Common is anything but common. Albeit, that line has been used by journalists a million times. But if you've ever heard one of Common's albums, you know what I'm talking about. With most of mainstream's hip-hoppers rhyming about Bentleys, bling-bling, bitches and ho's, the Chicago-born rapper Common brings messages of political and social awareness rarely present in the scene. A product of the Windy City's south side, Common (then known as Common Sense) emerged onto the hip-hop's underground with his 1992 release Can I Borrow a Dollar? He has since released five albums, each showing a clear evolution and maturity from the prior. His latest release, Electric Circus, continues this innovative trend by adding unique elements of rock, new wave, jazz, swing and funk. The album includes tracks produced by the Neptunes and Roots drummer ?uestlove Thompson, and features an all-star cast of artists, including Prince, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Musiq, Bilal, Cee-lo and Mary J. Blige. Recoil caught up with Common by phone, touching on the subjects of Coke, world travel, his relationship with Badu, and yes, rap.

Recoil: I heard you were going to change the name of the album to Isness, but decided to keep it Electric Circus.
Common: Electric Circus was the beginning name. When we were creating the album, the electricity in the music and the energy was there. So to me, abandoning that title would have been like [abandoning the] whole theme of the album.

R: How is it that you were able to make such a unique and conceptual album like Electric Circus on a major record label (MCA)?
C: I think my label knows what type of artist I am, that I'm consistently growing and expanding. I think that they really allowed me to be me. On a major label I think that I can still make music that's viable to the masses.

R: Can you describe the recording process with ?uestlove?
C: Well, we usually have an idea of what we want to do, like talk about different styles of music that we might want to come with. But it don't never end up being. We don't never create what we say we was going to create. We just come up with some music. It's ?uest, James Poyser, Pino Palladino and sometimes Jeff Lee Johnson who plays guitar. Pino plays the bass, and James plays the keys. We get in there and just jam. They rock, and I'll be like, 'Ooh, I like that right there.' That's basically how it goes down.

R: How different was it working with the Neptunes in comparison with ?uestlove and the rest of the crew?
C: I think that both of them are geniuses. It was different because I had been working with ?uest and James and them for a long time. But it still was a beautiful experience to work with the Neptunes. When I heard the music, it was outstanding. The only difference is it's two different people, two different artists as far as producers and musicians, but overall you still working with genius people. They come and help and really produce the music for you. Like they take you and say, ' I was thinking maybe you should go in this direction,' or, "Nah, don't rhyme with it like that." It's still great production, great producers.

R: How did the whole thing of having your father on your albums come about?
C: He was in the studio one day when I was recording Resurrection. I just said, 'Dad, why don't you come on in and talk?' His voice has always meant so much to me. He said, 'Alright,' came in and did his thing, and started talking about what was going on. And from there it was a tradition. It was a ritual.

R: Is the outlook you have when recording an album to continue to grow?
C: Yeah, definitely. I just want it to be like a beginning everlasting. Another step.

R: Because a friend and I were listening to one of your first singles, "Breaker 1/9," the other day, and I was amazed at how you've evolved so much lyrically. It seems like you've come a long way since the beginning.
C: I definitely have worked to get better. I just want to make some good music and say something and be heard and be something significant in this world through the messages that I deliver and through the art that I give to people. I definitely try to grow with it and develop my style.

R: Can you compare your state of social consciousness when you first came onto the rap scene to today?
C: Well, I've just become more aware as I've been introduced to new ideals, and [become] more attuned with myself as I've become more aware. Speaking with different people and meeting different people, reading new texts, I just become more aware as the world changes.

R: What do you think is hip-hop's role or responsibility to the community?
C: To be progressive, to be the deliverer of messages, to be the reporter of what's going on and ways to get out. To be the enlightener, to be the escape sometimes from our situations, to be the life-giver in different ways, to be the teacher, to be the entertainer.

R: When the book Bomb the Suburbs came out in 1994, the author, Willie Upski, mentioned you were going to be one of those responsible for resurrecting and rejuvenating hip-hop. Do you think that hip-hop is constantly changing and reinventing itself?
C: Yeah, it's constantly changing and constantly growing, and not just because of the Roots or Common or OutKast. There's other rappers, even other genres, that they still coming with their form of hip-hop and they adding on, regardless. If they keep repeating themselves then they're not adding on. But when they initially coming, if by adding something new, then they adding something new. The point I'm making is that hip-hop will keep recreating itself and keep growing because we are creators. We are innovators. We believe in this culture and in this music. It's constant elevation.

R: What is the Common Ground Foundation all about?
C: It's about helping people. It's about enlightening our youth. It's about giving them opportunities to get in-tune with themselves and discover themselves and figure out what they want to do in their life. It's about being a bridge to help to do that. It's about educating them on nutrition and self-esteem, and just spirituality, and health.

R: One of the foundation's goals is to provide underprivileged kids with the opportunity to travel around the world. How important is it to be exposed to other cultures?
C: It's important because when you just in your area and you only exposed to that, there's so much more to the world than just your neighborhood, your hood, your block. The block becomes a mind state, and sometimes your mind ain't able to absorb anything else until you get out of that situation, that geographic area, and see other places. Just seeing the places brings your mind to a new world and gives you better dreams and more things to see, and allows you to know that the world isn't just my block and just my hood and the way we wear our clothes. There's other things to it, and that may inspire you to discover something yourself, to get to a new place.

R: In past interviews you have expressed your desire to keep your relationship with Erykah Badu quiet. Yet the two of you posed for the February cover of Essence and talked pretty in-depth about the relationship. Why the sudden change of heart?
C: We knew that it was a beautiful platform to do it in and if we did the interview together, it would be good for us to express ourselves. We wasn't afraid to do it after we got into it. We knew that speaking about our relationship may set an example or inspire others at times. Plus, after we saw that the writer was such a good, warm person and that her intentions were right then we felt good.

R: You recently did a Coke commercial with Mya. What made you decide to endorse Coke? Have you received any criticisms?
C: Nah, I've been getting a lot of complements really. I just decided to do it because they said, "Hey, we want an artist that is true and real to represent us, and you can do what you want to do." They let me use the artists that I wanted to use, like the producers, the video director. They allowed me to let my vision be out. It was basically a big platform to let me say something that I wanted to say to the people.

March 2003