• Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn
• is an American rapper, actor, writer, philanthropist, and activist
• he was born March 13, 1972
•  he won the Grammy award for best R&B song
• For the latter film, he and vocalist/musician John Legend have won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for the song “Glory.” 
• The rapper/actor has also landed major parts for big-screen projects, among them American Gangster (2006) and  Terminator Salvation (2009).
• His first album was can i borrow a dollar.
• net worth of $45 million

The video– is black and white, genre- hip-hop/rap, released- 2016. Common is a Black American cultural icon who has maintained a political and social concern in his music.

The video Letter to the Free is presented as his contribution to the divisive political and social issues of contemporary America, a sense that he is attempting to draw attention to initiating a new wave of ‘protest music”