Common and Nas' "Ghetto Dreams" Recalls Raw '90s Sound of Hip Hop

Now that Common is with Warner, will it mean more sales or even urban radio airplay that his last album did not get at all?

Last week, Chicago rapper Common revealed that he is taking his rhyme talents to Warner Bros. Records. Surprisingly, the “Universal Mind Control” rapper tells MTV News that he had been a free agent since December 2009, when he departed from his longtime Universal Music recording home.

The rapper and actor,... released his last album, Universal Mind Control, in December 2008. The album was met with mixed reviews and didn’t reach the same gold sales of his previous two projects, the critically acclaimed Be and Finding Forever.

But a certain record executive didn’t lose faith in the veteran rap lyricist. “Point blank, I got a call from [Warner CEO] Lyor Cohen,” Common told MTV News. “He was like, ‘Look, man, I know who you are. I always told you, you was one of my favorite MCs, and I really meant that.’

“I felt the sincerity in what he was saying. He didn’t tell me, ‘We’re going to do this, do that.’ He was more like, ‘I know how we can do your record, and I want to work this. I want this to be on my roster.’ ” more

From MTV News -About a month ago, a snippet of the No ID-produced "Ghetto Dreams" appeared on Amazon, with the song being credited to Think Common Entertainment and the full version thought to be dropping June 23. That date came and went without a release from Common as he announced his new record deal.

But over the weekend, Nas took it upon himself to leak the song via Twitter. "I'm giving @common 15 minutes or I'm putting this sh-- out myself! #GhettoDreams," tweeted Nas, who kept his word and liberated the track when the deadline passed.

Common talks about the single "Ghetto Dream" Hear it on iTunes