Throughout his lengthy career in Hip-Hop, rapper Common has always been about his music more than anything. But recently the Chicago native jumped into a partnership with Microsoft that includes a feature on The Green Room, Zune's weekly video podcast along with his Microsoft-sponsored tour featuring N.E.R.D.

After touring and collaborating with Pharrell on his upcoming album, Common spoke to AdAge.com about his endeavors with the software giant. In a Green Room trailer preview [included below], he also speaks about the musical chemistry between himself and "Skateboard P."

"I know that Microsoft has been around for 20 years, they established themselves in the mid-'80s, and since then they've progressed," Common told AdAge.com. "Microsoft is classy, it's a timeless brand, and it means something to the world, internationally, and I felt like that's the direction of what I want Common to be, to be honest. I want to be timeless, I want to be international, and those are the things I feel like I'm working toward now."

Universal Mind Control will be released on December 9 and Common is currently still on tour with N.E.R.D.