Common Says He 'Loved' Collaborating with Girlfriend Jennifer Hudson on New Song: 'She Brought It, Man' (Exclusive)

• Common released the new album The Auditorium Vol. 1 with Pete Rock on Friday
• The rapper and actor's girlfriend Jennifer Hudson is featured on the song "A GOD (There Is)"
• The star opens up to PEOPLE about what it was like working together

Common and girlfriend Jennifer Hudson are in perfect harmony.

The rapper and actor, 52, released his new collaborative album with producer Pete Rock The Auditorium Vol. 1 on Friday — and a special someone is featured on the song “A GOD (There Is).”

Common opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s issue about collaborating with Hudson, 42, and reveals it was her special connection to Aretha Franklin that got her the job.

“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.”

As for the song’s origin, the star says he was listening to a beat sample that he always assumed was sung by Franklin, when in fact it was Ashford and Simpson’s Valerie Simpson.

“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.”

Though Common and Hudson have remained largely private since all but confirming their relationship on her talk show in January, fans need look no further than the rapper’s lyrics for a hint at their current status.

On the new song “Chi-Town Do It,” he raps, “Champion lover that could come with a ring/That got a ring to it, you and I theme to it.”

When asked just what the line means, Common laughs, before playing coy once more.

“I am in a great partnership, and, man, [Jennifer] is somebody I do really care about and do love and am growing with,” he says. “The potential of a ‘champion lover’ means, ‘Yo, you are the one.’ I am feeling that. It’s a lot of potential there is what I’ll say.”

The pair, both Chicago natives, were first linked in 2022, and seemingly confirmed their romance earlier this year when Common appeared as a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show and presented its host with a bouquet of flowers.

"I'm in a relationship… with one of the most beautiful people I ever met in life,” he said on the show, taking care not to mention his significant other’s name. “She's smart, she loves God, she has something real down-to-earth about her, she's talented.”

During the appearance, Common also joked that he wanted his partner to be an EGOT winner, something Hudson achieved in 2022 after she won a Tony Award for A Strange Loop.

"This relationship is a happy place for me," he said. "Seeing her happy actually makes me really happy. So, I'm very grateful. I thank God each and every day, and I'm just letting God guide this relationship."

He later appeared on Today with Hoda & Jenna, and said that he and Hudson had “had a little fun” with the interview.

“I felt like, why not just be loving and honest with who I am and who we are,” he said. “And it felt good, it was fun, we had a good time.”

Hudson, meanwhile, told PEOPLE in June that “everything is wonderful” when it comes to her relationship, before quipping, “That’s all you need to know.”

As for his new album, Common describes it as “a new sound,” but “with the spirit and energy of what we loved [from past] generations.”

“I’m in a space where I feel free, I feel joyful,” he says. “There are so many things I reveal in my raps that I would never say out loud. Because it comes from such a pure place, some things I’m like, ‘Wow, I said that,’ or, ‘That’s how I truly feel.’”

For more on Common, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere now.