Common, Robert Glasper, and Karriem Riggins have joined forces to form their new group August Greene. The trio have added to that announcement by releasing their first single “Optimistic,” which features Brandy.
The track premiered on NPR Music and it will appear on the group’s self-titled debut, an Amazon Original album that will be released on March 9th.
Hear “Optimistic” below.
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.
“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.”
