As well as music, Common has worked as an actor, on films such as 'Smokin' Aces' (as Sir Ivy) 'American Gangster' (as Turner Lucas), 'Wanted', and 'John Wick: Chapter 2'. He may also be seen in cameo roles in films such as 'Brown Sugar'.
His debut was the 1992 album Can I Borrow A Dollar, but he achieved little critical or commercial success until 1994's Resurrection, an instant classic. He produced several more albums, notably Like Water For Chocolate and the highly experimental Electric Circus, before releasing the Kanye West and J Dilla-produced Be in 2005, which was his first album to receive widespread mainstream appeal and radio playtime.
Common is considered a "cred" artist, which has lead him to collaborations with the likes of De La Soul, Jadakiss, T.I, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Kanye West, Lily Allen, Erykah Badu, and Fort Minor.
The 2007 album Finding Forever was produced mainly by long-time collaborator, Kanye West. Common released his eighth album Universal Mind Control in 2008, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album but lost to the Eminem album Relapse. He released his ninth album The Dreamer/The Believer in 2011. Nobody's Smiling, his tenth album, was released in 2014. The concept of the album was inspired by his troubled hometown of Chicago.
Retrospect for Life
Common Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You look at your brother man you gotta see yourself
Gotta see the God within him
Brothers getting changed real quick over nothing
We losing too many of ours
Gotta recreate y'all
Yo check it
'Cause I created you irresponsibly
Subconsciously knowing the act I was a part of
The start of something, I'm not ready to bring into the world
Had myself believing I was sterile
I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl
Turning this woman's womb into a tomb
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed
But someone, I would of fed this information I read
To someone, my life for you I would of had to leave
Instead I lead you to death
I'm sorry for taking your first breath, first step, and first cry
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially
Having a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me
Plus I wanted you to be raised within a family
I don't want to, go through the drama of having a baby's momma
Weekend visits and buying J's ain't gon' make me a father
For a while bearing a child is something I never wanted to do
For me to live forever I can only do that through you
Nerve I got to talk about them niggas with a gun
Must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son
I could have sacrificed going out
To think my homies who did it I used to joke about, from now on
I'ma use self control instead of birth control
'Cause $315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth it
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
Yo
Why didn't you stay
Seeing you as a present and a gift in itself
You had our child in you, I probably never feel what you felt
But you dealt with it like the strong black woman you are
Through our trials and tribulations, child's elimination
An integration of thoughts I feel about the situation
Back and forth my feelings was pacing
Happy deep down but not joyed enough to have it
But even that's a lie in less than two weeks, we was back at it
Is this unprotected love or safe to say it's lust
Busting, more than the sweat in somebody you trust
Or is it that we don't trust each other enough
And believe, having this child'll make us have to stay together
Don't I want you in my life cause you have made it better
Thinking we all in love 'cause we can spend a day together
We talking spending the rest of our lives
It's too many black women that can say they mothers
But can't say that they wives
I wouldn't chose any other to mother my understanding
But I want our Parenthood to come from Planning
It's so much in my life that's undone
We gotta see eye to eye, about family, before we can become one
If you had decided to have it the situation I wouldn't run from
But I'm walking, finding myself in my God
So I can, discipline my son with my writing
Not have a judge telling me how and when to raise my seed
Though his death was at our greed, with no one else to blame
I had a book of African names, case our minds changed
You say your period hasn't came, and lately I've been sleepy
So quit smoking the weed and the beadies and let's have this boy
I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
You said you would be here when it rained
Oh I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
Now the situation's made things change
Things change
Why, didn't you stay
Why didn't you stay
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
In summer
You said you would be here when, it rained
When it rained, it rained
Oh I, never dreamed, you'd leave in summer
You said you wouldn't leave
Now the situation's made things change
Things change, why didn't you stay?
