The City of Stockbridge treated the community to a day of culture, food, and lastly a free concert featuring one of the legends of hip hop – Common. The Chicago-born poet-lyricist-actor continued the trend of performers at VyStar Amphitheater by putting on a spectacular show.
Atlanta’s V-103 radio personalities Darian <Big Tigger> Morgan and newly minted co-host Francesca Amiker served as the MCs for the evening. The pair warmed up the audience with some light banter before introducing the first of the three acts.
Songstress Phillippia warmed up the crowd for the headliner with a variety of covers from seemingly everyone’s catalog. Midway through her opening set, she turnt’ the crowd loose with the smash reggae hit Bam Bam by Sister Nancy. As expected, the Miami transplant left the stage for the comfort of the audience. Phillippia walked up and down the venue’s stairs twice, dancing, singing, and taking selfies with the audience without ever missing a note.
A brief sprinkle from the clouds filled the space during the changeover from the opening act. Jevon DeWand and the Trap Starz filled the space between opener and headliner with a high-energy performance that was part old-school Atlanta hip-hop and part gospel. Music impresario/producer Jazze Pha emerged from the wings as a special guest of DeWand. The legendary hit maker fell right in step, traveling down memory lane with several old school hits. Minutes later, country music star Blanco Brown joined the growing group.
The few minutes between acts allowed the audience just enough time to catch their breath and wipe the sweat from their forehead. It was the last chance to because Common hit the stage doing about 85 mph in a school zone. Chi-town’s finest went deep into the 30-albums and numerous hits he penned from as far back as the early 90s when he debuted under the stage name Common Sense.
It was a full-on party as the audience rhymed in sync, and one lucky fan was invited on stage for some songs and a step. The multi-talented artist blessed Stockbridge with a Juneteenth concert that the city will be talking about for years to come.