Next at the Kennedy Center

LALAH: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ROBERT: I've always known I was gonna make a Black Radio-esque album.

ESPERANZA: Part of it is, is way making for other brothers who are coming out.

KYLE: Now I get to dance with him onstage with the brother, you know.

BILAL: Rob could vibe, you know.

CHEADLE: He ingests it all, and it makes its way into the music.

LALAH: Rob is actually a comedian, that plays the piano.

ROBERT: My name is Robert Glasper, I am a musician, a composer, and I mean obviously a model.

AFFION: This is the ten-year anniversary of Black Radio, give it up for that!

[applause].

Black Radio, one of the most prolific albums, ever!

BILAL: Black Radio, kinda changed everything.

CHRIS: It's like a family really.

DERRICK: It's unapologetically us.

LALAH: It's specifically Rob, but everyone comes in and brings their own thing.

DON: The way it was put together, no one had ever done that before.

AFFION: If you could put an album in a museum, that's Black Radio.

And give it up for my brother, Robert Glasper!

[applause].

ROBERT: Yeah, Black Radio to me was just, uh, it was the freedom to explore different genres at one time.

It was just literally me putting my life on wax.

BILAL: Without even knowing Who we are Knowing Who we are Oh, oh oh Oh oh Oh, oh oh We're all the same And all so very different Divine by design It all intertwines Ain't nothing new But it's always changing and Moving Still water's soft Yet so hard And what is love?

What is love?

Cool on the outside Hot in the middle It's cool on the outside Hot in the middle But you ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize You ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is Realize Knowing Who we are Oh One great big One great big small thing Like pollen in the spring A speck of dust in this vast universe Like a rain drop In the sea of consciousness It's all matter It's all matter It's all matter And what is love?

What's is love?

Cool on the outside Hot in the middle Cool on the outside Hot in the middle But you ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize You ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize You ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize It's all We are We are Who we are We are Who we are What is love?

[applause] Oh, what is love?

Cool on the outside Hot in the middle Cool on the outside Hot in the middle it's Cool on the outside Oh, what is love?

Cool on the outside Hot in the middle Ooh ah Cool on the outside Cool on the outside Cool on the outside But it's hot in the middle Yeah, it's hot in the middle Oh, you ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize You ain't even gotta try All you gotta do is realize You ain't even gotta try No, no You ain't even gotta try Realize Realize ROBERT: So, when I first got to The New School in New York, very first day of school, and they put all the freshmen in the room, and they call you by name, based on your auditions.

And they call me up, a drummer, a bass player, and they call Bilal up.

So, we're up there on stage together, we play our first song together, and we never left the stage after that.

BILAL: We were like musical adventurers, like, we were going out into New York to see where all of the cool sessions was, that's what every night was.

I think the first week, we never, we didn't go to sleep.

ROBERT: And then we started writing songs together, and one of the teachers, Arnie Lawrence, who is the founder of The New School, he said, "Hey I have a friend who has a studio around the corner, you guys should go record."

BILAL: Like Rob would show me a few chords, and I would go and make songs to it, and try to switch it around.

ROBERT: We did, we did so many, so many just really artsy cool stuff there, you know.

And then at night me and Bilal would do these jazz gigs.

BILAL: A jam session at this place called Divisin It was right up the street from the Blue Note.

And we would uh, we couldn't afford to go to the Blue Note, so we would stand outside the Blue Note and look inside to see who was playing.

ROBERT: Once I started doing those jam sessions and going to hang out, and everyone knew me as Bilal's jazz friend, that's where I met Erykah and Common and QTip and you know.

The Roots, Jill Scott, like all of them.

BILAL: Everybody start to hone their skills and write a lot of the tunes that cats are playing now.

ROBERT: By the time sophomore college comes, sophomore year, we're on tour, you know, and I'm Bilal's Music Director.

We're opening up for Erykah, opening up for Common.

Doing all these cool shows and you know, still going to jazz clubs, hanging out till 7:00 in the morning.

BILAL: Black Radio kinda in my opinion stemmed out of what we were doing over at Rob's apartment on North Portland.

I think that was where he and Derrick and Chris kind of developed that sound of mixing everything.

CHRIS: That's kind of how it started just, like, you know, me and Rob lived together in New York for a while.

And that's how we met Derrick and that's, we would just play all the time, you know, at his house.

ROBERT: I've always known I was gonna make a Black Radio -esque album.

Because I was doing Black Radio live for many years.

DERRICK: We were always those creative minds that were just in the moment being ourselves.

Nobody ever had to tell us to do that.

Before the album was called Black Radio it was just, let's get together, let's call some friends and let's see where we land.

CHRIS: Oh yeah, when we started it, we just had a rough script.

Like, Rob can really explain it cause it's kinda last minute, some things he didn't think was gonna happen.

Um, some guests he didn't think we'd be able to get.

ROBERT: I was in Europe.

In the middle of a tour, and my manager at the time called me and was like "I don't know how it happened, but everyone you want is available next week".

[laughter].

I was like "oh snap!"

