Rapper actor Common’s father, Lonnie ‘Pops’ Lynn, known for spoken word poems, dies at 71

By Ryan Pearson

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES _ Lonnie Lynn, who was known to hip-hop fans for his soulful spoken-word poems on rapper son Common’s albums, has died.

Lynn died at age 71 on Friday, Common said in an interview Monday in Los Angeles. He gave no further details.

Lynn was a star high school basketball player in Chicago and played in the 1969-1970 season in the American Basketball Association.

He struggled with drug addiction and with being a father to six children. He addressed such topics in poignant and sometimes regretful poems that concluded many of Common’s albums.

Common, who is also an actor, said he was inspired by his father, whom he called “a natural poet and master of words.”