The Message: Common and Chef Lauren Von Der Pool

Apple Music
The Message: Common and Chef Lauren Von Der Pool

“We're just trying to spread that love, we trying to be the Harriet Tubmans of this thing,” Common told Ebro Darden during the eighth episode of Apple Music’s The Message. “I’ve seen some things in life that show me how we can live a better life. I got to bring that back to my people.” The legendary rapper, actor, and author sat down with Ebro—alongside friend and advisor Chef Lauren Von Der Pool—for a special Black History Month conversation rooted in the principles of nourishment and resilience. “I be listening to gospel music in the morning, sometimes,” Common said. “I want that vibration. But then along with that, some of the '90s hip-hop to give me that resilience, give me that information of who I am in the joy and the power that I have as a Black man. And as a human being, a child of God, making me think different ways.” Von Der Pool, who Common calls “the Queen of Green” and cites as “an incredible light and healer in my life,” stressed the importance of conscious consumption—be that food, media, or even our social interactions. “Everything that we consume, whether it's thoughts, whether it’s what people tell us—if we allow it to land, it becomes something,” she says. “Oftentimes we're like, ‘Oh, the police brutality in this,’ but we have to take full responsibility of ourselves. Monitoring what we consume is really going to make a difference.” For their The Message playlist, Common and Von Der Pool delivered a collection of artists who’ve helped to feed both their creativity and their development as human beings, acts like Sounds of Blackness, Gang Starr, Fela Kuti, and John Coltrane.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada