Celebrating Chicago’s Rhythm & Rhyme: Hip-Hop Trailblazers Common and Noname Talk Poetry and Politics in Music

Sonorous, potent and riveting. These are the words that describe hip-hop icons Common and Noname’s intimate conversation about Chicago and artistry at the Royal Sonesta hotel downtown. On July 17, rap enthusiasts sat in awe as Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe and three-time Grammy winner Common discussed the beauty of poetry and politics in rap. Both Common and Noname were invited to their home city of Chicago for Rolling Stone’s special “Musicians on Musicians” series. The event invites artists to interview each other on everything from daily hobbies to musical themes.

Common, whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn, and Noname, whose real name is Fatimah Warner, both come from Chicago’s southside neighborhoods. Warner hails from Bronzeville and Lynn from Hyde Park. Though Warner was just an infant during Lynn’s rise to fame, both bonded over shared experiences as Black artists in Chicago.

“Chicago, I feel like, is definitely my entire sound,” said Warner. “I like the blues influences, gospel influences, jazz… all that stuff has foundational elements in Chicago.”

For Lynn, Chicago is a nostalgic landscape where he built his passion for lyricism. When asked about his career development, Lynn recollected writing raps with his cousin as a teenager, which he said gave him a sense of self he never felt before. Sharing jokes and laughs with the audience, he also reminisced on recording music during the peak era of iconic artists like Biggie Smalls, Mob Deep and Jay-Z.

“Some artists that I really do love is a dude named Grand Puba,” Lynn also said. “His voice and style was everything. Everybody was taking his style … and honestly even when I first started, it was more of my style.”

In a full circle moment, Warner mentioned Common as one of her earlier inspirations, citing his lyricism as a major influence. Both discussed the reflection of poetry in rap, with Lynn citing historic writers like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin as influences.

“Rap is rhythm and poetry.”

– Common

Warner said her career began in high school by reading books to navigate being a Black woman in Chicago’s southside neighborhood, which fueled her passion for poetry, and eventually, rapping. Now, Warner runs the “Noname Book Club” which brings literature fans together through “radical texts by authors of color.” Musicians from Kehlani to Earl Sweatshirt have proposed books by authors of color to the group.

Reflective of her creative integration of politics into rap, Warner is also bold, assertive and outspoken in her fight for social justice. Though Lynn also admires themes of social issues in hip-hop/rap, he doesn’t want to be held down by the obligation to be a “conscious rapper.”

Conscious rapping is a sub-genre of hip-hop focused on politically saturated music addressing social issues and personal beliefs. The concept was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s and became particularly popular during the 80s.

After their deep and fruitful conversation, Lynn surprised the audience with a performance of classic songs and most notably, his new album with musician Pete Rock.

Warner also gave the audience a special performance of lively, emotional and powerful rap. Her confrontational and confident lyricism echoed both a catchy rhythm and more importantly, important calls to action. From highlighting the issue of missing/killed Black women, anti-capitalism, afro-futurism and the freedom of occupied countries, Warner’s ideas left a mark on everyone in the audience. That is the true strength of her rap and poetry, as summarized by Lynn.

“Your voice can carry you a lot of places,” he said of Warner. “She’s infinite as an artist.”