Hip-Hop Media Training

Common Says ‘Lovin’ I Lost’ About A True Story

By | Hip-Hop Media Training – Thu, Dec 22, 2011 4:36 PM EST

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CommonCommon talks "The Dreamer, The Believer" album tracks in Part 2 of his video interview with Hip Hop Media Training.

WATCH: Common Interview Part 1

Common, who dated tennis star Serena Williams, goes into explicit details about relationships on the songs "Lovin' I Lost" and "Cloth." Without naming names, he revealed that both songs make reference to one of his past relationships. "On 'Lovin' I Lost,' I bared my heart like a good blues writer," he said in the exclusive interview.

Common said he was open to sharing personal information as a means of helping his listeners dealing with similar situations. "To me that was the premise and purpose of doing things like that," he said. "Somebody's going through that. You might help that person."

Common said that he realized the impact his testimonials had on fans after sharing his experiences of aborting a child on the song "Retrospect For Life" from his third album, 1997's "One Day It'll All Make Sense."

"I think at first it was a personal decision, me saying, 'Man, I'm dealing with growing as a spiritual human being. I'm dealing with about to be a father and the fears of that and going through having an abortion, dealing with those things and I'm going to tell it,' and I seen the results," he said. "People have come to me and been like, 'You know, I decided to have my son because I heard that song 'Retrospect For Life.' I was toying back and forth with abortion and then I heard that song and I started crying and it just made me …' I've had people come up to me and really say that. I started to realize that this music is something that can really impact people's lives."

In Part 3, Common addresses the rumors that his song "Sweet" is about Drake, enlisting his father as a featured artist on his albums, and playing a freed slave in the television series "Hell On Wheels."

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