AceShowbiz -

Rapper Common, whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., is mourning the death of his father Lonnie Lynn. Lynn, whose poems are featured in his rapper son's album, passed away on Friday, September 12 at the age of 71.

Common, however, only confirmed the sad news in an interview with The Associated Press in Los Angeles on Monday. "He was truly a natural poet and master of words. His personality and soul shined through his work," Common said of his father without sharing more details.

Lynn, who is credited using the name Pops in his son's albums, last recorded his poem in Common's "The Dreamer, The Believer" which was released in 2011. "The way he said things made me look at life and the world in a new way, in a different way. They always sparked a thought in my head. His words would always make me strive to achieve higher, to write better, to be more truthful with my words," Common added.

Common recently talked about his father's battle with prostate cancer during an appearance at Stand Up to Cancer. He showed up onstage alongside Jennifer Hudson and Lupe Fiasco to perform Fiasco's anti-cancer song "Remission". "My daddy say he got it in his prostate/ When I went to see him, he had lost weight," he rapped. "Pop, Pop, nothing's impossible/ I know what doctor's do, I know what God can do/ For you to get better, it starts in your brain."