August Greene (Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins): NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

[Applause] well first of all I wanted to be here on tiny deaths in PR we are a group called August green and August green cuz you know consists of Kareem Riggins and Robert Glasper and myself but also our collective his bernis as Abby was saying and also some more kinder hues and deeds a dummy it's a collective of artists but the core is the group of the group is August green and it did you know it started taking shape because um we were just working on music together Corrine Riggins and and Robert and myself we known each other for a long time and we just when we were working and we did get to do tiny dust at the White House when when President Obama was in in office and we did get to go do all these experiences and it just kind of came together that we should just be a group and it feels really good to do this collective it's just one of the most solemn inspirational things I've been a part of as the artist in my life and uh what we dealing with right now is um a presentation we wanted we asked I need us could we do something called foregrounding women and what that means is we we are putting women in the foreground we know that what's going on in our culture and in society has equality has never been the case in this country and in the world so we thought it was significant and very important as men that we can show is August Green we could show the collective that we know that women deserve their place in the foreground with the equal position and a lot of times leading and we're willing to allow that to happen so this experience is going to be a foreground in women like we're going to bring three incredible women who are artists and they will come join us and and lead their songs and express their artistry in their soul and then one one sister we want to do this in honor of who's Robert glassless cousin her name is Lauren Brock she just transitioned a few days ago so she's with us in spirit so these are the foreground in women that are leading this movement right now here tiny desk so uh I just want to say thank God for y'all being here and we want to get into this music the way we do it we're gonna start with a song called black Kennedy so it's black Kennedy's about black black people with royalty who we are royalty [Music] [Music] if I was a Kennedy I'd be a black Kennedy black car black tux this is black symmetry raising a shot on my family from Tennessee I remember me green Dillo we was in the deep riding through the city with the top down we ain't got no ceilings to our thoughts now so beautiful beautiful let the Sun grow I broke through the jungle on a humble got compassion from my mother streets from my uncle one corner honor is to move but no trauma know thyself no getting money no karma or respect like a charm that I got from my mama in the palm of my hand it's like a land that I'm fond of a calmed up I love the black dalai lama feed the masses with you fish from one love the sum of all pieces release new releases to release her from the pieces the thesis i used to get my little costly exists it's what I used to get my grandmother B says she loves sequins Diahann Carroll like some of these leaders are Pharoah like let the people go so they can face the east grow a time for everything everything is seasonal I dreamed enough everything is believable as feasible if I wasn't Kennedy I'd be a black Kennedy black car black tops this is black symmetry raising the shot from Tennessee I remember me bream jela we was in the teeth riding through the city with the top down we ain't got no sellers to watch busted it's a beautiful ride riding through the city with the top down we ain't got no ceilings to our concert so beautiful macaroons easy afternoons Shorty's buckshots under black of moons in search of yellow Suns undeveloped once they get hella guns Peter melon on the streets where we from beats heavy drums wish I could put Jordans on the feet of everyone black Kennedy royalty with black identity leader of the freestyle I go to penitentiary they're right with the fight of rabbit right through Trinity for centuries they'll remember me for my similes but I metaphor more than that no matter how rich I get I'm a pour it back the jurisdiction of justice nonfiction up a hustler hard from dust we start and we must and watch a passing mark the people had our first Black Press or is the sequel if I was the Kennedy idea black Kennedy black car black tux this is black cemetery raising the shot on my family from Tennessee I remember me brain Dilla we was in the deep fried into the city with the time we ain't got no silence to our thoughts down it's a beautiful ride riding through the city with the top down we ain't got no sillas to us now it's a beautiful ride [Music] beautiful beautiful [Music] [Applause] hey Bobby am I am i cool on like I'm standing okay good we're good okay cool cool you can't help but be rockin with the joint see like and they say we got a rock straightaway so uh so the old I was black Kennedy man practice practice so I mean actually Rob Rob said man I got these I thought about these chords that we should use for August green and he stopped playing this these chords in the studio and uh it was the best