2018 studio album by Common, Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper (August Greene)
August Greene is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Common and record producers Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins, recording as a supergroup of the same name, self-released on March 9, 2018. Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios, Red Bull Studios and Brooklyn Recording in New York, and at Henson Recording Studios and NRG Studios in Los Angeles. It features contributions from Samora Pinderhughes, Brandy, Bilal, Estelle, Jeremiah Abiah and James Hall Worship & Praise Choir on vocals, Burniss Travis on bass, Patrick Warren on keyboards and strings, Elena Pinderhughes on flute and Roy Hargrove on trumpet.
Critical reception
August Greene was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on five reviews.[1]
Exclaim! reviewer praised tha album writing, "optimistic but never mawkish, August Greene distinguishes itself from other socially conscious albums with its practical approach. It's motivational music that, for once, makes change feel less elusive".[4] Peter A. Berry of XXL described it as "a project filled with rich, jazzy vibes and all the tight lyricism we've come to expect from one of Chicago's very best".[8] AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "the set's predominantly reflective mood and nuanced composites of jazz, soul, and hip-hop make it sound like an extension of Glasper's Black Radio Recovered, Everything's Beautiful, and reinterpretation of Kendrick Lamar's "I'm Dying of Thirst" as much as the trio's meetings on Black America Again".[3] Phillip Mlynar of Pitchfork wrote: "just as the album looks like it's about to settle and prosper in this zone, in comes "Piano Interlude", and the tone of August Greene shifts messily".[5] In a mixed review, Josh Hurst of Slant stated, "the album is admirable and at times rewarding for its sense of experimentation, but only for those willing to meet it on its own terms".[6]
