New Track

Common may be busy prepping for the July 31 release of his upcoming Geffen album, “Finding Forever,” and shooting the new film “The Night Watchman,” but the rapper still plans to take time out this summer to perform for Live at the BBQ, a three-city concert sponsored by Microsoft’s ZUNE.



“I’m about connecting with the people,” Common tells Billboard.com of the shows, which will also feature Mos Def, the Clipse, Lil Jon, Cham, David Banner, Bilal, Collie Budz, UGK, Large Professor and E-40. The first event takes place tomorrow (July 13) in Los Angeles, followed by Chicago (July 22) and New York (Aug. 4).



As if that weren’t enough, the rapper will be performing in Starbucks stores in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles later this year, making him the first hip-hop act to do so. “Forever” will also be available for purchase at the coffee retailer. “It was a situation where they felt [it] had the quality of what they sell in their store,” he says.



Meanwhile, Common is also planning on embarking on a tour for the new album starting in September with fellow Chicago MCs Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West, and another tour to promote his hat line, Soji.



Common recently recorded the video for “The People,” the second single from the new album, in the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y. (”It was filmed in like 20 minutes and it felt real natural for me,” he says). The next single in contention is the Lily Allen-assisted “Driving Me Wild,” potentially followed by the track “I Want You.”