Pitchfork

Rapper/role model Common-- in conjunction with his own Common Ground Foundation-- and the Chicago chapter of The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) will come together January 12 at Chicago's House of Blues for a benefit concert and silent auction they're calling Dare to Dream.

The nifty NFTE provides supplemental educational services for Chicago's public school students, with programs in 31 Chicago area schools. A portion of the proceeds from the night's events will go to both NFTE and Common Ground. Common's fellow Chicagoans Office will also perform.

Common has a couple more live dates to his credit before the month is up. He was recently nominated for a mess of Grammys for his work on Finding Forever, with nods for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance for "The People", and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his Kanye collaboration "Southside". And he recently issued a collection of the best bits of his early catalog titled thisisme then.

Common:

01-12 Chicago, IL - House of Blues (Dare to Dream benefit) *
01-24 Baton Rouge, LA - Baton Rouge Community College
01-27 Baltimore, MD - Lyric Theatre

* with Office