Barack Obama's Presidential Victory Inspires Hip-Hop Artist COMMON To Leak Song Entitled 'Changes'

CHICAGO, IL. (Top40 Charts/ Common Official Website) - Upon news of Barack Obama's Presidential victory, Grammy winning hip-hop artist, actor, and children's book author Common decided to leak the song "Changes" early off his upcoming album "Universal Mind Control," which is set for release on December 9th, 2008. The song, which features singer Muhsinah Abdul-Karim as well as a special spoken word appearance by his daughter Omoye, is about this redefining moment in our country and the world.

"I wrote this song to inspire the young world to believe that change can happen. To be honest, I also envisioned it as a great inaugural song for Barack Obama," said Common from his hometown of Chicago.

Common has always been vocal about his support of Barack Obama and was even the first hip-hop artist to name check him in a song almost four years ago. Hopeful about Obama's chances of a victory, Common was inspired to pen "Changes" during the campaign, but when hope became a reality, he was moved to leak the song ahead of schedule.

Common has risen to prominence as one of hip-hop's most poetic and respected lyricists recording over seven albums. He's currently preparing to release his eighth album on December 9th, 2008 entitled "Universal Mind Control."

On the acting front his credits include "SMOKIN' ACES," "AMERICAN GANGSTER," and "STREET KINGS." Most recently he was in the summer blockbuster "WANTED" opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. His next film is the summer 2009 release "TERMINATOR SALVATION," directed by McG and starring Christian Bale.

Common has also written children's books, including "I Like You But I Love Me," which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. He recently launched the Common Ground Foundation (https://www.commongroundfoundation.org), an organization dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth in the United States. His official Web site is https://www.thinkcommon.com.