Common On Dental Health, 'The Art Of Freshness' + New Music

Common talks the importance of oral hygiene, mental health, The Art of Freshness and more.

LISTERINE has launched the second installment of The Whoa Collection, a collaboration “reinforcing the brand’s commitment to help close the diversity gap in dentistry within the Black community” and partnered with Common.

When asked what does Fresh mean to Common, he explained, “Oh, fresh is like it? It means like a self awareness that is positive, like when you look at yourself, not just the physical look, but when you look at yourself, you see something that is good and positive. You feel like, Man, I got something I want to something I want to give to the world. And it’s also like a matter of taking care of yourself, that that that constitutes that freshness, meaning like you earn fresh by being able to take care of yourself or and learning and knowing yourself.”

He continued: “So, for me, fresh is like, really, that, that beauty of knowing self and being able to express that in the truest way. I felt like it’s definitely in alignment with who I am and the art I want to put in the world. Universally, I want people to feel good, no matter what nationality you are. But it felt great to see the focus on people of color. So, I wanted to be a part of that effort and support these incredible professionals who deserve that light on them.”

The artist says the collaboration with Listerine came about when he and Pete Rock were having a listening session for the album The Auditorium, Volume One. “We had it here at compound. He introduced me to some of the team from Listerine. And he was like, man, they are doing some good things, like with black dentists, making it more like, oral healthcare, like, more important to our communities. So, you know, that got me right there. Like, okay, yo. And then they told me, you know that about The Whoa Collection and what they what they did with Hebru Brantley, yeah. Frank Morrison, how was intended forblack people, really, and how you know, for me, when companies want to do stuff for those who normally overlooked, that means something, so I want to participate in that. I’m a believer in inspiring people, spreading love in any way possible that will bring light to humanity and to people. And I felt that connection when I got in tune with what Listerine was doing with black dentists. And then we have these incredible black artists who designed some of the bottles. It all felt right to me, and I was excited to be a part of it. So felt like a good, like natural fit!”

Common Talks Dental Health:

Concerning dental health, Common says it’s simply not discussed enough in Black and Brown communities. “I think you are so correct in the fact that we don’t discuss it and talk about it in our communities like it’s important, and it is important, as you just mentioned, which was education for me, I didn’t know it was directly connected to your heart, but that’s right. I just knew that it was, it’s part of the health regimen that we need. And it’s like that same thing about freshness. I’m not just saying it like has to be fresh. It’s almost that’s like a way of taking care of yourself, making sure that your oral health is right. And we, I think, as a community, we didn’t discuss health much at all like, I mean, well, we had one class for me.”

He continued: I had one class, health class at home and anywhere else. It wasn’t really reinforced in our community. Like health, oral health, mental health, emotional health, you know, health in general.

When asked if he feels like it’s his responsibility to initiate those conversations- he agreed. “Hell yeah. I definitely feel like that’s my duty, like it’s like I’ve been I’ve been exposed to different things that have allowed me to thrive and to like, take care of myself and take care of loved ones around me and expose them to new things. So our communities is the same thing. That’s why I feel like I owe it to them to expose them to positive things, good things that can lead to their health and wellness, well being and happiness.”

He continued: “I’m an advocate for happiness, you know, and I really see from my own experience that, excuse me, that taking care of self like was the pathway to happiness.”

The ‘Come Close’ rapper released a song around the campaign titled The Art of Freshness. When asked what the inspiration behind the lyrics were? He explained, “Set Free sent me the music and, you know, we discussed kind of like, what the thing? Because when you collaborate with the brand, you don’t want it. You want it to be like a lack of a better word, fresh. You want it to be something dope, yeah, like, yo. Let me just do this for a brand and it’s just advertising the brand, and people are like, okay, swipe, they pass, pass by.”

“You want to make something that, like people will hear and experience and be like, Wait, that’s for Listerine. So the music has something to it, and it was mellow, and the more Set Free started describing, like, the music to me, it gave me more ideas about where I wanted to go with it. “Meaning he was like, Man, this music made me think of the designs on the bottles that Hebru Brantley did and Frank Morrison the Whoa Collection. So I was like, okay, that gave me my whole little art direction, you know, like, gave me an inspiration from that and and knowing, like, what fresh meant to me, that that led me to know, like,” So I was like, okay, that gave me my whole little art direction, you know, like, gave me an inspiration from that and and knowing, like, what fresh meant to me, that that led me to know, like, Oh, I could talk about things that inspire me. Because really being fresh is like reaching your highest level and your greatness.”