NEW VIDEO: COMMON & KANYE PERFORM IN HOLLYWOOD

NEW AUDIO: COMMON ft. PHARRELL "UMC"

Off Common's latest project"Invincible Summer" due out July '08. Common Feat. Pharell - U.M.C. (Universal Mind Control) (Prod. by The Neptunes)

NEW MUSIC: SMIRNOFF SIGNATURE MIX SERIES

The last remix has been released from the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series (If you have a minute click the link and check out the Mix Series site. Nice artwork and graphics)

The concept was to pair 3 iconic MC's with 3 of Hip Hop's elite producers to create 3 new interpretations of legendary hits. Here's the trio...

DL: Q-Tip - Midnight 2008 (prod. Cool & Dre) DL: Common - The Light 2008 (prod. Just Blaze) DL: KRS-One - Criminal Minded 2008 (prod. DJ Premier)

NEW AUDIO: COMMON "THE LIGHT '08"

Common - The Light '08 (It's Love) (Prod. by Just Blaze) (Second joint off Smirnoff's Signature Mix Series) Previous: KRS One - Criminal Minded '08 (Prod. by DJ Premier)

COMMON TALKS TO HIS FANS ABOUT FUTURE PLANS

NEW PICS: COMMON & SERENA WHO KNEW?

Busted! Tennis star Serena Williams and rapper Common were recently spotted out and about in London.

Serena was sporting a pair of ripped stockings and Common’s lip gloss was poppin’.

Now, I could be wrong, but they LOOK LIKE they probably just had hot buck naked sex!

NEW VIDEO: COMMON "I WANT YOU" FULL VERSION

NEW VIDEO: COMMON "I WANT YOU" TRAILER

Common will debut his new video October 23rd on "106 & Park" and also this song is produced by Will.i.am. Check it out!

NEW AUDIO: KANYE VS. COMMON (1996)

Kanye Vs. Common

COMMON'S VERY FIRST RAP!

As Common’s new video with Lily Allen is on heavy rotation, we asked the Windy City vet if he could remember the very first rap he wrote. And by golly, he did.

Q-TIP & COMMON= THE STANDARD

Word on the streets is Q-Tip and Common are forming a duo called The Standard and are about to start recording an album. I can't wait to hear the outcome. In an exclusive interview with XXLMag.com, A Tribe Called Quest frontman, Q-Tip, reveals he’s forming a new group with Common entitled The Standard. “Me and Common [are] getting ready to form a group,” ‘Tip tells XXLMag.com. “We’ll probably run it through the Uni [Universal Records] joint because we’re both on Universal.” According to The Abstract, it was Common who suggested the two from a group. “It was more of his suggestion,” he says. “He was like, “We just need to do a record.” So I’m really excited about that.” While the two haven’t started recording together yet, The Standard will start churning out material once the two starting touring together in a few weeks. As far as the production on the album, though, fans can expect Q-Tip to handle the majority. “I’m probably gonna do a lot of it,” ‘Tip says. “And we’ll get Kanye [West] on a couple things, but you know, that cat is busy.”

NEW VIDEO: COMMON FT. LILY ALLEN "DRIVIN ME WILD"

This song "Drivin Me Wild" is from Common's current album "Finding Forever" and I am glad he decided to make it his second single. I love this song!! Remember his album was #1 when it dropped and is still doing well on the billboard charts. U.K.'s Lily Allen is adding much spice to the track and the beat just bumps.....gotta love it!! Check the cameos from Lauren London, Damon Dash, and Jeremy Piven (HBO’s Entourage). For more info on Common check out common-music.com.

Common and Alicia Keys Headline

Alicia Keys, Common, Erykah Badu and Raphael Saadiq are among the big names confirmed to perform as part of the Heineken-sponsored concert series Red Star Soul. The events begin Aug. 15 in Los Angeles with Common and Chrisette Michele and will run through Oct. 23 with Keys in New York. at the Other shows on the docket include Saadiq, Michele and Teedra Moses on Aug. 28Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland; Common and Raheem DeVaughn on Sept. 4 in Detroit; Badu and Michele on Sept. 13 in Chicago; Common, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Emily King on Sept. 18 in Atlanta; Common and Moses on Sept. 26 in Washington, D.C.; and Badu and DeVaughn on Oct. 13 in Philadelphia. During each stop, a member of the local music community will be honored with the Heineken Independent Achiever Award, which was established in 2006 to recognize difference-makers in the music industry. Source: Billboard

KANYE'S SPECIAL EDITION ALBUM COVER/ COMMON IS #1

Shout out to the Rap-up!!! Here is Kanye's album art cover for the special edition of his cd. Very creative...hot shit!! Kanye West’s Graduation with Takashi Murakami album packaging, is set to hit stores on September 11th.

Common is #1 baby!! His album is #1 on the Billboards right now, selling an impressive 157,000 copies it’s first week. Finding Forever is Common’s first album to make it this high. He hit up his myspace friends with this bulletin yesterday...this is what he had to say:

Peace Fam

With your unprecedented love and support you, “The People” have helped us make Finding Forever the # 1 album this week! I want to thank all of you who have supported in helping us accomplish this great feat but the journey is not over! And if you still haven’t bought a copy, join the movement… spread the word…

Peace & Love

COMMON

We are soooo happy for him he deserves it.......he always gives us music with substance. Much love to him 4 real.

NEW VIDEO: COMMON FREESTYLE (NISSAN LIVE)

Always real hip-hop!!

NEW VIDEO: COMMON 16 BARS FREESTYLES

Always real hip hop forever!!