thing he ever heard I was like sigh man aside but once you know once we put burners and cream and in my raps and some more it turns out song turned out right there alright anyway so yeah practice you know what's the song that life life takes working on we got to work on ourselves and work on any craft we about work on relationships so we just was talking about life and practice you know life we kind of practice in life in a way so and we also want to feature on this song one of the Queen's that we talking about the system my Munna Yusef we call amumu fresh [Applause] [Music] my life my sights in the fast lane it's a rat race give me time give me time changing pathways take some practice take some practice take some pride my daddy said it was raining mama said it was snowing heaven open she's doing born in Chicago in life not knowing laughing learning and growing the wind keeps blowing streets reaping and sowing rolling with my stolen moments in I live and I get you by that's the motion the shot bringing pain identical intervals up a handle school ever go but the spirit do miracles when I interview myself waiting for my soldier reply no matter where I go the answer is why there goes the win together and below a divide adrenaline and I'm a sin again forgiveness is a nebula for winning win again the world needed er like the Dominican Republic the subject is matter over mind life is a practice to travel at a time might take some practice some practice take some pride looking at my life my sites in the fast lane it's a rat race give me time give me time to change it back wait I take some practice take some practice take some pride [Music] mounting the sing-songs King's dream long and simple axes when the scene forms I am probably improving it for the big news through them false NIM fools brick walls and venues symbols are symbol to continue it was written that God don't use pencils dimension that dimension and adventures of a man attention or divine intervention and the player remnants of when I ran footprints in the sand the son of man gave me a tan that's who I am the emphatic already called mathematical traveler capitals the actual strike practical I seen pain to make the day cry and take practice somebody tell a I every day I pray I stay my course hoping my actions to be my thoughts take some practice take some pride take some practice out my life my sites in the fast it's a rat race gimme time gimme turn changing pathways they take some pride take some pride take some pride yo hear me while I love my brothers I'll give you all your profits don't be mad at me cuz I'm a showstopper I'm a jaw-dropper fly get in the helicopter region like a teleprompter but I never tell a cop I'm a boss no so fixers necessarily very hard body like Chevy's I'm coated in January hold on in your commentary don't need no more promise every as I told you to join ready making deal with women of my caliber if you can't control the boat owner than your manager walking by smelling like your name laying in left my body gets my search on agita carefully how much do I owe you for what's already mine I heard the type of offer every damn time only concern with my money big and broad on time the revolution popping off for more frontline sometimes being the woman's like me and black twice I got a scream fire it's better right but you tell me to act nice look pretty space slim don't talk loud don't think don't feel don't address but if I'm at my lowest hiding 100 but sink I'm a woman to man so will the real men please stand up and defend will guide me signing off from love with a real man please stand up and defend will guide me setting up a lapa take take some pride [Applause] I like mice it's a rat give me time give me time changing pad take some fries [Music] take some friend some bread take some friend [Music] [Music] [Applause] this is great you feel good thank you all y'all look wonderful MooMoo fresh make sure y'all check they got a project called vintage babies hire DJ dummy make sure y'all check it out ha ha got a plug support the team so so yo whoo phone is that right so uh yeah so August green man we was in the studio and Kareem and Rob and I was sitting around talking about when our favorite songs and it was the song called optimistic by sounds of blackness and and man all of us kind of individuals like Matt I saw a favorite one our favorite songs ever and it just was like man that song always hit my soul when I needed to like listen to it and get uplifted or what I needed to get uplifted I would listen to it or when I was just hearing in general it just made me feel good I didn't even recognize it as a gospel song or what it just was a beautiful song to me and we we decided like when we was talking and that's one of the freedoms where August green too is there you know he's like man let's do a remake of it and you know me as a hip-hop artist you know usually don't do remakes but I'm in August green so I could do what I want so anything I want yeah I wrote your rooms yeah that's what everybody know that that's why on this song my rising sub par cuz yeah so Rob said man we need to get brandy I said oh you think you think you think you think we could get Brandi to sing that we call Brandi and Brandi came in with that with that light she came in with that light we just