Common is an actor, writer, and hip hop artist who’s won a Grammy, an Emmy and an Oscar, putting him a Tony award away from a rare EGOT.

As he explains on Art of Power, Common is not just a man of contradictions, but a man able to hold contradictions — the dark and the light, hate and love. That’s key to his worldview and his inordinate success.

You may have seen him on screen, in Selma, John Wick 2 or dozens of other films. He’s also got a new album out, A Beautiful Revolution Part 2.

He talks with host Aarti Shahani about his activism against juvenile incarceration, why he was able to forgive his father for kidnapping his mom and him at gunpoint, how it felt to lose Grammys, and how acting class helped him find peace in failed relationships.