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Hip-hop artist-turned-actor comments on how technology can disconnect people from genuine conversations. (2:46)
 

Full interview. (12:36)
 

Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome Common back to this program. The Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and actor can be seen starting this week in what promises to be one of the summer's biggest films, "Terminator Salvation." More on that in a moment. You can also pick up a copy of his most recent CD, "Universal Mind Control." Here now some of the video for the title track, "Universal Mind Control."

[Clip]

Tavis: I'm gonna come to the movie in just a second. Let me start with this because I was sharing with you off-camera that I was with a bunch of kids last night from Chicago and they were talking to their sponsor, trying to see if they could hang out for an extra day before they went back to your hometown in Chicago. They were such huge fans of yours.

We got into a really, really fascinating dialogue about this last CD and I was asking all of them their impressions of the CD, given that they're all fans of yours and given that this was a bit of a departure of what you have done recently. So they had their take on it, number one. Number two, they told me to make sure I asked you about the Green Lantern.

Common: Oh, yeah, yeah. I'll get you that (laughter).

Tavis: I'll ask you about that a little bit later. They started laughing and said, "Here we are telling Tavis Smiley what to ask Common."

Common: Right, right.

Tavis: I said, "That's okay. Y'all from Chicago. Y'all can do that." So I'm sure they're watching right about now. We'll come to the movie stuff in just a second. This CD, though, back to my point, was a bit of a departure. Explain what it was and whether or not you were happy with the way it worked.

Common: Well, you know, for me an artist, I always want to grow and express different things. I feel I owe it to myself and to the audience to be truthful with where I am. I've been traveling abroad a lot and doing shows and going out. I noticed that people enjoy music in a different way when they're out in a club. So I always looked at club music like, man, you know, that's just party music. It's not saying anything.

But I realized people need a release too sometimes and I wanted to do it in my own way. I felt, you know, I made music that was created for a global crowd, a global audience, to let people kind of let go of their problems. You know, of course, I wanted it to sell more. I wanted the response to be greater, but I'm grateful that I was able to do what I felt and was able to release another album. It's a blessing.

Tavis: Yeah. Now these kids I talked to last night, they're huge fans of yours. They dug the project, although they really engaged me in a fascinating conversation, though, about why they love you and respect you so much. It's because you are so conscious in your lyrical content. You're so conscious of what you do.

They liked the CD, but they recognized that it's different than what your audience has become accustomed to with regard to the empowerment in your lyrical content.

Common: Yeah. You know, I kind of compare it to - not that I'm on his level, but you know Marvin Gaye, how he had songs that were conscious and songs that really meant something to society. He would do his "Sexual Healing" and do his "After the Dance," you know, but it all got to be jamming for people to get into it.

But I'm always in tune with what's going on with people and I always care about that, regardless. So if I make some fun music, you know I'm still out there trying to communicate with the community and see what else they need.

Tavis: Like that Marvin thing. He said, "What's Going On," but also "Let's Get It On" (laughter).

Common: "Let's Get It On." It's all on (laughter).

Tavis: It's all on (laughter). That's why you're rapping me. I came on that real fast. I want to go to the movie stuff in just a second. So where do you take your musical stuff next? Have you figured that out yet or it's not -

Common: - I actually, you know, started thinking about making my new album and naturally I went with Kanye and No I.D. No I.D. was the first producer for my first three albums through a gentleman I grew up with. It's almost like going to the foundation, but because they are in a progressive point, it's still gonna have a new sound, but it'll give me that foundation of the soul music that people want to hear and some of that progressive energy.

Tavis: What do you make of Chicago just spitting out - I mean, I don't care if it's hip-hop, if it's R&B, if it's gospel, because these kids were in a gospel group that I was talking to last night. But Chicago is spitting it out, man.

Common: Yeah. It's a blessing. I think that Chicago is a very cultural city in its own way and it's produced some really talented people throughout the years. In fact, I know you had a show with Earth, Wind & Fire. The originator of that group, Maurice White, was from Chicago.

Minnie Riperton, Chaka Khan, then you move fast forward to R. Kelly, to Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Cool Kids. There's a lot of sincerity that comes out of Chicago, a lot of soul, a lot of truth, you know. I mean, I'm grateful to be from there. I wouldn't want to be from any other place.

Tavis: Chicago's a great city, man. My kind of town (laughter).

Common: All right (laughter).

Tavis: Now to this movie stuff, "Terminator." Tell me first about the role you play in this. I want to talk more about your movie choices because I get the sense from just watching you and knowing you that you are serious about this acting thing. I mean, really serious.

Common: Oh, yeah. I'm very serious now. Just to start there, I'm very passionate about acting. I love it as much as I do music. You know, I put my soul into it. I want to build my career and, hopefully, thirty years from now, we'll be sitting here talking about, "Yo, got some Oscars under your belt. How do you feel?"

Well, my role in "Terminator" is a character named Barnes who's part of the resistance who's really helping to save the world. This time, my daughter can say I ain't a bad guy. She always asks me, "When are you gonna play a good guy?" (Laughter) I'm like, "Look, I'm a good guy."

You know, we're fighting against the machines which is symbolic to so much stuff. Basically, you know, I'm out fighting to help save humanity. Christian Bale, who plays John Connor, I'm like his right-hand guy.

Tavis: Tell me more - again, I know how your mind works and how fertile it is, but you say it's ironic that you're starring in a movie where you're fighting to save the world against machines. I know you meant something deeper by that, so open up on that for me.