met the soldiers took us to different places and we were grateful you know Jimmy gentleman and who wrote the song gave us a good sign and say hey man we really appreciate the what the way y'all did the song so we grateful that they can appreciate it but we are extremely grateful to have brandy one of our greatest vocalists of all time to accompany us on this on this song optimistic so let's go brandy let's do [Applause] I really nervous right guys good long as you keep your head to the sky be optimistic when I mess up you can see up Hey yeah you hear those boys telling you the scaring me now don't matter just hold on to your dreams I [Music] as long as okay [Music] as long as okay [Music] no you don't have to keep I know Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] as long as okay your head sing-along it's got one to be optimistic living in the moment who's the opponent I own it get it when I wanted composition of the Golden Road the school of life do the dice do it like mission impossible to the sky warrior future we are the more we love from our b12 euphoria kick in the door because we think the target us yeah [Music] you can win [Music] [Music] [Music] and I'm a Robert Glasper on a key [Applause] [Music] burners on the face full of all DJ dummy on the one you choose keep it green Riggins on drums to the sky head to the sky yo head to the sky head to the sky head to the sky we gonna keep behind concerts y'all yo I come from the shot if you ask me who you got ask me why do what I can't cuz I gotta stay fresh i'ma stay large even on tiny desk you know how it is so I gotta impress when it come to this I crush kill that destroyed like stress but bought my veto you remember that it's conscious I come cold with the symbol rats it's sorta cold like that but this is February Black History Month and it's necessary we gonna do it because this thing is legendary we tellin y'all how we do it my man Bobby eggs at the time I can't down your my freestyle now don't make your head not got my man named Sam or pintu Hughes what can I do a constant show I blew the fuse hell I ever see and i MC friendly earlier all tiny just I said I wanted the Emmy through a business speaking to existence I can go to distance this is just persistence what can I do I stand with the resistance see my man's security God with the heart and the fist on the heart yo we just came to do our part and I'm gonna do our part do we do it for the whole foreground and women who got soul and we gonna tell the story the stories like the glory I could do it for you and I can do it for me I see my daughter her name is amore y'all hope you write the school build and destroy day we gonna keep building building for the children building for us and yours coming straight through from the sweat from the floors told you the head to the sky the style of be free Rob she caters round like me even though he wanted to be right see you know I do the right thing like Spike Lee I just don't see comes down okay Timmy i'ma just chill for a second while I talk about the Apple Resurrection I'll go to another direction and the section while I stay free I'm adjusting my teeth [Applause] [Music] I reckon if a comment [Music] it's one of the greatest vocalist they call her vocal Bible the greatest yes so yo y'all so I've been able to work and collaborate with some incredible women throughout my life and um the next person I'm bringing up has been somebody that this continues to grow me as I as I create we've been able to work on on this song called stand up for something for the movie Marshall and the song is is powerful but getting to go out and rock it with with this sister here it's like even more powerful because it's like man she just takes it up notches and just takes it up notches and it's something real Devine about you know us getting to go out there the song is is um it's written because we saying it you know a lot of times and we were thinking like man you know because of the administration and because of what's going on in the world the world is ending but the world in demand is like God bringing the best out of us and we can like stand up for ourselves and each other then what better can we do in the world like what more what's more important than standing up for something you believe in so that's what the quarter song was about and we had to bring a revolutionary to sing it so we got the sister Andra day here [Applause] yes first of all just thank you guys for having me here secondly I would like to say that was a great introduction but I usually like to under promise and over deliver no but just to echo what comment said you know the song is is designed to inspire hope it's designed to take the message of Thurgood Marshall and bring it into a new generation you know the the burden is ours now so you know and it's not hopeless it just brings out the best in us I think in these in these scenarios so yeah this is you can have all the money in your hands all the possessions anyone can ever have but it's all worth it's treasure true is only pressure no matter what you got but what you got in your you can have you can have everything what is it what does it mean means nothing if you Diana something cuz you can't choose talk books [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes yes I will you do