Above: Common performs at the Birmingham Museum of Art as part of the Classic Soiree. (David Macon/Alabama NewsCenter)

Common performs at Birmingham Museum of Art for Classic Soiree from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Under a massive tent on the upper plaza of the Birmingham Museum of Art, the multi-platform artist known as Common took a stage bathed in light and brought his party to the Magic City Classic and a crowd revved up to see more than football.

Common was the headliner for the Classic Soiree, a dance party that packed the BMA with well-heeled fans and loud, thumping music from the main event at the east side of the museum to the warm up show at the west end of Oscar’s café. The invitation-only event brought more than a few well-known locals, including city leaders, to the soiree which has become a big part of the weekend full of activities surrounding the annual contest between the Alabama State University Hornets and their rivals the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.

Saturday’s 74^th annual Classic – always known for the nattily attired crowds whose attention to fashion has sometimes provoked as much commentary as the game itself – was ushered in by a number of events, but none more haute couture than the soiree. Crowds started coming in before the event began at 7 p.m., and by the time Common took the stage about three hours later, the main floor of the museum, the sculpture garden and plaza outside had seen a population explosion. Common began his set with “The People,” his critically acclaimed 2007 hit, before a sea of “his people” in the fans.

“We love to give a live experience,” Common said. (David Macon/Alabama NewsCenter)

Before the show, Common, whose given name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., talked about his latest project and why supporting the Classic is so important to him. The Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe-winning rapper, actor and poet had just come off a plane from his hometown Chicago, where he was working on a television project with Showtime – which he said he could relate to, given where he grew up.

Among Common’s numerous accomplishments, he won an Oscar earlier this year for the song “Glory,” featured in the movie “Selma.” Besides portraying civil rights activist James Bevel in “Selma,” Common has acted in numerous films and television shows over the years, including “Smokin’ Aces,” “American Gangster,” “Terminator: Salvation,” “Date Night,” and “Happy Feet Two.” In a short interview, he also took the opportunity to talk briefly about his role in the highly anticipated upcoming movie, “Suicide Squad,” based on a DC Comics series about a group of super-villains sent by a government agency to do black-ops missions.

NewsCenter: How did you get involved with the Magic City Classic?

Common: I was invited to come perform at the Magic City Classic. I know how much of a tradition it is and how it brings together all the people from each school and beyond to just have a good time.

NewsCenter: Do you like football?

Common: I like football, I definitely like football. I’m more of a basketball fan, but I definitely like football.

News Center: You have a favorite in this game?

Common: I can’t say I have a favorite because, I don’t have any stakes in either team but at the end of the day, I’d love for a great game. I’ve had someone that I know attend Alabama State, so maybe for that reason I could lean that way, but in all truth I’m not cheering for either team to lose. I just want to see a great game.

News Center: What can people expect from your show tonight?

Common: We love to give a live experience. I like to perform where we give, take the audience through songs and connect with the audience through songs and through dialog and with the live band experience. You know, just let a lot of things be through the moment. Let the songs be like, really, an interactive experience where I feed off the crowd, of course. But sometimes, things just happen with the crowd when I involve the crowd … But more than anything for me I like putting on a great show. We put as much theatrics without a lot of bells and whistles to make it a fresh show.

News Center: You’ve won Grammy, you’ve won Oscar, you’ve won Golden Globe… What’s next for you?

Common performs at the Classic Soiree at the Birmingham Museum of Art. (David Macon/Alabama NewsCenter)

Common: Right now, my production company called Freedom Road Productions, we’re producing some television. The first thing we’re doing is a pilot for Showtime which I’m very excited about. It’s called “The Chi.” That’s a new area for me as a producer, because as an actor I never really go and look at like, it’s what you call video village. That’s when you film the movie and the producers and the directors are all watching what’s going on. So this has been a time for me to exercise my creativity from a producer’s standpoint and at the same token, what I’m really enjoying about it is giving new artists, new actors, and new grips and camera operators –  giving them the opportunity, especially being able to bring it back home.

The show is about Chicago and a coming of age story. So that’s some of the material. And I’m also music supervising, co-music supervising, and I’m writing material for it. I’m acting in a couple of films.

“Barbershop 3” is a movie that I have coming out next year, along with a movie called “Suicide Squad.” And I’m going to film some more movies and I’m looking at doing more film and television productions with Freedom Road.

News Center: What are you going to do in Suicide Squad?

Common: I’m playing a character that’s this, really, like, you know, this crazy guy. He’s a gangster. But he has this relationship with the Joker and it’s a great movie to be a part of. From Will Smith to Viola Davis and Jared Leto, directed by David Ayer, it’s exciting. I really had a great time and I wasn’t there many days.

News Center: Any final words about the Classic or about the work that you’re doing?

Common: I’m happy to be here for the Magic City Classic. I’m happy to be here to support the Alabama Classic Foundation because I think it’s important that we encourage our young people to attend historical black colleges and let them see – feel that experience and obviously scholarships is a great way to entice young people to see what they can achieve by just doing well and seeking out that opportunity and they can get their school paid for. So I’m happy to be able to support that because I know what attending a black college (Florida A&M) for me, did. I’m happy to be here. We’re ready to give a live show. I heard the people are already feeling nice.

The Classic Soiree is one of three signature events of the Alabama Classic Foundation, which includes the V.I.P. tailgating experience called a Classic Affair, and the Schaeffer Eye Center Classic Invitational golf tournament. The Foundation raises money to help students attend and complete college.