Common gushes about his new song with girlfriend Jennifer Hudson

Common is seemingly loving it with his girlfriend Jennifer Hudson, both personally and professionally.

The rapper and actor, 52, released his new collaborative album with producer Pete Rock The Auditorium Vol. 1 on Friday.

“I loved it, because when I played it to musician friends, they were like, ‘Who is that singing?’” he says. 

“I’m like, ‘That’s Jennifer!’ It doesn’t sound like things you’ve heard from her before. I love that we were able to utilize her gifts in a new space. She brought it, man,” Commons told People as well.

He also revealed that it was her special connection to Aretha Franklin that sealed the deal for her in landing the deal.

“I told [Jennifer] who it was and then we was discussing,” he recalls. “I was like, you know how the light bulb goes off? The light bulb went off. ‘Wait, that song makes me feel like Aretha. Jennifer played Aretha [in 2021’s Respect]. Jennifer, why don’t you sing on this?’ She’s like, ‘Oh man, I would love to sing on it.’ She was vibing to it.”

The couple confirmed their romance only recently on The Jennifer Hudson show in January after keeping mum about it since they first got linked in 2022.