On the heels of 2005`s 'Be,' which debuted at a career-best No. 2 on The Billboard 200, Common has set a July 10 release date for his next Geffen album, 'Finding Forever.' The set features production from Kanye West, will.i.am, the late J Dilla and Devo Springsteen, while Bilal and Dwele sing background vocals on a couple of tracks as well.

"I want to leave a mark on this earth," the Chicago rapper tells Billboard.com. "By making music and saying what I have to say in my music is one of the ways I will exist forever."

The first single is the West-produced "The People," which Common describes as a "declaration type of song." Another of West`s productions is a song called "Black Maybe."

On the flirty "So Far To Go" featuring a rare guest turn from D`Angelo, Common rhymes, "We make good music, and baby you are the vocals." The Nina Simone-sampling "Misunderstood" is a song Common describes as a "story of people talking to God." "He stood on the corner like the rest of them, but didn`t know the corner ain`t have the best for him," he raps.

Another standout track is the Lily Allen-assisted "Driving Me Wild," which Common describes as a song about obsessions. "Driving herself crazy like the astronaut lady," he chants, "Love is not a mystery, it`s everything."

The artist has yet to announce tour plans, but has one-off shows scheduled Saturday (April 14) at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and June 20 with Joss Stone and Ryan Shaw at New York`s Central Park SummerStage.

Taken from M&C