Stay, stay stay stay stay stay stay
Stay
Oh why didn't you stay
The song "Retrospect for Life" by Common featuring Lauryn Hill is a deeply introspective and emotional exploration of the difficult decision to undergo an abortion. The song is narrated from two perspectives: Common, the father of the child, and Lauryn Hill, the mother. Common's opening verse is a soul-wrenching and honest admission of his own irresponsibility and a painful regret for the child he could have had. He struggles with the decision he had made with the mother of the child and questions whether he had the right to take a life that he had created. He laments over his unpreparedness for fatherhood, both mentally and financially, and the lack of a family structure that the child could have been raised in. Common mentions that he was not ready to bring something into the world and is apologetic for the child's loss of his first breath, first cry, and first step.
Lauryn Hill's verse explores the mother's side of the decision to undergo an abortion. She talks about how challenging it was to go through the difficult decision of terminating a life and how the loss of a child changes a person's perspective. The lyrics imply that the decision was made to let go of the baby as it was not feasible under the circumstances then. The lines "You said you would be here when it rained" and "Now the situation's made things change" indicate that the situation had become bleak, and the pregnancy had taken a toll on both of them. Her lines “Never dreamed you’d leave in summer, In summer, you said you wouldn't leave” speak about how unexpected and devastating the loss would have been.
In conclusion, "Retrospect for Life" is a poignant and reflective exploration of a deeply personal and emotional issue. It demonstrates how Common and Hill navigate the complexities of loss, regret, and self-discovery, and see this as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo, we gotta start respectin life more why'all
We should prioritize respecting life.
You look at your brother man you gotta see yourself
When we look at others, we must understand that they are like us with their own God-given qualities.
Gotta see the God within him
We must seek the divine qualities that lie within every human.
Brothers gettin changed real quick over nothin
People are changing rapidly over meaningless things.
We losin too many of ours
Our community is losing too many people to preventable circumstances.
Gotta recreate why'all
We must start anew and create positive change.
Knowin you the best part of life, do I have the right to take yours
Being aware that you are the best part of life, do I have the authority to take yours?
Cause I created you, irresponsibly
I created you recklessly and without thinking of the impact on both our lives.
Subconciously knowin the act I was a part of
I was aware at some level that I was engaging in an act that could create life.
The start of somethin, I'm not ready to bring into the world
I wasn't ready to be responsible for bringing a new life into the world.
I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl
I wonder what gender you are while still in your mother's womb.
Turnin this woman's womb into a tomb
Terminating the pregnancy will turn this once-life-giving space into an eternal resting place.
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need
But she and I both agree that we don't need this seed to continue to grow.
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed
You would have been more than just another person to feed, you had great potential and possibilities.
But someone, I woulda fed this information I read
But someone, I would have shared all this knowledge I have learned with.
to someone, my life for you I woulda had to leave
To someone. I would have devoted my life just for yours.
Instead I lead you to death
Instead, I made the decision to end your life.
I'm sorry for takin your first breath, first step, and first cry
I apologize for preventing you from taking your first breath, first step, and making your first cry.
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially
I wasn't ready mentally or financially to take on the responsibilities of parenting.
Havin a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me
Having a child shouldn't be the only reason for me to mature and become responsible.
Plus I wanted you to be raised within a family
I wanted you to be raised within a family with me as a responsible father figure.
I don't want to, go through the drama of havin a baby's momma
I don't want to deal with the complications that come with having a baby's momma.
Weekend visits and buyin J's ain't gon' make me a father
Visiting on weekends and buying expensive shoes can't make someone a true father.
For a while bearing a child is somethin I never wanted to do
For a long period of time, becoming a parent was something that I really didn't want to do.
For me to live forever I can only do that through you
Through you, I could have lived on forever.
Nerve I got to talk about them niggaz with a gun
I have no authority to talk about those who take lives with a gun.
Must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son
I must have thought myself as all-powerful to take the life of my own offspring.
I could have sacrificed goin out
I could have given up going out for the sake of our child.
To think my homies who did it I used to joke about, from now on
To think the same act my friends have done that I joked about, from now on.
I'ma use self control instead of birth control
From this point on, I will use self-discipline instead of birth control.
Cause $315 ain't worth your soul
$315 isn't worth your life and everything you could have become.
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
I never dreamed you would leave during the summer season.
You said you would be here when it rained
You promised to be here when it rained.
Why didn't you stay
Why did you leave?
Seeing you as a present and a gift in itself
Realizing the worth of having you in my life.
