In a recent video posted on You Tube, Common reveals that he's already started "mentally" working on his new album, dubbed 'The Believer.' "It's up to ya'll to decide if it's better than this album or that album, but I'm going to say it's going to be one of my best albums ever," the rapper proudly claims in the video diary. The Chi-town emcee also discusses his many side projects, including upcoming children's books.

Kanye West received a whopping eight Grammy nominations -- including Album of the Year -- for his chart-topping 2007 effort 'Graduation.'

The rapper/producer, whose mother passed away suddenly last month, was insiders' top pick and leads the list with the most nods. Troubled songstress Amy Winehouse tails behind West with six nominations. 'Graduation,' West's third album, sold almost 1 million copies its first week, topping 50 Cent's 'Curtis.'

Jay-Z ('Kingdom Come'), Common ('Finding Forever'), Nas ('Hip Hop Is Dead'), T.I. ('T.I. vs. T.I.P') and West ('Graduation') all earned nominations for Best Rap Album.

Other nominees included Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, T-Pain, Chris Brown, Timbaland, and Akon.

Read more on the nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

A little into their set at the intimate Key Club, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda gave the understatement of the night when he said, "I guess we should thank the folks at SanDisk for putting this on." The data storage company celebrated their newest foray into music by taking over three venerable Sunset Strip hotspots -- the Key Club, Roxy and Viper Room -- for one of the most ambitious parties L.A. has seen in some time.

After earlier sets by the Crystal Method and Cut Chemist, LP returned to their L.A. roots, playing the Key Club for the first time in what they estimated to be eight years. The rockers ran through an hour-long performance featuring a bevy of hits from 'In the End,' 'Crawling' and a beautiful rendition of 'Pushing Me Away,' that featured Mike Shinoda on keyboards accompanying a cast-wearing Chester Bennington, who broke his arm recently in Australia.

Following their set, the assembled press and VIPs filed down the street to the Roxy for an energetic after midnight set by Common that paid tribute to old-school hip-hop, with name-checks from Snoop to Dre.

Artist: Common
Song: 'I Want You'
Why You Should Watch: "To be able to rap is a blessing; it's a gift," Common told AOL Music during an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment. "To get up on the microphone and let your voice be heard by millions of people is an opportunity." Watch the Chicago-bred emcee tout his gift in the latest single off Common's new album, 'Finding Forever.'