Common: Well, you know, obviously technology and the machine of capitalism and, you know, just the machine of materialism, just different machines that are out there that's set in order to really take away from the people and the connection of humanity. And even if some of it was done purposely, some of it is not, but I feel that it is.

You know, one scene that my character had - I don't know if it appeared in the movie yet or not - but I was really dealing with this character that was a machine and I was talking about how, because of the war that existed, it brought humanity together. I feel that technology in certain ways can kind of take us away from just connecting with people.

You know, I'm a big fan of phone conversations or face to face, especially when it's personal things. I ain't a big texter. You know, I know the world is into texting, but, I mean, I ain't really like an advocate for it all the way.

Tavis: It can keep you out of trouble too (laughter).

Common: Yeah, yeah, definitely (laughter).

Tavis: By not texting (laughter).

Common: Many people have drowned.

Tavis: Yeah, there's some folk going down on those text relationships. I got to watch myself sometimes. Things you say on the text, you don't know where it's gonna end up, man, so I'm praying for myself every day that I don't get caught out there like that (laughter).

But I think you're right, though. But what's so amazing about technology - we'll come back just because the movie is, you know, so high-tech - is that technology allows us to do so many things. There are so many advances obviously connected to it and yet it makes our relationships so much more impersonal.

Common: I think it goes back to what we talk about balance, you know. Obviously, we know technology has helped advance a lot of things. Like you say, we can see the "Terminator Salvation" movie and all that excitement. Some of that is technologically driven, so that's great.

We need that, but at the same token, like we just said, you know, communicating with people. At certain times, you got to say, "Let me put down the text and let me hear this conversation." If I can't see you face to face, you know, go back to some of the basics.

I actually think this whole economy thing is really taking us back to some of the basics that we need, you know, like people appreciating just being able to get up and be healthy and see their family members. Like it's moving a lot of people closer to God, you know, in our spirituality just because it's like, you know, the money, you can't do anything about it right now. You know what I mean? You can do your best, but it's not the most important thing in the world.

Tavis: Speaking of technology, where your work is concerned, I'm just curious. How do you record your lyrics? Do you handwrite them? Do you type them? You use freestyle in the studio? How do you do your stuff?

Common: Actually, I write in my head. I like taking drives, especially being out in California sometimes. But even being in Chicago, I will drive through the city and just, you know, say the song over and over and I will come up with different things. So it's almost like a freestyle in process and then you just build from there. That's how I create my songs.

Of course, we use high technology in the studios, but, you know, I can remember recording when it was reel to reel tape. It wasn't in a computer. That felt good too. You get a warmth out of that music.

Tavis: So since you are so serious about this acting thing, how are you going about making your choices now, back to your earlier point about your daughter saying, "Daddy, when you gonna play the good guy?" We've seen you play the - I'm watching you every night. I hope you're getting a check for this because you're on "Gangster" every night.

Common: Oh, yeah (laughter).

Tavis: "American Gangster" is on somebody's channel. I'm watching you every single night on "American Gangster."

Common: That's great.

Tavis: "So I hope Common's getting paid for this" every time I tune in. But how you going about making your choices now? What are you trying to do here?

Common: I'm really looking at roles that allow me to show depth. You know, right now I've been taking the baby steps, you know, just to get acclimated with acting in the process and, you know, what it takes to do a film. I've been, you know, going through courses for acting for a while now.

But I want to take on everything from romantic comedies - which I'm looking to do next, a romantic comedy with Latifah that I may be doing - and drama, any love story, action movies. I want to do it all. Look, I want to be there on the level of the Denzels and the Will Smiths and Matt Damons and those kinds.

Tavis: Well, like anything else, you put your mind to it and I'm sure you'll get there.

Common: I'm going for it.

Tavis: You're going for it. I know you.

Common: God wills.

Tavis: So these kids in Chicago don't get mad at me for not asking you about the green thing, what's the story on that?

Common: The Green Lantern. I was part of a film called "Justice League" which involved me playing a character of Green Lantern. We had started pre-production on it. I went to Australia, tried on the costume and everything, but at a certain point, it just got put to a halt. It was partially because of the writer's strike and then some of it just happened that the movie just fell apart.

So hopefully when they bring it back around, I will get to play that character because one important thing about that was that they had a multicultural cast playing superheroes and one of the guys that I was working with was like, "Man, do you know how powerful this is gonna be for your daughter to see?" You know, my daughter was into Wonder Woman. You know, she loved Wonder Woman.

So for her to see, you know, an African American gentleman right next to Wonder Woman, they're gonna see like these heroes, you know, like these superheroes of different cultures. I think the kids need to see that because, you know, growing up, all we had was like, for me, Superman, you know, wasn't really Black superheroes.

Tavis: Yeah, it's a powerful thing. Imagery is so important.

Common: Yeah.

Tavis: Of course, you know that, being an actor and, for that matter, being an artist as well. So, Common, first of all, his latest CD, "Universal Mind Control." Worth checking out and adding to your collection, just to make you feel a little better.

Common: Yeah.

Tavis: And then, "Terminator Salvation." This Terminator series has made like $25 billion dollars over the years.

Common: Yeah, it's a big franchise.

Tavis: And it's back with Christian Bale and Common. Common, good to see you, man. Glad to have you on.

Common: Very good to see you, Tavis. Thanks for having me.

Tavis: It's a blessing to have you all the time.