Common Is Sharing His Secret for Wellness With 'And Then We Rise'

"I truly believe that stress and anxiety can cause physical problems. The better we are physically, it helps sharpen the mind and keep the mind in a healthier place."

When you're as fit as hip-hop artist Common, people are naturally going to wonder about your secret to health and wellness. Fortunately for us, Common is sharing his secrets in his new book And Then We Rise. "The thing that I'm talking about is reaching a state of happiness and joy. Joy comes by taking care of self." He breaks down his message into four key pillars of wellness: food, body, mind and soul. "It's not like every day I'm just soaring on the clouds and everything is perfect. But these are tools for when I'm not feeling good about something." He actively uses these tools himself. "Before I get onto that stage, I'm doing my practices so that I can be at my best and be present." But he's clear that everybody should do what's right for them. "What I'm doing is just sharing things that have worked for me. I think each individual has to find what works for them." As for the latest Hollywood craze of using medications like Ozempic to get thin, he admits he's "not familiar with it," but that "it doesn't sit right" with him. "I believe part of the victory, if you want to be thinner, is the work you put into it. Like the natural things you do to get there, it will have more value."

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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.

How did this book come about?

Well, I had a few friends reaching out to me about questions about health. Especially during the pandemic, even one of my best friends [who] was a doctor started asking me, what are some things you're taking? And then I started doing workouts online during the pandemic. I would do it on IG Live. I started to realize that a lot of people are not exposed to some of the things that I think are normal, like taking care of yourself, or just have an access to a healthier diet, having access to workout, physical activity, mental health therapy. Those are things that became my therapy, became normal to me. But I wrote this book because I didn't start off this way. It's been something that's been part of my path and I wanted to share with others because I feel like people think it is so distant to try to take care.

I feel like a lot of people will look at you and go, you're famous, of course this comes easy to you.

Well, I think one of the things is that happiness is not constituted on money and fame, recognition. The things that I'm talking about in this book is about reaching a state of happiness and joy. And joy comes by taking care of self. When I when I started not eating certain foods, I was trying to figure out if I was gonna be able to make another record, I was figuring out where my rent was going to come from, I was about to have a daughter, just trying to figure out life. But some of the changes is not about financial, it's about your mind, it's about your discipline and the way you think about things. At one point [during the pandemic], I didn't have weights. I was just doing pushups and situps and some crunches. It was just a way to give myself some love. It doesn't take a lot to just take some time to yourself. To pray doesn't cost you anything. To sit and meditate doesn't cost you anything. Obviously therapy does cost, but it's worth it. Certain things I started investing early on as soon as I started to recognize [their worth]. Instead of buying cars, I hired a chef. Everybody doesn't have to go that far to get a chef, but you could take some of the money that you might spend on something else and say, I'm gonna make sure I get some healthier foods in my diet. Because if you're taking care of yourself, you're gonna feel better. You don't have to be a vegan, you don't have to be holier than thou, it's just about taking steps.

Right. And part of health is being able to see yourself more clearly, so it's only natural you're going to look at pictures of yourself back then and not recognize that person.

And it's not like every day I'm just soaring on the clouds and everything is perfect. But these are tools for when I'm not feeling good about something. So if I am about to go into a difficult situation, a stressful situation, or I just heard that somebody in my family is having health issues, what do I apply to myself to get myself in my state so that I can help support them? I never knew how much food affects my emotional wellbeing until I started practicing these things. And I never knew how much stress affected my physical being. It's all connected. That's why I wanted to talk about these different pillars, because if I only have one, I'll be good. But if I got all four, yo I'm a bad I'm a bad boy.

The mental part of it is so interesting, because the mind is so important, especially considering the impact it has on the body.

If I was eating certain things, my mind wouldn't be as clear to function in some of these difficult and challenging situations. And I noticed that, so I started to feel even more empowered by that. And it does feel good when people say, "Man, you look good, man, you look good." That's the vain part of this. But I'm not mad at that either. I remember reading a story about a woman who was diagnosed with cancer. And she was saying that the doctor told her to watch comedies, and she started watching comedies and laughing, and it actually had a healing effect. She beat the cancer and she constituted the laughing as one of the things [that had a healing affect]. My mother used to say to me, "Don't worry, the way you worry, you're gonna cause yourself to get sick, it's gonna cause a disease." And I truly believe that stress and anxiety can cause physical problems. The better we are physically, it helps sharpen the mind and keep the mind in a healthier place.

Common, you're sounding like a guru.

I'm super passionate about this book and I was enthused that we got it together and got it to the place that I wanted to get it to. I got people that I'm close with, they didn't even know what a vegan was. I mean, I didn't know what a vegan was, I didn't grew up around that to feel like, oh, I can actually just do certain things and I'll have a better life. I'll feel healthy, I'll feel clearer.

