Common, who is no longer on G.O.O.D. Music after years of working with Kanye West’s imprint, recently explained why he left the label.

“Kanye didn’t produce on the album,” Common says in an interview with MTV. “I think he probably just gettin’ to hear the album ’cause I sent it to him just the other day.”

Given that Kanye West’s production was absent from the album, Common was asked to clarify his label situation and the story behind his G.O.O.D. Music departure.

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“I’m on Artium,” Common says, speaking of No I.D.’s imprint through Def Jam. “G.O.O.D. Music, that’s still my family, ‘Ye is my brother. Point-blank, business-wise, it wasn’t like…’Ye wasn’t really like ‘Okay, let’s go do this. Let’s go do this album.’ It was like, ‘I’m ’bout to go do this album, ‘Ye. We friends, but if you ain’t really trying to…but if we ain’t gonna create together, it’s all good. We still brothers.’ I think his focus was somewhere else…Marriage, life, good places…I cherish our friendship more than music. I’m grateful for the music we did ’causeBeandFinding Foreverwas…them joints took me to another level. We grew. We got a relationship that’s stronger than that. So, if we never make music together again, as long as we bros, I’m good.”

Common’sNobody’s Smilingis out now.

Earlier this year, in February, Common praised West’s contributions to music.

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You really can’t think about Hip Hop without thinking about Kanye at this point,” Common said at the time. “Since he’s been in the art form and the culture, he’s had an impact like”man, it’s unprecedented, really, as an emcee and as a producer to do what he’s done in 10 years.”

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