HIP HOP is still 4 The People

Those who say that Hip Hop is no longer down for the cause haven’t checked out the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) or the annual Black August Hip Hop Project.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli will headline this year’s show for the tenth consecutive year. dead prez will also perform.

For Talib and Mos, support for the show doesn’t require much thought.

“We’ve been big supporters of Black August since it first started, because we understand that music-- particularly hip hop music-- is the one element that binds people around the world,” Kweli says of the pair’s involvement. “To be able to play a part in educating young people, show them the importance of speaking up and making a difference, while also raise money for social and racial justice is a no-brainer.”

Those in the New York area can catch the show August 26 at the Nokia Theater. The show begins at 8 pm.

The focus of this year’s show is dedicated to “Hands Off Assata”, a public awareness campaign about the unlawful imprisonment and solitary confinement of 1970’s freedom fighter, Assata Shakur.

Also highlight “Free Your Hood”, the anti police brutality campaign of MXGM, which documents and speaks out against racial profiling by the police within communities of color.

This year marks the biggest show to date and also signifies the increasing number of young Hip Hop fans worldwide who are politically active.

“What started in 1997 as a local collaboration between organizations to use hip hop as a tool to raise political awareness, has evolved into a major fundraising benefit that has taken us around the world,” says Monifa Bandele, MXGM national co-coordinator. “This tenth annual concert marks a tremendous milestone, because it not only represents a decade of progress in the fight for social justice, but also accounts for a support base of politically active young people that is now global… and growing.”

Over the last ten years, the show has touched several countries including the U.S., Cuba and South Africa. It has also drawn some of the biggest names in Hip Hop and R&B including The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and dead prez.

MXGM is a non-profit organization which strives to facilitate exchanges between international communities by promoting awareness about the social and political issues that affect young people in their communities. Every year, the concert raises money in support of political prisoners in the U.S. unjustly incarcerated for their efforts to end racial and economic oppression.

For more information on MXGM or “Hands Off Assata”, check out http://www.mxgm.org/web/ or http://www.handsoffassata.org/.

HHDX

COMMON IN THE STUDIO....FINDING FOREVER

I can't wait to put his new cd in my player...........uhhhhhh that sounds.....never mind!! Make sure you go and purchase his album on Tuesday, July 31st....it's definitely a classic!

50 Cent will serve as a judge on YouTube's upcoming contest called "The YouTube OntheRise Rap Edition," giving aspiring rappers a chance to showcase their skills and receive a singles deal from G-Unit Records

From Friday, August 10 to Friday, August 17, rappers can submit original videos displaying their talent to popular video sharing website YouTube.com. 50, Common and producer Polow da Don will help judge the competition, selecting 20 finalists to ultimately be voted on by the YouTube community on August 29.

YouTubers can then vote on a final winner who will be unveiled on September 7. Along with being flown to New York to record a song for G-Unit/Interscope Records, the winner will also receive a $10,000 gift card from GuitarCenter and have their video featured on the YouTube's homepage.

"There are top shelf artists on YouTube that haven't been heard," 50 said via statement. "This contest will give them a chance to rise to the top of the game. There will be some great stuff coming out of this contest. It's a shot to claim a spot as an MC."

For more info and competition rules peep youtube.com/ontherise.

Sohh

HIP HOP JAM SESSION OF THE YEAR IN NYC LAST WEEK

Here is what Miss Info had to say about the Hip-Hop session:

On the tiny, cramped stage of tiny, cramped, unventilated S.O.B’s (which was so hot back in the days of the weekly Soul Kitchen parties….sigh), we the crowd witnessed a jam session like no other. I’m talking Common testifying, then Q-tip world-touring, then Talib Kweli and Mos Def just getting by, then Swizz Beats telling us she aint got no money in the bank, then Kanye makin’ em say and more…..and all the while, they’re all on stage together, chanting each others lyrics like fans of this, not just superstars in this. Then Mos Def pipes up and tells the crowd that back when Swizz first produced “Hustler” for Cassidy, he did a remix verse that never came out….So, of course, Mos spits that lost verse off the top of the head. Acapulco, of course. Then Drag-on (yes, I said Drag-on) jumps out and straight murders “Down Bottom.” Like 8 years was a day ago. Then Rah Digga appears with full Poetic Justice braids and a B-Girl freestyle. Then Saigon shows why he and Joell Ortiz are like the only two new artists I actually think are dope. Then…..Queen Latifah comes up out of the crowd (at Enuff’s request) and even though she didnt really seem to know all the words to “Unity” just her being there was enough. (peep the expressions on Kanye etc). Then Mos Def performed again, and Consequence and Kanye did “Dont Forget ‘Em” and it just went on and on and on…. One of my co-workers Gigi said, “this was my summerjam.” Lol. amen. And I really feel like it was better than that because….it was totally organic. Unplanned. These legends werent booked for this. They weren’t paid big Pepsi dollars. Thats why it wasnt cheesy like some prepped overhyped closing segment of some BET Awards or whatever. Like, where suddenly Aretha Franklin and Lil Boosie start performing a tribute to Fred Sanford for absolutely no good reason. Nope, this was none of that. The artists were as excited and happy as the audience. The audience had as much invested in the music as the artists. It was a good night. You can watch more footage at http://www.missinfo.tv/

WILDSTYLE FREESTYLES

Mos Def - I'ma Hustla Freestyle live @ S.O.B.'s last night

Kanye West - HOT 97 Freestyle over "Show Me What You Got" & "I Get Money"