With a new album and several film roles on his plate, Chicago rapper Common [ tickets ] is keeping a hectic schedule these days; but he'll have a chance to get some face-time with fans during an upcoming tour of North America.

Common's seventh studio album, "Finding Forever," is set to hit the streets July 31. The Grammy-nominated rapper will promote the set right out of the gate with in-store appearances and performances at retailers in the Los Angeles area, New York City and Chicago. In September, he'll launch a short club tour that will roll through a few cities in California as well as Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Toronto and New York. Details are listed below. Information about the in-store appearances can be found at Common's website.

"Finding Forever" was produced by Kanye West and features guests including British pop singer Lily Allen and soul man D'Angelo. The album, particularly the tracks "So Far To Go" and "The Game," is a tribute to the late rapper/producer J. Dilla, who died last year of complications caused by lupus, according to a press release.

The full album is currently being previewed at MTV's The Leak website.

Meanwhile, Common is working on at least three motion pictures at the moment: "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, which is due in November; "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, due next spring; and "Night Watch" with Forrest Whitaker and Keanu Reaves.

And in case that's not enough to keep him occupied, Common recently launched his own line of handmade Italian hats.