Common
frum page A1
He said he was 12-years
old when he wrote his first
rhymes, which expressed his
love of hip hop culture. He
gave the Wake Forest audi
ence a taste of his first cre
ation - rapping what he could
remember of it. The two-time
Grammy winner said that he
found his path in life through
hip hop.
"It was something that 1
found, that I discovered
myself, it really became my
voice," said Common. "It
became a way for me to con
tribute to the world."
He was known as
"Common Sense" when he
released his first album in
1992. He later shortened the
name after a legal dispute
arose when a musical group
that was also called Common
Sense protested. He said the
name change was for the bet
ter. He feels the name
^uiiimuii is appro
priate for his
every-man musical
style.
"It actually
started being
prophetic because I
feel my music was
for the everyday
people anyway,"
said Common.
Common,
whose acting cred
its include "Just Wright,"
"American Gangster" and
"Wanted," got personal with
the Wake audience. He told
them he still doubted himself
and his abilities even after he
had scored several hits and
sold millions of CDs. He
attributed part of his insecuri
ty to his breakup with former
girlfriend Erykah Badu, with
whom he won a 2003
Grammy for Best R&B Song
for "Love of My Life (An
Ode to Hip-Hop),"
Photos by Todd Luck
Rapper Common enters Wait Chapel.
In his relationship with
Badu and others. Common
said he used to always take
the backseat.
"I was willing to play sec
ond fiddle, that means you're
giving your life for someone
else," said Common.
He said he was inspired
oy nis iriend and
fellow rapper
Kanye West, who
he said "has no
problem believing
in himself."
Common started to
use what he called
the "Muhammad
Ali Theory that if
one believes
they're the great
est, they will make
it happen.
The Ali Theory has
worked well for Common. He
credited it with helping him
to land his first acting job in
the action film "Smokin'
Aces." Common's acting
stock has risen in recent
years, so much so that he now
competes for roles against
Hollywood A-listers.
"Now when I'm going out
for films, you know it's like
they're pitting me up against,
putting me in the box with
Will Smith and Jamie Foxx,"
said Common. "Let's be real
istic. I'm not knocking Will
Smith out of the box right
now, but 1 will one day."
After his remarks, he took
questions from an audience
of mostly college students.
Several said they were going
through some challenges in
their lives and thanked him
for inspiring them with his
words. One student rapped
for Common, which he said
always happens during his
Q&As. Another asked
Common to perform a brief
improvised rap with him.
which Common graciously
agreed to do.
Before he left Wake's
Wait Chapel, Common signed
autographs for his many fans
in attendance.
Wake Forest student
De'Noia Woods was among
those who met the rapper. She
said she's a Common fan
because she identifies with
his music and likes the fact
that his lyrics make her think.
She. too found inspiration in
Common's speech.
"It was really empower
ing because you think about
greatness, but you never real
ly put it into words," said
Woods.
Wake Forest's
Multicultural Affairs Office
sponsored Common's appear
ance. Jonathan Cox, the assis
tant director of the Office,
said Common was an ideal
choice to speak to students
because of his broad appeal
and positive message.
"We try to do a lot of pro
grams that bridge the gap
between students of color and
white students." said Cox,
pointing out the diverse
crowd that attended the
speech .
The Office also sponsors
the Journeys to Success
speaker series, which brings
successful African
Americans to campus such as
television producer James
DuBose and Max Siegel. the
highest-ranking black execu
tive in NASCAR history.
Sheriff's Office picks top staffers
CHRONICI.h STAFF REPORT
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office has named three
employees "Staff Members of the Year"
ior :imi.
Deputy J. L. Koontz of the Office's
Patrol Division was honored for serving
as a mentor to a North Davidson High
School senior, whose senior project
focused on the training and daily duties of
a law enforcement K9 Officer. The stu
dent was so impressed with the time he
spent with Koont/ that the student has
been accepted into a Criminal Justice
Program and plans to follow in the m
ucpuiy s looisteps.
