Golden
Globe, GRAMMY, Academy Award winning activist, actor and artist Common, four-time
GRAMMY Award winning pianist/producer Robert Glasper, and drummer/producer
extraordinaire Karriem Riggins announce the formation of their new group August
Greene. The band’s debut self-titled, Amazon Original album will be released on
March 9th.
Today, the
first single “Optimistic” featuring Brandy premiered at NPR Music, who said
“[Brandy's] voice has aged like the finest of wines, layering harmonies all
over Glasper's signature keys and Riggin's rapid drums... Common's bars serve
as the proverbial cherry on top while a choir lends a hand to close the jam
out.”
Stream “Optimistic (feat. Brandy)” via Soundcloud:
In 2017, the
three collectively won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics on
the strength of their song “Letter to the Free,” which was recorded for Ava
DuVernay’s documentary 13th. The longtime friends and musical collaborators
felt the time was right to release music from August Greene, which has themes
of optimism and black excellence. They have found a sound that does not solely
fit into one genre, but is truly an invigorating hybrid of R&B, hip-hop,
and jazz.
“August
Greene actually formed before we chose a name, before we even knew it was a
band,” says Common. "Karriem, Rob and I go back many years. It was
something natural. When I started working with them it was like, ‘man, this
feels like home,’ and it felt new and fresh. We love working together. The
music takes us all to new places and it just feels like, everything I want to
be as a musician is within the group of August Greene.”
August
Greene will make their live debut at New York City’s Highline Ballroom on
January 26th for Robert Glasper’s sixth annual GRAMMY Joint.
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