And if you feel good, you're going to be good at everything else you do.

That's why, before I get onto that stage, before I get into that scene, I'm doing my practices so that I can be at my best and be present. It's something that any great acting coach will tell you, even in the most difficult scenes, you still should be enjoying it. And I do my best to get to a place where I can enjoy what I'm doing. And that takes the work, that takes the meditation, that takes me not eating too much food before I go on stage. But that's what works for me. I had to develop that and evolve that. What I'm doing is just sharing things that have worked for me. I think each individual has to find what works for them. Some things work across the board. Water is gonna be good for your body, no matter what. Vegetables are good, they're gonna help your digestive system. But what you choose, whatever that is, that's got to be specific to you and what speaks to your soul.

OK, let's go over these four pillars. Let's start with food. What can people do in that area?

Make sure that you have some greens on your plate. Plant life. One simple thing: water. Water wakes you up. I keep that water flowing. It's not anything that you have to be extra rich to get and some of the healthier options now are becoming somewhat more accessible.

Let's do the second pillar, the body.

Find some activity that allows you to move around at some point in the day, it doesn't have to be a long thing. My workouts now are 45 minutes, I'm in and out, but I love it. It lets my mind breathe. I do like a lot of movement. I'm not trying to be buff, I'm just trying to stay fit and move really, to be honest. But also, it can go as simple as a walk. I just was talking to this natural herbalist, I was telling her how I was feeling foggy or whatever, just sluggish. And she was like, Have you been outside? You need to just take a walk, it's good for your mind too, everything is connected.

And then what about the mind?

I think the mind is so, so important. I would suggest being mindful, like being aware. Sometimes, for the mind, it's just getting to a quiet place and being still and not having any activity in your mind. Just being still with your mind is important. And then mind food is important. Are you watching the news over and over and over? Are you listening to negative gossip and talk over and over and over? That's affecting your mental space and mental health. I'm an advocate for therapy.

The last pillar is the soul.

Being just my nature, the soul is probably what I connect to most in human beings. That's what I like to touch people with. And I love to do it through music and art and through speaking. It's about finding a foundation of spirituality that allows you to know that you are something greater than just your physical body, that other individuals are connected to you from a soul perspective, regardless of their color or what their language is, you're connected to them. I grew up going to church, I've developed my own spiritual belief in a higher power of God. I've been exposed to different people's religions, I respect them because that's great for their soul. Soul is really healthy for love and expressing yourself in life. No matter if a person was a Muslim, or practice Judaism, or was a Buddhist, we coming from that soul and that's a place of love. That's why it's important to find that foundation of spirituality, to better the soul. So the soul may experience all these different things, and challenges and new things. But that's what enriches the soul. And being able to go back to that spiritual base will allow you to be at the next step, as you go through the challenge.

So true, as a Jew, that's the benefit I get from Shabbat. Knowing that most Jews around the world are at least thinking, oh, it's Shabbat. It's comforting.

That's the soul. It's being in tune with your soul and it allows you to connect with people in that way. And that's why, for me, going to church, I still love it because everybody was there just to share in their own spirituality. Everybody there was in accord, we want to be better.

Right now the biggest Hollywood health news is Ozempic. I'd love to get your thoughts on that craze?

Man. I don't know a lot about it, I'm so far removed from that. I believe part of the victory and making it valuable, if you want to be thinner, is the work you put into it. Like the natural things you do to get there, it will have more value than if you just take a pill that may not be good for your health anyway. But that being said, I'm not even as familiar with it, it just doesn't sit right with me. And that's another part, discernment is something like listening to the God within you. Paying attention to that and not just taking all everything that everyone says as what this is truth. You got to decipher what is truth and try to be clear within that. And that comes from the soul also, to be honest.

You're just one award away from an EGOT, which is very exciting. What's next for you?

I have an album that I have been working on that I'm very excited about. I'm working with a producer named Pete Rock who is a classic. One of the greatest producers that has come from hip-hop. And we have this beautiful album this is based in what we love in in hip-hop and that's the purity and the soul, it's very dope, and I'm excited. That'll be out [this] year. I'm part of the TV series on Apple called Silos; we're in our second season for that. Otherwise I have my school that we opened up in Chicago called Art in Motion, so I'm focusing on that. And of course, more theater at some point. I was on Broadway earlier [in 2023, in Between Riverside and Crazy] and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I want to do more theater. It's just for the love of the art form. It's just what it is. And just being on stage with all these other actors and all these people that contributed to this piece, just the energy, it's one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I'm thankful that I got to be a part of the play.