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Common has one of the best catalogues in hip-hop history. The 52-year-old rapper released his first album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?, in 1992 and continues to produce acclaimed projects to this day. No more proof is needed than The Auditorium Vol. 1, his collaborative album with Pete Rock, which came out last year and received a Grammy nomination in the ‘Best Rap Album’ category.

While Be and Resurrection are among fan favourites, arguably the most classic of Common’s works is Like Water for Chocolate. Released in 2000, the Chicago MC was at the peak of his powers and surrounded by the ultra-talented Soulquarians, with the album marking the formation of the hip-hop/soul group. Common is a huge fan of the album personally, too, crediting it as the project that changed his life.

To celebrate the 24th anniversary of the project, Common said, “24 years ago today I released an album that would change my life. Like Water for Chocolate. Thank you to everyone who created and contributed to this piece and everyone who inspired and cultivated me during that time. And for all those who supported this album and to this day come up to me and say it was their favourite album of mine…thank you. I receive that with Love and Gratitude.”

Like Water for Chocolate was far from Common’s most successful album, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard 200, but that didn’t matter. ‘The 6th Sense’ and ‘The Light’ are standout songs in his career, with DJ Premier and J Dilla providing him with the backdrop to spit at his storytelling best. Everyone from Black Thought to Mos Def to MC Lyte popped up over the course of the album, executive produced by Questlove.

“I feel very happy and grateful for the artists I was around,” he reflected during a chat with the Grammys. “That was such a joyful, creative experience, moments like Jay Dee creating ‘Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World)’, or me hearing ‘Heat’ on a beat CD, or just him playing ‘The Light’ for me.

“Flying back and forth to Detroit, getting to spend that time with Dilla, then going to Philly to work on stuff and having [Questlove] oversee the whole thing, being around [Black Thought], going to Electric Lady and being able to walk into a D’Angelo session, and Erykah! Man, this was one of the greatest times in my life.”

Speaking on being around the Soulquarians at the time, he said, “It was inspiration, it was competition, it was support. Black Thought was the person that was playing me Fela Kuti, who was a real influence. That was my first time working with DJ Premier, so that was a blessing; I was like, ‘Whoaaaa, I have Premo beats!’

“And I met Jay Dee with Q-Tip at his place back in ’95-’96, but I reconnected with him and The Roots while they were working on Things Fall Apart. Mos [Def] came in and did “The Questions” with me. Hearing what Erykah [Badu] was doing was inspiring.”