It’s been comforting having Common back on the mic for the better part of 2016. Over the years, the Chicago Hip Hop vet has delivered some of the culture’s most coveted tracks, including “I Used To Love H.E.R.” and “The Light.” His new album, Black America Again, was released in November and came with the poignant “Letter To The Free,” which addresses the prison system and racism in America. In the black and white video for the song, Bilal, Karriem Riggins, Robert Glasper, and Andra Day join Common in a stripped-down, nearly empty warehouse to sing and play their hearts out.
The video is directed and shot by Bradford Young, who is known for his cinematography on Selma and A Most Violent Year. “Letter to the Free” is also featured in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th, which is about the mass incarceration of African Americans following the abolishing of slavery. Watch the video above.
