Hip-hop is no longer just about beats and the streets

Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist and actor Common will give the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Association of Black Students, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 29, in Graham Chapel. This event was originally scheduled to take place April 6.

Common

A key member of the “conscious” hip-hop movement, Common has released eight albums and garnered numerous Grammy nominations, winning two. He has collaborated with some of the most popular names working today, including Kanye West, De La Soul, Erykah Badu and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

Common’s acting career is flourishing as well. His new film, Date Night, starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell, debuts Friday, April 9. That will be followed up by Just Wright, in which he stars with Queen Latifah. He has been in several major movies, including American Gangster, Street Kings and Terminator Salvation.

Mindful of the need children have for positive influences, Common has written several books geared to juvenile readers, such as The Mirror and Me and I Like You But I Love Me. Through his philanthropic organization, Common Ground Foundation, he supports initiatives to empower urban youth.