Common has praised Kanye West as someone he “admires”.
The 46-year-old rapper and actor, and the ‘Heartless’ hitmaker, both hail from Chicago, and Common has revealed he has known the fellow musician since they were teenagers and has always thought of Kanye as “courageous”.
He said: “I’ve known him since he was 19 – he was always speaking out. Some of my friends wanted to fight him. I always admired him. There’s courage – honesty there, instead of being politically correct.”
Alongside Kanye, the ‘Stand Up For Something’ musician also considers Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, and Bob Marley as inspirations, as they all created music that “became soundtracks to a movement”.
He added: “My heroes are Muhammad Ali, Dr. King, Dr. Maya Angelou, Dr. Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin. And musically, it’s Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, KRS-One and Public Enemy, up to Kendrick [Lamar] now. They all provided music that became soundtracks to a movement. And for me to be included in that, to have songs that mean something to people, I’ve got to say, man, it’s an honor.”
The ‘Suicide Squad’ actor – who has 20-year-old daughter Omoye Assata Lynn – also opened up on his dating life, and revealed he is looking for a girl who can “show love and respect” to different kinds of people. He said: “She doesn’t have to be Angela Davis. But I want a woman who treats human beings with compassion, shows love and respect for the waiter and the bellman.”
Common has previously dated the likes of Erykah Badu and Serena Williams and has often publicly shown his support for strong women, who he thinks should be “celebrated”.
Speaking to the Spring issue of C For Men magazine, he said: “Back then, [Badu and Williams] took the heat for just speaking up. Now, it’s more celebrated.”
