Common is the latest artist to livestream a home concert as part of the “Together At Home" series that seeks to unify people during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Grammy Award winner performed a number of songs, freestyled throughout the livestream, joked with fans, and became an eloquent advocate for global health from his home in Brooklyn, New York.
"Together At Home" is a virtual event series launched this week by Global Citizen, the World Health Organization (WHO), and a growing collection of artists. The series aims to ease people’s minds, and bring them joy and a sense of shared humanity as public shutdowns and social distancing take effect globally, leaving some people feeling lonely, anxious, and depressed. It also offers Global Citizens a chance to take action to help stop the spread of COVID-19 around the world.
Chris Martin opened the series on Monday, followed by John Legend on Tuesday, Charlie Puth on Wednesday, and Niall Horan earlier on Thursday.
“This ‘Together At Home’ thing is something I really got excited about because, for me, when a lot is going on in the world or even within myself, music is something that brings me a lot of peace,” Common said.
“I just want to share the music with all y’all and to encourage all of you at home,” he said. “We will be alright. Just wash our hands, take care of ourselves, take care of each other, pay attention to social distancing.”
Common invited DJ Dummy, “the world’s greatest,” to play beats during the Instagram set. He started off with the song “1999” and moved onto “Take It Easy,” before breaking it down with a wide-ranging freestyle that included references to the WHO and coronavirus.
“I got a diploma, people stay away from corona,” he rapped.
The artist kept the performance lighthearted with a recurring joke that a glare was preventing him from seeing audience comments on his phone. Each time he went to investigate the source of the glare, he came back with a golden award or trophy from his decades-long career.
At the end of the set, he practiced social distancing with the award trophies by moving them to different parts of the room.
Common told people to follow the WHO for guidelines on the pandemic and to practice good hygiene.
He said that fans can sing the chorus to the song “The Light” while washing their hands to ensure they’re doing it for the recommended 20 seconds.
“Let’s encourage wellness in everything we do, let that be our way of life,” he said.
Common also encouraged people to take action with Global Citizen through our Together At Home campaign that calls on governments, companies, and individuals to support WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund for COVID-19.
Through the campaign, you can learn more about the virus and how to promote public health. You can also call on G20 states to support WHO’s relief fund. You can join us to take meaningful actions against coronavirus here.
“Global Citizen is doing something very strong by keeping us together at home — we’re feeling connected amid everything going on,” Common said.
“Music is one of the things that really connects us,” he added. “If you’re not a musician, it’s the love, wherever you are in the world, we can appreciate just being able to hear some music.”
Check back Friday for the next installment of “Together At Home” with the following artists:
Julianne Hough will be live on Instagram at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET
Hozier will be live on Instagram at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET
OneRepublic will be live on Instagram at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET
Celeste will be live on Instagram at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET
Steve Aoki will be live on Instagram at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET
You can see all of Global Citizen's COVID-19 coverage here.
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