Description

Hollyscoop.com's Diana Madison caught up with recording artist Common, who partnered with the 'Get Schooled' program to perform and give an inspirational motivation speech to the students at Grant High School in North Hollywood, CA. 'Get Schooled' engages and empowers Americans to help improve high school graduation rates, improve college readiness and raise college completion rates.

Transcript

Common Inspires Kids To Get Schooled Diana: Hey everybody! I'm Diana for Hollyscoop here at Grant Highschool in Los Angeles helping kids stay in school. I have to say I had taken back on those years and I'm so inspired. Common: Oh yeah. This is really a great cause and be a part of this school because the more we encourage our youth to be educated, that’s empowering and that’s what I’m about. I have a foundation myself, Common Ground Foundation which is about empowering the youth and creating leaders by educating them holistically and it’s like your academics and social awareness help awareness. So, for me to be able to be associate myself with your school too which is the line in what I believe in is right. Diana: I was very impressed to find out that you got a scholarship in college. Tell me about that. Common: I study hard and I had like – my mom raised me to be like, “Look, if you want things you got to work hard. In school, I wasn’t good. In classes I wasn’t good and I worked hard and just achieve and at certain points, my grade when point when I was as good enough for me to get a scholarship. On top of that, little support and even when I went to college, I even got, -- I got the first semester I went to college, I got straight As when I was in the second semester in my first year. Diana: Your mother was a teacher? Common: My mom was a teacher so and you're not just that started, that gave me the foundation as far as you know academics and education in life really. Diana: And, what was your message today to the kids? What do you want to give them to be inspired to create stuff that you’ve got? Common: I just wanted them to know that greatness is inside of them and they – you don’t have to be afraid to express it. Find your dream and just live it. You can go do it. You can achieve it and we are examples of people who have had a dream and just went for it. And, education, it does take hard work to get that. School is a very important thing and I see that firsthand because I grew up with a teacher. My mom was a teacher and she stressed education before when I was a little boy. She would read to me and once I was able to read, she asked me to read books that I could read to her. Diana: What are your words of wisdom to kids who are actually being bullied because like kids are dropping out? Common: Yeah, I just think that you have to do your best to – when you're in that situation to get away from the situation, I don’t have – if you dint have like someone around who can stop the situation and like I said, you have to remove yourself but at the same point, you cant walk with any fear about it. You just go to stand up for yourself, too. Diana: There was a story about calling you as being bullied by the many and you kind of sit up from yourself and said, “I'm not doing this anymore.” What are your thoughts about it because it’s kind of different scenario but yet someone is standing up for himself? Common: No, I mean that’s the truth. That’s a great example which you just brought. Kanye is a courageous individual. You have to be courageous to say, “Hey, I'm not doing that anymore.” Diana: Do you guys just work together? Common: He’s going to work on my new album The Believer but I'm just called the dreamer and the believer. Diana: And, when is that to come out? Give me some scoops. Common: It’s coming out on the spring. It’s being produced by No I.D. and Kanye West and it’s going to be the raw hip hop like the hip hop that people look for. I'm an artist. I love being able to express myself and I think that I'm having the opportunity to be the artist, to be a musician, to be an actor. These are things that I pursue with passion and I love them and they’re my soul. Peace! This is Common and that’s the scoop from Hollyscoop. Diana: And that’s the scoop from Hollyscoop. I'm Diana Madison and I’ll see you guys next time.