out in different ways. She might be checking your phone, she might be calling you all the time to see where you are. I don’t like that.
What do you do in that situation?
I tell her you gotta be sure and trust in yourself and trust that I’m with you. If we in a committed relationship, I’m with you. I just try to reinforce the commitment and let ‘em know I’m not into the checkin’ up. I don’t like spies. I want to be in a good relationship, a fun one.
Not in a gossipy way, just to confirm: Are you together with Serena Williams right now?
Serena and I are very, we’re close. We’re definitely close. I really think she’s a wonderful woman definitely.
Can you say what her title is?
I don’t know if it is a title yet. I know we’re really close and if you said that I was dating her I would say, “Yeah.”
Do you guys ever play tennis together?
I got to play at a practice I hit a couple of balls with her and she hit me with the ball. And it stung.
What’s the difference between playing tennis with Serena Williams and basketball with Dwyane Wade?
I think I fare better with basketball with D. Wade because I can hoop. Tennis, man, I’m just learning the strategy of the game. It’s a stroke and a swing that you gotta work at. My stroke and my shot [in basketball] is there.
Marv Albert plays a broadcaster in the movie. How worried were you that he’d come up and say, “Dude, you called me freaky on ‘Like Water For Chocolate’!”
[Laughs] Yo, I thought about that. It’s funny, you know when you say lyrics you never even think you will meet the person. But you gotta stand on your lyrics. So I was like, “Man, if he brings this up, I’m just going to say, ‘Yo, hey, you had your fun. You did some freaky things. Freaky deaky soul.” Anyway I did think about it when we were taking pictures. It never came up.
A Twitter question from @cyanyde: Are you still a vegetarian and what’s your favorite vegetarian food?
Ooh, good question. I eat fish now. I eat fish and that’s it. That’s the only meat that I eat. My favorite vegetarian food would have to be … I like black beans and rice. I like veggie dogs.
So not a vegetarian.
I think that’s meat to me. If you eat fish, it’s fish meat.
Common at a glance:
— What his on-court nickname would be: Great Scott or the Weapon
— Other roles he wants to play: Marvin Gaye. Gil Scott-Heron. Barack Obama. Superheroes.
— The album he’s most proud of: “Be.”
— Working on next album, “The Believer,” with producers Kanye West, No I.D., Why Not. Expects album out in late October.
Find showtimes for "Just Wright."