You had our child in you, I probably never feel what you felt
You had our child growing inside of you and I could never completely understand what you went through.
But you dealt with it like the strong black woman you are
But you dealt with everything like the strong black woman you are.
Through our trials and tribulations, child's elimination
Through everything we went through, the child's elimination.
An integration of thoughts I feel about the situation
A combination of my thoughts towards the situation.
Back and forth my feelings was pacin
My emotions constantly changed and conflicted.
Happy deep down but not joyed enough to have it
I was happy about it but not enough to feel true joy and celebrate.
But even that's a lie in less than two weeks, we was back at it
Even my own previous statement was a lie because after less than two weeks, we were back at it.
Is this unprotected love or safe to say it's lust
Is our love unprotected or is it just pure lust?
Bustin, more than the sweat in somebody you trust
Engaging in intercourse more than trusting someone.
Or is it that we don't trust each other enough
Or is it that we don't trust each other enough to commit to a child?
And believe, havin this child'll make us have to stay together
Thinking that having a child together will force us to stay together.
Girl I want you in my life cause you have made it better
I want you to stay in my life forever because you have made it better in so many ways.
Thinkin we all in love cause we can spend a day together
Thinking that we are truly in love just because we can spend a day together.
We talkin spendin the rest of our lives
We are discussing spending the rest of our lives together.
It's too many black women that can say they mothers but can't say that they wives
There are too many black women that are just mothers and not wives.
I wouldn't chose any other to mother my understanding
I wouldn't choose anyone else to be the mother for my future understanding.
But I want our Parenthood to come from Planning
But I want our Parenthood to come from a well-thought-out plan.
It's so much in my life that's undone
There are still so many things I have yet to do in my life.
We gotta see eye to eye, about family, before we can become one
We need to get on the same page about family before we can even think about starting one.
If you had decided to have it the situation I wouldn't run from
If you had decided to have the child, I wouldn't run away from the responsibilities.
But I'm walkin, findin myself in my God
But now I am walking and trying to find myself through my faith in God.
So I can, discipline my son with my writin
I want to be able to discipline my son through my writing.
Not have a judge tellin me how and when to raise my seed
I want to have the freedom to raise my own son without a judge interfering.
Though his death was at our greed, with no one else to blame
Although his death was ultimately our fault, no one else can be blamed.
I had a book of Afrikan names, case our minds changed
I had a book of African names in case we changed our minds about having a child.
You say your period hasn't came, and lately I've been sleepy
You mention that you haven't had your period and I've been feeling really tired lately.
So quit smokin the weed and the beadies and let's have this boy
Stop smoking weed and cigarettes and let's have this child together.
Now the situation's made things change
Now that the situation has changed everything.
Stay, stay stay stay stay stay stay
Stay here with me, please stay.
Mmmmm, stayyy
Stay with me, please.
Uh-uh
No.
Ohh why didn't you stay..
Oh, why didn't you stay with me?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: James Jason Poyser, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Ernest Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Bigcheese6875
This has to be one of Lauryns best vocal performances ever. So, so beautiful.
@MikeFlanaganMusic
Absolutely incredible
@bisolaneil5083
$315 ain't worth your soul. STILL resonates. First time seeing the video. #tears
@mirgill1
The fact that this song is not over a million views is a travesty because this song is so real and timeless.
@91Definite
That’s because One Day It’ll All Make Sense wasn’t a selling album! Like Water For Chocate was! And it was a major label album! Commons first 3 albums weren’t on a major label which is strange but he was shown on TV
@NicolasWaldvogel
Apart from other reasons it's because of how truthful this song is. Sadly, the majority of people nowadays don't want to hear music with this kind of message. And the mainstream certainly won't push it.. glad you and I found it though <3
@da1fromdaheightz
God save us all
@Woohchaiell
Way back when I was ripping tracks off Limewire and Napster, I just happened to come across this song because Lauryn Hill was one of my favorite artists. Before that, never heard of this song just line many others haven't. It's unfortunate.
@patrickmillion
@MR J ....I can agree and @91definite this album was a classic....the album has some good reviews...I see this as a classic though.
@mbuguagathamuri6386
Common and Lauryn Hill two of the greatest all time musicians. Great song