By Joseph Patel

Ever since his days as a struggling but spirited young artist on the streets of Chicago, Rashied Lynn, a.k.a. Common, has been one of those artists for whom people feel compelled to root. Never the benefactor of widespread commercial success, Common has performed on a number of revered hip-hop records.

His second album, Resurrection (which featured the galvanizing "I Used to Love H.E.R."), brought him a fair amount of attention, while his last album, Someday It'll All Make Sense, revealed a more mature yet still growing MC. Although the song "Retrospect For Life," with Lauryn Hill, was almost worth Sense's price alone, the album was assembled in such a strange fashion that it did nothing to make people think that Common was actually evolving as an artist.

That all changed with the recent release of Common's fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate. With the overriding help of Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, drummer for the Roots and producer extraordinaire, Common has crafted an overwhelmingly soulful, moving, and conceptually complete masterpiece. CDNOW spoke to Common, who left Chicago to live in Brooklyn, about his new album and the spiritual forces that guide his life.

CDNOW: You pride yourself on being different. Where does that come from?

Common: Part of it might be the Pisces nature in me, part of it might be the desire to be original, and part of it is I'm in an industry with a million mugs in this game. There are a lot of people in this game. I'm an individual, and I want to let people know I'm an individual. I'm going to proclaim my individuality in everything I do, the music I make, the way I dress, the way I talk.

It seems with this album you've sort of struck a balance, personally and professionally. Do you find that maybe as far back as two years ago, you were a lot more immature?

I can definitely say that. Even dealing with relationships, I was more immature. Just like learning myself and being honest with myself. Even to the point when you look at my last album, it showed a little bit of immaturity in the fact that once you get your knowledge, you just start letting it out all over the place. I was rapping so much about one thing, it became almost lopsided. Some people couldn't dig what I was doing; it was too extreme. But that's what I felt at the time. I don't look back on it and say, "Damn, why did I do that?"

"I know the meaning of struggling -- as an artist, as a person -- so I'm gonna appreciate the success."

Each step has been a learning and a growth process for me. I look at life, and I know that every moment that I go through is supposed to be there. I gotta appreciate the struggles and the good times. Utilize the struggles to grow and create endurance, because I'm looking at a long stretch of career. I gotta be able to teach my daughter and teach other people's kids how to deal with problems.

Is there anything you truly regret in your life?

No. There ain't nothing that I really regret. I feel like I gotta lot of things ahead of me. The things that I didn't do � I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those mistakes. If I would've came out and blew up off of "Take It EZ," 19 years old, beer-drinking with a little dumbness, I would've achieved a certain success that I could've got comfortable at. But now I know the meaning of struggling -- as an artist, as a person -- so I'm gonna appreciate the success.

D'Angelo said something about how he likes a little bit of loneliness in his life to create. Do you need a little bit of that distance, that struggle?

That's what creates the true power. It's like building muscles, man. You're lifting weights so you can have the muscles, so when you get to the fight you really have some strength. The struggle is what actually can make every person relate to each other in a way. No matter what color you are, if you're going through the struggle, and you're next to somebody who's in the struggle, you can relate to them

If it ended tomorrow, would it be satisfying?

No. I got a lot of things I want to do. I want to utilize this thing to open up some people's minds, open up some schools, help out these political prisoners. Creatively, if you ask me if I'd be happy, nope. I still know I can do better.

What made you work with Femi Kuti?

I've been listening to Fela for a while now, and I really love his music. The song ["Time Traveling"] is a tribute to Fela. It'd be an honor to have his son on there.

"I'm going to proclaim my individuality in everything I do, the music I make, the way I dress, the way I talk."

What prompted the song about Asatta Shakur?

I had read her book, and it touched me so much; it was such an inspiration. I just read it, and I was like, man, people need to hear this story. There were a lot of people that fought for our freedom and died for our freedom just so we could do certain things that we're doing. Also, I thought it would be unique to do in hip-hop a biography of somebody.

It's also a way to educate some people that maybe don't know, especially younger people. Do you sense there's a responsibility for you and other artists to do that?

Man, dude, that's it. That's our responsibility. They're the younger brothers and sisters, and our children. They're our people, man. They're the future. We had certain people to help guide us. Most people who are doing well in society today had somebody as a role model or a guide. And we as musicians, man, and as artists out there as entertainers, the more you know, the more you owe to the universe and the people. That's our duty. That's why I choose to speak up regardless of how many records I sell. My biggest goal is to spread love and be happy within the music. Spread the message and be happy, man. It's edutainment like KRS-One said. It's education and entertainment.