So, we cancelled the rest of the tour.

[laughter].

And I flew to LA, everybody was available to be in LA that week.

AFFION: And as I'm listening to this album, and I hear Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Bilal, Yasiin Bey, the list goes on and on.

DERRICK: Looking at it 10 years later um, the change has probably been just, us acknowledging the scale of how our journeys have spoke to people.

LALAH: Welcome to your life There's no turning back Even while we sleep We will find you Acting on your best behavior Turn your back on Mother Nature Everybody wants to rule the world Na na na na na na It's my own design It's my own remorse Help me to decide Help me make the Most of freedom and of pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world Aaah AFFION: Lalah Hathaway ladies and gentlemen.

Listen My cold shoulder Holds the Weight of the world making me Earl Older and I'm waiting for girl Taking a chance I can't cause I might get murdered Internally the love I have for my wife is burning me And turning me bitter Hoping I get her this room in the womb And my rib will fit her I dream of holding hands in winter sweaters Walking winter wonderland our kids together Sins forgiven Forget what we did in beginning Abundant life with wife with all the trimmings Sounds simple enough but I wait in pain Taste the flame Warpaint my face with game I sow seeds of fate with a place to aim Chasing fame Cell phone erasing names My heart hurt too much to smile sometimes That's why I'm Burying thoughts in piles of rhymes I need room to breathe before I choke The more, I hope I was bloody hands in soap Suppose I kidnap myself with a ransom note That holds a key to my ID Handsome folk My DNA describes a little boy grinning Ear to ear with no fear Conscious clear My paranoia and pain from year to year Is developing a weeping soul with bowls of tears I swear I won't appear till the coast is clear The most you will get from me is a wave from over here It'll take God himself to pull me through And undo what I do when I ruin humans I'm the wrong person right now that you're pursuing Rooster crowing, wake up and see where you're going I don't wanna with my neck protected Heart rejected, constantly disrespected The next person cross me will catch the hectic Epileptic sleep with your head corrected I'm through with what I do with girls Cause every body wants to rule the world I'm through with what I do with girls Cause every body wants to rule the world LALAH: Everybody yeah, yeah Everybody, everybody ROBERT: I wasn't even trying to... OK I'm gonna make this album, and it has all these mixtures and we're gonna do... we're trying to make a movement.

None of that crossed my mind I just said Hey, I want to do what I've been doing in my life and record it.

[chuckles].

DON: Robert Glasper came into the Blue Note office uh, maybe for the first day that I was there on the job.

With very rough mixes of Black Radio.

And he put em on and played me the whole thing in the sequence that he imagined, and I was transported.

ROBERT: It ended up being, you know, something that really was a movement, and it and it opened some doors, and it really changed some things in the music industry.

ESPERANZA: Of the many things Rob is doing, part of it is, is probably way making for other brothers who are coming out, being themselves basically in music.

For the industry to say like, 'oh that could work, we could sell that'.

BILAL: Black Radio kind of changed everything and like Grammys later you know.

I used to joke at joke at Rob cause we need... him, us mixing all the genres and him playing and you know, Rob would, Rob could vibe, you know.

He could get into just one little thing and just turn it into a like a whole vibe, you know.

LALAH: What I think happens is Rob sort of prepares a table.

He's got music, he's got the greatest musicians.

There is comedy, there's food, there's wine, there's laughs, there's tears.

And he invites us as musicians and performers to come to the table and be fed.

MESHELL: I've, I've had a lot of like collaborative experiences, but Robert is a very rare one.

It truly feels like you both, your intentions are both centered on the same thing.

KYLE: The first time I saw Robert live was back in like 2005.

It was something I'd never heard before and it was something that really got me excited about this kind of cross-pollenization of music forms.

And for me as a modern contemporary dance person, how to kind of be in conversation with that in some way.

ROBERT: Kyle came to see me at the Blue Note jazz club maybe two weeks prior, and we're talking after my show, I was like, 'what are you doing?'

He's like "I might go to DC to see your thing".

I was like you're going to go?

And then I was like boom-boom-boom-boom-boom, you wanna dance?

Boom-boom-boom, I know exactly what you're gonna dance to.

MESHELL: I offer you my sweet devotion I'm just trying to make things Easier for you I reach for you in sweet devotion Be here and now Here and now Don't waste my time On reasons you can't find Submerge your mind Lay down with you in sweet devotion I'm not perfect but my aim is true Be here and now Here and now Don't waste my time On reasons you can't find When you look I'll be gone No tears for you No tears for you I cry no No tears for you I cry no I'm just trying To make things Easier for you No tears for you No tears for you I love you Robert, thank you.

[applause].

DON: His impact is felt really widely.

You know, you go to high school jazz program recital, and inevitably they play "Afro Blue", and the kids get up and they say, "right now we'd like to do a song by Robert Glasper" they don't say Mongo Santamaria, or they don't say John Coltrane.

DERRICK: Now kids going to music school and bringing us up to their teachers and faculty and wanting us to, be taught in their curriculum.