the best to the best thing you can do thank you kiss look in the mirror Raghav who's looking back at you do you find the life you living no more what you take but what you give me if you bet on love there's no way yeah take a stand make a stand for what's right it's always worth always worth the fight means nothing [Applause] if you don't stand up [Applause] [Music] cuz you can't just talk yes you don't stand up for something [Music] [Applause] dig me [Music] rise up love lift your hands I stand with you because I understand ain't here to judge this to take a stand the greater players the creator's plan let's all rise like the day began reach out and touch with the saviours hand on rock we stand like it's native land let the ways of love beat the waves of man these days we dance between lover hate don't know the date so we stay awake Annie we take for our souls sake new victory offer old faith a president that trolls will hate he don't control our fate because God is great when they go low we stay in the heights I stand for peace love and women's rights [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] if you don't [Music] [Music] [Applause] okay so what we gonna do uh we got this song caught it's called uh let go and we first made it we kind of we the working title was called Nirvana I don't know we called it that because uh we know it just reminded us never of Nirvana the group from the 90s who we are loves but yeah this song is like kind of dealing with the struggle of of the fights and struggles that we all go through internally sometimes with things that come from the outside but mostly the internal fight and we got our brother some more Pender Hughes back so we're gonna get into let go let's do it [Music] [Music] this places I go I can't tell you about these things I have done I can't carry around I need to let go I need to let go sitting in the shadow with me gradually battling me a fall from grace like Adam and Eve search further in the Vatican and me the temple the body pimento I'm godly so how I made my mess ups my hobby is it the stress and the pressure probably out here with much anger inside me don't know who my friends are stranger inside me stranger things get hot clipped off my angel wings thought I was going to fly when Obama became the king pain and disdain out the rings that I wear it's just the price of life when things ain't it's fair to pay dues and you still hold something moment when you bruised and they still want something from you run through my mind tripping over time it's moving faster than me haphazardly so much drop that I crashed into me father will trying to be my last enemy what will my soul be worth when you cash in on me I'm been preying on passion and me his places I go I can't tell you this thing's I have done I can't carry I need to let go I need to let go in a state in a place whatever work I get the praise don't want to wait for heaven's gates of hellish things I need to let go I need to let go the best sorry stress hosing can't let go if the room searching for a miracle to echo in my mind I hit chance to stay ghetto born rebel having my own inner Aleppo saved by the blood I should be a vessel just another Jacob where God I wrestle I deal with the devil temptations Hey trying to get the same type of stresses in a way how many blessings in the day do I need before I get on my Deen and see the fruits of my seed it was written I read I can't get in Rocky in the fight with my mind from these decisions I believe I'm supposed to go high when they go low I forget the big picture snapped like a photo solo in a crowded room seeing myself like a powder room and my eyes clouds the down gloom between me and the Sun is reading a gun I yell freedom cuz I'm free to be done when it's all done well I have having stress cold and been able to let God and let go it's places I go I can't tell you about it's things I have done I can't carry you I need to let go I need to let go in the state finna place whatever work I give the praise don't want to wait for heaven's gates a hellish thing I need to I need [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yeah this way [Music] [Applause]

Channel: NPR Music

Views: 4,064,624

Rating: 4.9125595 out of 5

Keywords: NPR, NPR Music, National Public Radio, Live, Performance, common, robert glasper, brandy, Karriem Riggins, Maimouna Youssef, Samora Pinderhughes, Andra Day

Id: y5p8Bmv0NSQ

Length: 36min 53sec (2213 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 28 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/CrispyBaconDeadFish]

I've been listening to Robert Glasper's stuff lately, and while listening to Violets I realised how much Common would suit his style of music. While checking out the projects he has been involved in, I came across this and I am absolutely blown. This project is absolutely incredible, I highly recommend you guys check it out in case you want something different to listen to.

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[u/batman2001]

Such an underrated album

[u/[deleted]]

Absolutely love this. The album is soo good

[u/shellshack]

Not feeling the male vocalist at all but Kariem and Robert stay doing their thing

[u/No_Manners]

I didn't know this group even existed.

[u/yadiiiiggYT]

tiny desk one of my favourite series