Common: Martin Luther King Jr. Week Keynote Speaker
North Central College is excited to welcome Common as keynote speaker for its annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, actor and author will deliver a keynote address titled "Greatness!" on Tuesday, January 21,at 7 p.m. in Pfeiffer Hall. Common rose to prominence as one of hip-hop's most poetic, innovative and respected lyricists, having recorded nine studio albums; his latest is titled "The Dreamer/The Believer." He partnered with rap music megastar Kanye West to produce "BE" and "Finding Forever." Their partnership resulted in four Grammy Award nominations and two MTV Video Music Award nominations.
He made his big-screen debut in 2006 as a musical performer in "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and his Hollywood debut in 2007, costarring opposite Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys and Ryan Reynolds in "Smokin' Aces." Since then, he's costarred with Denzel Washington in "American Gangster", in "Street Kings" starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, in "Wanted" opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and others. His first starring role was in the 2010 film "Just Wright" with Queen Latifah.
An author, he's written three children's books, including "I Like You But I Love Me" which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and an adult book, his memoir titled "One Day It'll All Make Sense." In 2007, he launched the Common Ground Foundation, an organization dedicated to the empowerment and development of America's urban youth.
North Central College is excited to welcome Common as keynote speaker for its annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, actor and author will deliver a keynote address titled "Greatness!" on Tuesday, January 21,at 7 p.m. in Pfeiffer Hall. Common rose to prominence as one of hip-hop's most poetic, innovative and respected lyricists, having recorded nine studio albums; his latest is titled "The Dreamer/The Believer." He partnered with rap music megastar Kanye West to produce "BE" and "Finding Forever." Their partnership resulted in four Grammy Award nominations and two MTV Video Music Award nominations.
He made his big-screen debut in 2006 as a musical performer in "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and his Hollywood debut in 2007, costarring opposite Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys and Ryan Reynolds in "Smokin' Aces." Since then, he's costarred with Denzel Washington in "American Gangster", in "Street Kings" starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, in "Wanted" opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and others. His first starring role was in the 2010 film "Just Wright" with Queen Latifah.
An author, he's written three children's books, including "I Like You But I Love Me" which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and an adult book, his memoir titled "One Day It'll All Make Sense." In 2007, he launched the Common Ground Foundation, an organization dedicated to the empowerment and development of America's urban youth.