Corporal W. Bright, who works in
intake at the Forsyth County Detention
Center, was cited for her quick thinking
last year. She was inventorying property
of a new inmate and discovered a manila
envelope containing jewelry, including
two 2006 ACC Champion rings from
Wake Forest University. She checked the
inside of the rings and discovered they
were inscribed with the names of WFU
basketball players.
Cpl. Bright advised her commanding
officer about the discovery. After a thor
ough investigation, it was determined the
rings were authentic and had been stolen.
Portia Walker, a civilian staffer who,
works in the Day Reporting Center, was
selected for starting a tutoring program to
help Center clients read.
Walker, a member of the Day
Kuunlz
Bright
Walker
Reporting Center (DRC) team since 1996. recognized that
many of the center's clients were illiterate or were function
ing on a low reading level.
She volunteered to attend a United Way literacy training
program and began tutoring clients weekly.
Taylor
from page AT
Minority and Women
Business Enterprise program
(M/WBE), said he supports
Taylor's proposition.
"I feel that it's a wonder
ful, great idea, and we
should have it," said
Gonzales, a former business
owner and Los Angeles
native. "I commend Council
Member James Taylor for his
tremendous effort because
we certainly need as much
minority participa
tion as possible
and this is a step in
that direction."
Gonzales said
the M/WBE pro
gram, which he has
led since 1997,
once certified local
M/WBE business
es to verify that
they were in fact
minority- or
female-led, and
had over 400 qual
ifying M/WBE
companies on its
roster before the
state took over the
certification
process. He
believes instituting
a 10 percent mini
mum requirement
is fair.
During a Feb. 21 City
Council meeting, Taylor
voted against an Asphalt and
Plant Soil Remediation proj
ect that was up for consider
ation - because it had a
seven percent M/WBE par
ticipation goal - and moved
to implement a minimum
requirement of 10 percent
for all future contracts.
Taylor says he routinely
votes against city contracts
that do not have at least a 10
percent participation goal.
"I will continue to vote
no, as a protest until we get
this thing done," he said.
The Council was spilt
down the middle on the
issue. Mayor Pro Tempore
Vivian Burke, Molly Leight
and Derwin. Montgomery
sided with Taylor, while
Council members Dan
Besse, Robert Clark, Denise
"DD" Adams and Wanda
Merschel dissented.
Adams said she needs
more information before she
can decide if implementing a
minimum participation
requirement is a responsible
choice for the city.
"I'm not against passing
Gonzales
Joines
the percentage goals, but I
am taking a stand that we
need to hear from the people
that are impacted the most,
and that is the minority con
tractors themselves," she
stated. "...Since we're
going to make this quantum
leap, I want to make sure it's
right."
Mayor Allen Joines cast
the deciding vote against
Taylor's motion, requesting
that the issue be reviewed by
a committee before further
action is taken by the
Council The cifv
must be able to
demonstrate that
any minimum par
ticipation require
ments it sets are
"reasonable
verifiable," and
not just arbitrary
numbers, Joines
explained.
"I'm very
much in favor of
setting a mini
mum, but the cfty
attorney warned
us if we set it
without documen
tation. we could
jeopardize the
whole M/WBE
program," said the
mayor. "...I
thought it was just
premature to be
voting on it."
The issue is now under
review by the Housing/
Community/General
Government Committee led
by Council Member Dan
Besse. and Joines expects
the Council will be prepared
to revisit it sometime in
April.
"The city manager
believes we can come up
with the documentation nec
essary to get to the 10 per
cent (minimum require
ment)," said Joines. If that
happens, "I will support that
wholeheartedly. I have
always ^e?n a huge support
er of the M/WBE program."
Adams believes there are
many factors that contribute
to the low level of minority
participation in city con
tracts. She said she is glad
to see the disparity get some
attention.
"I'm glad we're going
back to committee with this
and we're getting more peo
ple involved with it," she
said. "We need some other
voices to give us input on
this at a level that we've
never done."
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