Common is giving credit to dietary changes he made when he was younger for improving his rap skills. In a recent interview with Food & Wine, Common spoke about healthy eating and how he's striving to help children make better food choices.
“I believe that what you eat affects the way you feel, the way you think and how beautiful you can look, so I’m really passionate about introducing kids to a holistic, healthy, good life,” he said.
Back in the day, Common was a meat eater, from barbecue to burgers, but after he started listening to other rappers talk about removing meat from their diets, he did the same.
“Then I heard rappers, like KRS-One in ‘My Philosophy,’ say things about not eating meat, which was a real education, especially since it was coming from somebody cool. That stayed with me and made me want to learn more,” Common said. “As soon as I removed meat from my diet, I started to feel a clarity I didn’t have before. It sounds funny, but I feel like I was rapping better.”
Although he's now a pescatarian, he's still living a healthy lifestyle, and with his Common Ground Foundation, he's also teaching children about healthy eating.
But, of course, he has his vices.
“I’m a cookie monster. I like the gluten-free, sugar-free ones from Erin McKenna’s in NYC,” he said. “I’ll come home after working hard, and they’re my treat—I’ve earned them.”