Watch Common, Robert Glasper, And Karriem Riggins Make Their Tiny Desk Debut As August Greene
Source: NPR
Watch Common, Robert Glasper, And Karriem Riggins Make Their 'Tiny Desk' Debut As August Greene
August Greene, the supergroup between Common, Robert Glasper, and Karriem Riggins, has made its Tiny Desk debut.
The almost 40-minute long performance finds the trio performing four songs from their forthcoming self-titled debut album, including the already-released "Black Kennedy" and "Optimistic." Brandy makes a guest appearance for the latter (which also includes a surprise freestyle from Common toward the end) but she isn't the only guest in attendance for the special occasion. Singers Andra Day and Maimouna Youssef accompany August Greene on "Stand Up For Something" and "Practice," respectively, with the former being a collaboration between Common and Day.
In honor of Brandy, Day, and Youssef, Common dubbed the theme of the Tiny Desk performance as "Foregrounding Women," while also shouting out Glasper's younger cousin, Loren, who recently passed away.
August Greene's self-titled debut album is slated to drop March 9 via Amazon Original.
In anticipation of the album's release, the group dropped the music video for "Optimistic," originally written by Sounds of Blackness.
Filmed in Jackson, Mississippi, over Martin Luther King Day weekend, the video features activists from he city such as Hollis Watkins, Frankye Adams Johnson, Dr. Cindy Ayers Elliott, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and the Maddrama Performance Group.
The scenes transition from performance clips of August Greene and Brandy to the activists and other Jackson residents going about their daily lives. The video then concludes with a group of black children raising their fists in the air.
