On Saturday night, Common and the Grant Park Orchestra helped Millennium Park celebrate its 20th anniversary with a performance packed with surprises.
One was a delightful mashup of Common’s song “Testify” with Prince’s “Darling Nikki.” Another was Common’s slow dance onstage with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. And the biggest of all: Common’s three-song duet with special guest (and his love) Jennifer Hudson.
Even without those moments, the show would have been an incredible achievement, as the Chicago rapper put his all into transforming the crowded Jay Pritzker Pavilion into a jubilant affair that honored hip-hop and the Windy City.
“We came to party, Chicago!” Common shouted from the stage, where he was joined not only by the orchestra, but a band, two backup singers and DJ Dummy on the turntables for the free concert.
Wearing white pants and a matching vest, the Grammy-winning artist breezed through fan-favorites from albums such as “Resurrection,” “Like Water for Chocolate” and “Be,” as well as songs from “The Auditorium Vol. 1,” his new project with Pete Rock — another guest at the show.
Common has spent his career rapping about life in Chicago, and it was a thrill to hear him shout out local streets while performing “The Corner” live in his hometown.
“My people are here,” he said afterwards, and then launched into “The People,” which is about the everyday lives of Black people in the city.
The song especially resonated with concertgoer Celeste Parker, 55, of Monee.
“He’s just singing about us and our challenges and our triumphs,” Parker said before the show, which she said she attended “to show [Common] how proud we are of him.”
Common also worked to inspire the audience by reciting the lyrics of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and The Last Poet’s “Black Is” from a book he brought onstage.
His tribute to other artists didn’t end there, as his band and singers also performed songs by Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway and D’Angelo. During the latter’s song, “You’re My Lady,” Common asked if a woman from the audience would join him onstage. Once Foxx was selected, Common insisted it wasn’t a “set-up.”
“She raised her hand!” he said, and proceeded to freestyle a rhyme about the government official, which included references to her youth in the Cabrini-Green public housing development, Harold’s Chicken and Mayor Brandon Johnson — who also was in attendance.
Throughout the show, Common praised the Grant Park Orchestra and conductor Anthony Parnther, who brought new musical textures to his catalog. Speaking about the pairing, Common remarked, “Whoever thought hip-hop would take it this far?”
Paying homage to 50 years of the genre, Common launched into one of the most electrifying parts of the show: a medley of classic songs by A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G.
He then turned the spotlight on DJ Dummy, who showed off scratching skills while playing “It Takes Two” by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. DJ Dummy thrilled the crowd when he instantly reversed Base’s line, “One, two, three, get loose now,” to “Three, two, one.”
By the time Common reached the end of his set, he had a whole crew of special guests onstage, including girlfriend Jennifer Hudson, Pete Rock, Bilal, De La Soul, Talib Kweli and Grammy-winning Chicago poet J. Ivy. Hudson showed off her powerhouse pipes on “A God (There Is),” “Glory” and “The Light.”
It was a riveting conclusion to a day of festivities in the park, which included performances by local dance troupes and the presentation of Eli’s Cheesecake’s giant chocolate chip cheesecake — topped with a mini version of The Bean — at Cloud Gate. The beloved dessert shop pledged to donate the cake to the Taste for the Homeless nonprofit, and passed out 1,000 slices of cheesecake to onlookers.
Before the happy crowd trickled out of the park that night, Common led a countdown to a fireworks display. (“I volunteered myself to do that s – – -,” he said.)
Common’s impact on both Chicago and hip-hop — and his continued vigor to represent for both — can be summed up by a single line in his song “The People.”
“Can’t leave rap alone, the streets need me.”
