Common hosted Canon's Pixma Pro City Senses exhibit where he unveiled his photography debut with "First Base, You Have To Start Somewhere" -- a photo symbolic of Chicago's youth violence.

The actor/rapper, along with local photographers Taylor Castle and Kristyna Archer, showcased their work at Canon's promotional event held at Ignite Glass Studios in Chicago, Ill. on Oct. 1.

His photo displays a double base from a baseball field in South Side, Chicago, where children usually play. The base is strategically built in a way so that the runner and the first baseman don't collide into each other during a game. Yet, his ideology goes deeper than just sports safety.

"We've been having a lot of kids colliding in violence," the Chicago native, whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., told EnStars. "And that first base is put there for them to be safe."

With about 500 recorded murders in 2012, Chicago had more homicides than any other U.S. city, according to statistics from the Federal Bureau Of Investigation. Murder reports from the Chicago Police also show that between the years 1999 to 2011, victims were most often between the ages of 17 and 25. The Sept. 19 mass shooting at the Cornell Square Park, which left a 3-year-old boy and 12 more wounded, was one of the latest incidents to devastate the city.

Common previously showed a commitment to youth in 2007, when he established the Common Ground Foundation. The organization aims to empower children.

"I really want the foundation that I have to be an outlet for young people to start to explore their dreams and to have resources to pursue them," he said. "[I want them to] really feel that they can accomplish things in the world and feel valued and that they have people there for them."

The idea for Common's Canon photo also stemmed from his foundation's intention. While visiting the park to take his photo, Common said he was dumbfounded by the fact that it was empty.

"Growing up, I played Little League Baseball and those parks were important to us as kids. Very rarely would you see a baseball field without kids," he said. "It was really symbolic of the change of times."

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