Welcome to Common Knowledge, a new monthly column where rapper Common shares his wisdom on mental health, food and nutrition, pop culture, and more. Read this month’s articles below.
Last year I I lost a close friend. I was going to speak at his memorial service, so I needed to get into what I was going to say. I needed something calming and inspiring. I went to Kamashi Washington. I went to see John Coltrane. I also went to A Tribe Called Quest.this music helped me get hooked
The idea that you can say things that are honest and thoughtful and find peace in what you are saying.
It’s a kind of meditation for me.
Meditation is all about centering yourself, quieting your mind, listening to your true self, and removing everything you don’t need in order to focus on the moment. If you get a thought, move out of the way and let it pass. Eventually, you will enter a central space where you can feel your true self, and your mind will feel calm. I can hear what I’m thinking and feeling.
It’s hard for me not to accept the pain in the world. Of course I feel it. I’m sympathetic. I care. My way of dealing with the tensions of everyday life and all the problems in this world starts with me and music. When I listen to the music I play, I can take away everything that’s going on in the world and it makes me feel safe. I can tune into the music and it allows me to have my thoughts and experience and feel. Part of my creativity comes from being in a meditative space. That in itself is centering and meditation. There is a lot of music that is perfect for meditation.
I think it’s an Andre 3000 album. new blue sun It’s wonderful and peaceful. It’s in my music catalog so I can listen to it whenever I want to feel calm. Kamasi has a song called “Askim” that reminds you of your higher self and calms you down.john coltrane’s supreme love It affects me in a way and I feel like everything is fine. You can also drive
Although still safe, D’Angelo’s “Africa” transports me to a meditative place. If there’s a lot going on, you need that music.
Meditation has a sacred quality. It’s like you’re connected to your higher self, and your higher self is connected to the Supreme Being. Music is divine. The Most High speaks through us in so many ways. It is said that music can put you in a trance state, but it is meditative. Gospel music can also put me in that space. Artists like Tasha Cobbs Leonard, William Murphy, Jonathan McReynolds, and Travis Greene got me there. It’s all about finding out for yourself what you need to be your best.
Over the years, I have also come to understand that not everything meditative has to be serene. Meditation doesn’t have to be done with only flutes and wind chimes. “N. “Y. State of Mind” by Nas is a song I can meditate on before going into a meeting and it gets me where I need to go. There is also a focus on meditation. While playing Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt.” II “I’ll take it!” Any kind of music can be meditative if you want.
If you want to change your habits to make music more meditative, going back to the music you used to listen to can be helpful. If you’re in a new place in your life compared to when you first heard it, you might get a different perspective. There’s music that I’ve been listening to for 30 years and I’m still listening to new music. I’ve been listening to George Benson lately. No ID sampled his “The Changing World” in my song “I Used to Love HER” and it was enlightening to hear him speak now in the context of this point in my life. Now I’m at a point in my life where I actually relate to this and hear it in a different way. It’s beautiful how music lives and breathes like that.
When I make music, I want people to feel something. So many people have said this to me. But now, at this point in my life, I relate to this movie and it sounds different. “I’ve had people come up to me and say, “I played your music while I was cleaning around the house, and it became a very meditative place.” Someone said, “Your music helps me while studying.” When I was listening to it in my university dormitory, it gave me peace of mind. ” Some people have heard my songs in yoga class. The song they were playing was “Come Close.”
Meditation gives me the power to be happy from within. There may be days when it rains or storms. I may wish the day was sunny, warm, and beautiful, but that’s out of my control. What I am in control of is my ability to recognize that even rainy days are beautiful days. We cannot decide what the weather will be like, but we can work on our own awareness, acceptance, receiving, and ability to transform. Even a rainy day can be a great day when you’re in an open and accepting space.
Change always comes. I meditate all the time.things
Reflect on what would change. Goals change, visions change, dreams change. I took time to have a conversation with myself at the beginning of each day and am still consistent. Music is meditation.
Common’s recommended playlist
His favorite songs to find peace of mind, keep your mind flexible and get a good workout.visit M.H.Add it to your life with our Spotify page
calm down
- John Coltrane’s “Acknowledgement”
- Kamasi Washington’s “Akimu”
- D’Angelo’s “Africa”
- “Grateful” by Hezekiah Walker
- “Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest
Get creative
- “The World Is Yours (Tip Remix)” by Nas ft/Q-Tip
- Mad Villain’s “Figaro”
- “I Am I Be” by De La Soul
- “In the Ghetto” Eric B & Rakim
- Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II”
- Mos Def “UMI Says”
Be strong
- “Microphone Fiend” Eric B. & Rakim
- “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited) by Black Sheep”
- Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Brooklyn Zoo”
- Brand Nubian’s “Slow Down”
- “93 ’til Infinity” by Souls of Mischief
- “Passin’ Me By” by The Pharcyde
A version of this article was originally published in the May/June 2024 issue of the magazine. men’s health.
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