Common spent the first portion of his career earning stripes as one of hip-hop's premiere lyricists, but the Chicago MC initially struggled finding commercial success. His 1994 classic single "I Used to Love H.E.R."—a love letter personifying hip-hop as a woman—is considered a benchmark in creativity and inspired similar concepts in its wake. He had a breakthrough with the gold-selling Like Water for Chocolate in 2000. Com signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music and released back-to-back gold albums—2005's Be and 2007's Finding Forever. Be garnered critical acclaimed and is considered among Com's best work along with 1994's Resurrection and Chocolate. He's also made his mark in Hollywood—appearing in American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Wanted with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. He's also a cast member of AMC drama series Hell on Wheels, and has become an endorsement magnet for brands like Gap.