Common has proven that he’ll never stray far from the core of Hip Hop, executing a freestyle while riding his bike throughout the streets of London.
The Chicago rap legend took to Instagram on Friday (May 26) to share a video of him spitting impromptu bars without losing his breath or barely breaking a sweat. To add a touch of classic flair, Common rapped over The Notorious B.I.G.‘s 1994 infamous diss record, “Who Shot Ya?”
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“I’m back on the bike/ It’s a beautiful day here in London/ Like Michelle Obama, I’m becomin’/ When they see me on the street in London they say Common/ Yo, they know he got 100 styles and runnin’/ Pedaling up the hill, saying what I feel/ I been the one to destroy and the one to build,” he raps while dodging traffic.
“Alotta MCs, but then they can’t tempt me/ I got enough gas cause the thing ain’t on empty/ You can’t gas me up or mask me up, yo/I better stop/ This is real Hip Hop.”
Common captioned his post: “You asked for it, so here it is. Riding & Rhyming off the top! I am Hip Hop!”
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This isn’t the first time Common decided to talk to his IG followers while getting some aerobic exercise in. On Tuesday (May 23), it appeared as if he was going to freestyle, and fans thought he was as well, but he opted to stay focused while driving alongside traffic in the street.
“’I’m outside for a lil ride in London,” Common said. “Make sure y’all take some time to enjoy being outside in nature. Oh yea…..don’t try this at home. Ride responsibly!”
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Recently, the Grammy Award-winning artist broke down the making of his iconic single “The Light” and the song’s video, calling it “one of the greatest” things he’s ever been a part of.
The Chicago MC was the latest to be featured in the ongoing VEVO Footnotes series, as part of a special collection of videos commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
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He starts out in the clip by sharing that, from a strictly musical standpoint, the song started with J. Dilla’s vision. “Sonically, I give all the respect, honor and credit to J Dilla because he produced the music,” the footnotes read. “It was a sample from a beautiful Bobby Caldwell song called ‘Open Your Eyes.’ Dilla played me the beat he made for it, and I was like ‘Yo, this is incredible.’”
As Common’s notes continue to flash along the screen, he reveals the origins of the song’s famous final line, which many a fan have wondered about over the years.
“I hadn’t finished the song yet, and I was laying the vocals,” he writes, “and that’s why I ended up saying ‘Digga-da, digga-da, digga-da, digga-digga-da-da/ Yo, I tell you the rest when I see you.’ Later I came up with a line for that part, but I tried to re-record it at least 20 times and it was never better than that take.”
While the song’s ending has been a topic of conversation over the years, Common states in the clip that the feedback he’s received about a different part of the Like Water For Chocolate song has given him the biggest sense of pride.
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“The line I’m most proud of is ‘It don’t take a whole day to recognize sunshine’,” he writes. “I’m proud of that because so many people have told me they’ve used this song in their weddings. I didn’t think of that line as being dope or whatever, I just thought it was a fun line to say. But I guess it could be kinda flirty and romantic and cool, so now that’s probably my favorite line.
