WB Inks Common

COMMON SENSE: Hot on the heels of an expected chart-topping debut for new signing Jill Scott tomorrow, Warner Bros. Records Co-President/CEO Todd Moscowitz announced the inking of veteran UMG rapper Common to the label last Friday during an afternoon showcase in Burbank for yet another new artist, veteran Austin-based blues guitarist/singer Gary Clark Jr. "I'm very grateful to be a part of this family, to be a part of this team," Common told the crowd. "We have very inspirational, exciting music. We're just open to what this change can bring." The 39-year-old hip-hop veteran made news last month when conservatives protested his being invited to the White House as part of a poetry event, pointing to his 2007 poem, "Letter to the Law," in which Common rapped, "Burn a Bush cos' for peace he no push no button" on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. His last album, 2008’s Universal Mind Control, on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music through Geffen, debuted at #12, selling 244k copies to date. (6/27p)