Common with the Houston Symphony

An Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy-winning artist, actor, and activist, Common continues to break barriers with critically acclaimed, diverse roles and continued success at the box office.

Starring alongside Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss, Common recently wrapped production on The Kitchen, a film based on the DC/Vertigo female-led comic book series. Also on the big screen, he lent his voice to Warner Brothers’ animated feature Smallfoot together with Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, and Yara Shahidi. He appears in the Fox 2000 film The Hate You Give opposite Amandla Stenberg, Issa Rae, and KJ Apa. He also appears in Andrea Di Stefano’s action-thriller, Three Seconds, with an all-star cast, including Clive Owen, Rosamund Pike, and Joel Kinnaman.

He starred in the Oscar-nominated film, Selma; and alongside John Legend, he won the Academy Award and Golden Globe in 2015 for “Best Original Song in a Motion Picture” for “Glory,” which was featured in the film. In 2016, he appeared in David Ayer’s high profile comic book movie, Warner Bros’ Suicide Squad. The film broke box office records here and around the world.

Common executive produced Black Samurai, a TV adaption of Marc Olden’s 1974 book series, which inspired the 1977 film of the same name. Behind-the-scenes, he recently executive-produced the Netflix drama Burning Sands and performed the original song “The Cross” for the closing credits with Lianne La Havas. He serves as an executive producer of Showtime’s hit TV series The Chi.

Common’s 11^th studio album, Black America Again, released on ARTium/Def Jam Recordings, includes the socially conscious single “Black America Again” featuring Stevie Wonder and the anthem “Letter to the Free,” the end-title track to Ava DuVernay’s powerful Oscar-nominated documentary 13^th, for which he also received the 2017 Emmy for “Best Music and Lyrics.” He was featured on Andra Day’s song “Stand Up for Something,” co-written by Common and eight-time Academy Award-nominee Diane Warren for the soundtrack of Open Road Films’ Marshall. The original song received Oscar, Grammy, NAACP, and Critic Choice Award nominations, as well as the “Hollywood Song Award” at the 2017 Hollywood Film Awards.