Hip Hop Artist ‘Common’ Performs at The Ft. Greene Festival!!!!

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On a balmy summer evening, hip hop artist/actor/author Common exploded onto the stage, headlining The Fort Greene Festival in Brooklyn, NY.

The festival was held at Fort Greene Park with actors Malik Yoba and co-hosts: Rosie Perez and journalist Toure, stepping in as hosts of the festival’s stage events. The festival was dedicated to the memory of Ajile L. Turner, who tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident that involved another gentleman on a bicycle, September of 2009.

In addition, a scholarship was created in Turner’s (ALTSF) name to continue Ajile’s work and efforts to keep the arts alive, as well as, youth education for the arts.  Turner is remembered as being a very caring and giving person.

Malik, Rosie and Toure kept the massive crowd of festival goers well entertained; during the brief intermissions between each act. All three hosts kept the crowds momentum uplifted with banter, interacting with the crowd and an impromptu performance by Malik Yoba himself.  The Mistress of Ceremonies was Demetria Lucas of Essence magazine.

The festival kicked off at 10:00am Saturday morning 6/26/2010, and was scheduled until 8:00pm. The show was so energetic and positive that the festival continued on until 8:30pm. The police were patient and permitted The Fort Greene Festival an additional 30 minutes for the event’s performances.

Malik Yoba was a charismatic and mesmerizing host, keeping the ladies enthralled and the gentlemen intrigued long enough for the show to come to the cataclysmic end that only Common could produce!

The successful hip hop artist; who’s still reeling from his latest leading role in the film “‘Just Wright” closed the festival with a crowd pleasing performance of some of his biggest hits such as “Testify”, “I Used to Love Her”, “Love of My Life (Ode to Hip Hop)”, and “Go!”

During his performance, he also paid tribute to the work of other hip hop artists by reciting verses from classic songs from the likes of rappers such as: Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and the Wu Tang Clan. Sadat X of the group Brand Nubian joined Common on stage to rap his part of the group’s classic record, “Slow Down.” Common ended his performance by launching a 10-minute freestyle that floored the crowd!

The festival’s performance line up also included: R&B sensation Caron Wheeler and local bands, Soulive, Soul Mafia, Shae Fiol, Deep, Stacie Aamon, aspiring hip hop artist D King and Grammy Award Winning song writer and singer Gordon Chambers.

The festival also included several food and art vendors such as restaurants: Madiba, Rice, ICI, Conerstone, Tillies of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Moon, Soule, Samantha’s  Southern Cuisine, Jive Turkey, Catherine’s Café, General Greene, Rustic, Sans Souci, Scopello and Kif.

During the Fort Greene Festival press conference held Friday, June 25^th at the Madiba restaurant in Brooklyn, NY Danny Simmons – Chair, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) – Arts advocacy, urged the masses to call their state senate’s office to put a stop to the budget cutting of the arts and to allocate the funding that is currently available to supply more of the struggling art programs rather than just giving large amounts to the major art institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) who currently operates on a 40 million dollar budget, leaving all other art programs in Brooklyn only 2 million to work with.

When asked about his reasons for wanting to be a part of this major event, the Chicago bred hip hop artist Common stated, “Even though I’m from Chicago, Fort Greene has become my second home, I have a major love for Brooklyn.” He also stated that, “the arts and the fans have made him the artist he is today.” Therefore, he comes back to give back to the community.  He also said, “My cousin Ajile (Turner) lived out here before he passed.” Common seems as if he transcends and goes back to happy memories of himself and his cousin Ajile. He apologizes and says, “Sorry I was drifting off I started reminiscing over Ajile, we were very close.”

According to the Fort Greene Festival (FGF) Founder Peter Tulloch, “FGF was founded to capture the essence and positive dynamics of Fort Greene.” Proceeds from the event were donated to the Ajile L.Turner Scholarship Fund, via the Common Ground Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c3) organization created by hip hop artist, actor and children’s book author Common.

Photos & Story by Terry Beverly