Watch Common Perform at Fat Beats in 1997

Previously we saw footage of a young Kanye cutting his teeth at Fat Beats back in the day, now recently unearthed footage shows a burgeoning Common performing at the respected institution. Originally shared by DJ Eclipse, the clip’s description reads:

Here’s a clip from Common’s Fat Beats NYC in-store for “One Day It’ll All Make Sense”. The in-store was actually a few days before the album was released so we only had his single for sale that day. We were also pushing No I.D.’s “The Black Album” (w/Dug Infinite) which had come out early that week. This Common album was the last time that No I.D. and Com would do an album together until 2011. Like most in-stores at Fat Beats it was never limited to just the artist who’s in-store it was. Many times other artists would pop in and perform and on this day Lord Sear (Stretch & Bobbito/Shade 45) had stopped by and got on the mic with Common.

More important than Common’s actual performance, though, is the history documented in this footage. It’s always nice to have a little visual reminder every so often of Common’s past as a talented, up-and-coming rapper. Many others are in the same position today, and considering where Common is at now, who knows where the Vic Mensas, Isaiah Rashads and Vince Staples’ of the world will be in a decade or so. You can watch the clip of Common performing at Fat Beats in its entirety above.