The promotional duties for Common's Universal Mind Control album have taken him to CNN, where he has been speaking about the election of Barack Obama. Common was a vocal supporter of Obama in the buildup to the presidential elections in November, and has declared that the future president will have a positive effect on the future of hip-hop.

"I think hip-hop artists will have no choice but to talk about different things and more positive things, and try to bring a brighter side to that because, even before Barack, I think people had been tired of hearing the same thing," he said. Common and the president-elect both have strong ties to Chicago’s South Side, where the hip-hop star grew up, and Obama worked as a community organizer.

Common was reflecting on how hip-hop artists “pick up what's going on in the world and try to reflect that.” Presumably his cheery new worldview will exclude rhymes about the tanking economy, the war in Afghanistan, and shoe throwers in Iraq. Meanwhile, Common has also been talking about his acting career, which seems to be his prime focus these days. “My goal is to be a movie star," he said. “I want to be at Will Smith's level. I want to be co-leading with Leonardo DiCaprio." [CNN]