CELEBRITY NEWS

Check out this article on the latest venture from my ace, Common. I’m a fan of the music, definitely in his corner with the new sag card action, & now he’s doing bigger & even better. Big ups to my ace on all of that & more. Check out the article

Rapper-turned-actor Common has gone back to "the people" with the announcement of The Corner, the first national online book club for teens in the United States.

Aimed at kids from middle to high school, Common's new venture will inspire members to read and voice their thoughts.

Each month, The Corner educational team chooses a book-of-the-month that conveys messages of tolerance, compassion and non-violent expressions of achieving social justice. Through lively discussions about the world of books through "Let's Talk," The Corner book club blog, members are encouraged to discuss, debate, critique, and comment on the selected material. A monthly spotlight of celebrity interviews focus on artists' favorite books, why reading is important to them and issues that teens face today. (Yahoo News)

The Chi-town emcee's motivation stems from strong family ties.

"My mom was a teacher, and growing up she always stressed the importance of education. So when I look back it's not a surprise for me to use words as a tool to make change, and to inspire children for the future." (Hip Hop Press)

The program was created in part with a grant by Best Buy's @15 which also recently worked with Ludacris on an outreach program.

Luda has joined forces with Best Buy's teenage-based social networking site @15 for a special TSA ("Teen Service Announcement"). He participated in the TSA as an early supporter of @15, a new teen-led social change platform underwritten by Best Buy to give teens a voice and give them opportunities to direct the company's philanthropy through the newly-created @15 Fund. (MSN News)

Aside from charity events and movies, Common previously told SOHH he hoped to continue making music far beyond a rapper's expected "retirement" ages.

"God willing, you'll get albums nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen," Common laughingly promised. "I feel like a jazz musician in many ways and I wanna keep creating music. I feel like I want to be doing shows when I'm sixty something." (SOHH)