Don't let the pretty boy looks fool you. Common is ready for battle and the particular gladiator he has his eye on is Drake.

Com has been publicly talking about his record “Sweet” and how he calls out rappers who are singing on the track. Well,  to no one’s surprise, one of the people that crossed his mind when he was in the booth devising the song is the man who has taken the rapping/singing hybrid to its greatest heights: Drake.

This morning in New York, Common told radio hosts Sway and Devi Dev he's felt that Drake has targeted him in the past and that now the Young Money Top Gun should be prepared for a face off.

“He opened his mouth and said some things,” Common told Sway when asked about his beef with Drake.  “If that’s what he want. All that subliminal, we can do that too. But you might as well say that now.”

“The verse is about me, but when you hear the chorus, you can’t help but think about [Drake],” he added. “So he felt he fit in that category. He already embraced it so wear it.”

Common did admit that he thought Drake was talented, but said when any MC brags on the mic about how great they are, they should be prepared for anyone to test them. “Any artist can be a target especially when you get in and say you dope,” he explained.

Later on in the day, Common appeared on BET's 106 & Park music video countdown show and touched on the "Sweet" again.

“I’ll say this, I look at a lot of artists, there’s a lot of artist out there who sing," he said. "I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with singing, but I wanted to stand up for hip-hop to a certain extent. Cats rhyming and some hip-hop elements… If certain people are offended by it, then they fit in that category. I always want them to know that this is hip-hop.  In hip-hop, you challenge people. You get in the ring and say, ‘that’s weak right there. That’s soft, I’m dope.’ That’s just what hip-hop is about.  I let people know I’m on a hip–hop level.

"I look at it as hip-hop," he continued. "What I said in 'Sweet', obviously he felt like he was one of the people being addressed so he said what he had to say. I said we can keep it on a hip-hop level because I feel he’s a good artist, he’s a talented guy.”

On Friday (December 16) night at the Universal Amphitheatre in California during the Power 106 Cali Christmas Concert, while not mentioning Common's name directly, Drake warned that anybody who has anything to say to him should address him directly. “If you got something to say to me, say it to my face, nigga,” Drake said on stage. “Just cause I sing, I’m not no muthafuckin' bitch. I’m right here.”

Common’s The Dreamer/ The Believer hit stores today. Check back with XXLMag.com for staff projections. —Shaheem Reid

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