Editing Common (rapper) (section)

=== 1987–1996: Career beginnings ===
Lynn began rapping in the late 1980s, while a student at [[Luther High School South]] in Chicago, when he, along with two of his friends, formed C.D.R., a rap trio that opened for acts such as [[N.W.A]] and [[Big Daddy Kane]].<ref name="AskMen">{{cite web|url=http://www.askmen.com/men/entertainment_200/219c_common.html |title=AskMen.com's Men of the Week: Entertainment – Common |access-date=June 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002614/http://www.askmen.com/men/entertainment_200/219c_common.html |archive-date=October 1, 2007 }}</ref> When C.D.R dissolved by 1991, Lynn began a solo career under the stage name of '''Common Sense'''. After being featured in the [[Unsigned Hype]] column of ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]'' magazine, he debuted as a solo artist in 1992 with the single "[[Take It EZ]]", followed by the album ''[[Can I Borrow a Dollar?]]''.

With the 1994 release of ''[[Resurrection (Common album)|Resurrection]]'', Common Sense achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim which extended beyond the Chicago music scene. The album sold relatively well and received a strong positive reaction among [[alternative hip hop|alternative]] and [[underground hip hop]] fans at the time. ''Resurrection'' was Common Sense's last album produced almost entirely by his long-time production partner, [[No I.D.]], who would later become a mentor to a young [[Kanye West]].

In 1996, Common Sense appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation CD, [[America Is Dying Slowly]] (A.I.D.S.), alongside [[Biz Markie]], [[Wu-Tang Clan]], and [[Fat Joe]], among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by [[The Source (magazine)|The Source]] magazine. He would later also contribute to the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s [[Fela Kuti]] tribute album, [[Red Hot and Riot]] in 2002. He collaborated with [[Djelimady Tounkara]] on a remake of Kuti's track, "Years of Tears and Sorrow".

[[File:Common-Mos Def-10-mika.jpg|thumb|Common performing with [[Mos Def]] in 1999]]

The song "[[I Used to Love H.E.R.]]" from ''Resurrection'' ignited a [[hip hop feud|feud]] with [[West Coast hip hop|West Coast rap group]] [[Westside Connection]]. The lyrics of the song criticized the path hip hop music was taking, utilizing a metaphor of a woman to convey hip hop<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kelly|first=Lauren Leigh|date=2013|title=Hip-Hop Literature: The Politics, Poetics, and Power of Hip-Hop in the English Classroom|jstor=24484092|journal=The English Journal|volume=102|issue=5|pages=51–56|doi=10.58680/ej201323587 }}</ref> and were interpreted by some as directing blame towards the popularity of West Coast [[gangsta rap]]. Westside Connection first responded with the 1995 song "Westside Slaughterhouse," with the lyrics "Used to love H.E.R., mad cause I f*cked her". "Westside Slaughterhouse" also mentioned Common Sense by name, prompting the rapper to respond with the scathing [[Pete Rock]]-produced attack song "[[The Bitch in Yoo]]". Common Sense and Westside Connection continued to insult each other back and forth before finally meeting with [[Louis Farrakhan]] and setting aside their dispute. Following the popularity of ''Resurrection'', Common Sense was sued by an [[Orange County, California|Orange County]]-based [[reggae]] band with the [[Common Sense (band)|same name]], and was forced to shorten his moniker to simply Common.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Common Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p276488|pure_url=yes}}|website=allmusic|date=July 31, 2007|access-date=September 9, 2008}}</ref>