American hip hop recording artist, Oscar winner, film producer and poet Common hosted an exclusive listening party on Thursday (Sept. 29) for his upcoming album “Black America Again.” The event – held at Material Good in Soho, NYC – featured music industry execs, journalists, bloggers and more, who listened to the rap icon discuss his 11th studio album, track by track.
Common – who released the album’s title track featuring Stevie Wonder back in September – spoke with the audience about his inspiration for his latest project. The longtime Black rights activist explained vision for the album was to showcase “the whole spectrum” of Black culture in America today. After each song, the Grammy Award-winning artist performed a few verses a cappella for the crowd and broke down the meanings behind the song’s lyrics. Along with the title track guests heard, “Letter to the Free,” “Pyramids,” “Home,” “Love Star” and “Little Chicago Boy” – a song dedicated to the memory of Common’s late father Lonnie Lynn, Sr., who passed away in 2014.
“Black America Again” – set for release November 4th on Def Jam Recordings – features guest verses from Jay Rock, Syd of The Internet, BJ The Chicago Kid, Bilal and Marsha Ambrosius, as well as Oscar-winning partner and vocalist John Legend.