During an interview on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, Chicago rapper Common joined the likes of those who have compared his newly-released album, Nobody’s Smilingto his 2005 LP, Be.

He revealed that Nobody’s Smiling, which he referred to as “a great piece of art,” is up there with Be in ranking his nine studio albums and brought about a feeling similar to the one he had when Be was released.

“I actually feel that to be honest,” Common said when asked about comparisons between Nobody’s Smiling and Be. “I might have to put this up there with Be, man. That was exactly how I felt. It don’t sound like Be. It don’t sound like anything I’ve ever done, but I do feel like it’s a great piece of art.”

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Common again addressed his high-profile relationships with singer Erykah Badu and tennis star Serena Williams. He spoke on why some have found themselves mesmerized by Erykah and added that his relationship with Serena is one he would give another shot.

“I love Regina King as an actress and I think she’s a beautiful woman, but I haven’t even talked to Regina King in a little while…She [Erykah Badu] got that intangible thing that women have sometimes,” he said. “That’s why people be mesmerized by her…Point blank, she’s [Serena Williams] just a good person. When we broke up it was one of those things where we just weren’t ready at that time. I probably would be at a new place. She would be at a new place. And it might work out. The only love there is tennis…I do got love for Serena. I ain’t gon’ lie. I got love for her. That’s my buddy.”

The Windy City lyricist spoke previously on his relationship with Erykah during an interview with Vlad TV as he recalled the songstress being “adamant” about keeping their relationship private.

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“I remember when I was in a relationship with Erykah she was really adamant about not putting ourselves on display,” he said during the interview, which was published earlier this month. “And I thought that was a smart thing. And I think for people to do it—Hey, I don’t have a problem with it, but I think you kinda gotta live your life naturally. You gotta live your life naturally and just allow your relationship to be what it is.”

Common also offered an update on his acting career as he shared that he’ll soon star in a movie about voting rights titled Selma and is “coming back like LeBron” when it concerns his role on the AMC series, “Hell On Wheels.”

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