Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Rapper Common Goes Back to School to Help Teachers by Associated Press Rapper Common has won three Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award but a recent visit to a New York City school was "humbling'' -- mainly because many of the students were too young to know his music. The award-winner showed up at P.S. 111 in midtown Manhattan on Thursday as an ambassador for the Adopt-A-Classroom initiative. He made the surprise appearance with his mother, Dr. Mahalia Hines, to present the school with a $10,000 check. While Common has a diverse fan base, it probably doesn't include many fourth and fifth graders. He joked about their reaction when he was introduced, saying the kids looked at him like, ``Who is this dude? We don't know him.''