ESPERANZA: Part of that is his work as an educator, you know, like making room so that other young piano players coming up are like, well if Rob could do that and be himself, then I can do it.

DJ JAHI: So, what Black Radio does is, Black Radio says here's an established person who speaks the language of jazz, and has jazz albums, that all the jazz critics like.

Who's going to make an album that's going to have the language of jazz, and also the language of hip hop, and also the language of R&B, altogether.

So, from jazz it said 'OK now this, all this stuff, this is where we're going, this is going to be the new stuff we're folding in, and this is the direction for the next group of jazz musicians and that was the laid-out plan, period.

DERRICK: "Jesus Children" it, it's, it's a special piece for me.

You know, as many know, we won a Grammy for that piece with Lalah Hathaway.

ROBERT: The first time we ever performed it was, literally on the day of, of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

I had a Stevie Wonder tribute show that night and uh, we were doing "Jesus Children".

It was special to me because, it was close to me because uh, my friend Jimmy Green, his daughter Anna was killed in that tragedy.

And I remember we first did it I couldn't stop crying.

I, I could barely play it, you know.

Cause I have kids, you know.

At the time I feel like, I think my son was, I think Riley was four maybe?

And he's right there in the audience, I'm looking at him.

You know, when you have kids, things hit different than when you don't have kids.

You know what I mean?

Um, yeah.

I can't even talk about it, or I'll cry, you know.

Uh, so our first time performing it was that day, that happened.

And then I felt like I really wanted to record that song.

And Lalah came in and we did it in one time, one take.

DERRICK: There was a lot going on at the time, you know.

You know, we all had lost some loved ones and yeah, you know, we're still creating.

And just being in that moment, for Lalah to perform some of that live with us it just, it always took us to a spiritual place.

QMILLION: It's just one of those magic songs that, I don't know.

Rob gets ahold of it, and it takes on a whole new life.

ROBERT: It's a beautiful song.

And I, I kind of made it in that, in, in that way.

Because that's not necessarily originally what the song was about, but I kind of steered it in that way, you know what I mean, so... it means a lot.

LALAH: Hello Jesus Jesus children Jesus loves you Jesus children Hello children Jesus loves you of America Are you hearing What He's saying?

Are you feeling What you're praying?

Are you hearing, praying, feeling What you say inside?

You'd better tell Your story fast Cause if you lie It will come to pass Tell me!

Ahhhh Mm mm mm Hello Jesus Jesus children Jesus loves you Jesus children Hello Jesus children love you of America Are you hearing What He's saying?

Are you feeling What you're praying?

Are you hearing, praying, feeling What you say inside?

You'd better tell Your story fast Cause if you lie yeah It will come to pass Yeah, you'd better tell Your story fast Cause if you lie Its gon' come to pass [vocalizing].

AMIR: Jesus Children Are you hearing what you're saying?

Are you feeling What you're praying?

Tell your story fast Otherwise they'll tell it for you And then try to inform you or Dismember you or Disform you or Try to transform you into their own lies But your truth is more than that And you are more than that Oh Jesus children Tell your story fast I've been a deadbeat dad to my inner child And I'm seeking to reconcile with the past Without ignoring the future But knowing we are in the now Oh Jesus children you were brought forward for the now And the now is not like the then And it's not like the will be And this is an old now because it is ever present But you live in a new now And you were brought forth for a new now For a new reason for a new season The leaves have fallen from the trees They stay naked but they will not remain dead forever Know that the new spring is da Death's death The springs life is a death death That springs life is a death death And this is a new now You're in the new now You will be someone's ancestor Act accordingly Act accordingly Act accordingly Know that those behind you and those ahead of you Are turning their face towards you In this new now In this brand new now Know oh Jesus children That God has not brought you from the world of souls into This moment into this now for no reason Oh Jesus children Know that you will return to the world of souls And don't do it and live this life for no reason For no reason You were born in this season And not any other For this new now Oh Jesus Children I'm sorry for what we've made the world into Oh Jesus Children I'm sorry what the world made us into Oh Jesus children For you have a new now So, make this new now yours For you will be someone's ancestor Act accordingly Act accordingly Act accordingly Your ancestors are looking to you And your descendants are looking to you For this moment For this small window of time That your flesh has been made That your soul has descended into this form Into this realm So, make the most of it Because it will soon be over Oh, Jesus children Tell your story fast Otherwise they will tell your story for you And they will inform you and disform you And dismember you So tell your story fast And don't let the lie eat your hearts And don't let the lie eat your soul For the lie is That cowardice extends life And that courage shortens it But this is a lie With courage you will live forever With courage you will live forever With courage you will live forever And you will never die By God there are men in the graves More alive than any of the living By God there are women Laying still beneath the earth Still more active than the activist They have done the job they have completed the mission But what about you You will be someone's ancestor Act accordingly Act accordingly Act accordingly You will be someone's ancestor Act accordingly Live as if you won't die Live as if you have life for a reason Live as if your soul descended into your flesh Was for good meaning In this new now This is a new now And so make it new for yourself I have been a deadbeat dad to my inner child And I'm sorry what we made this world into Oh Jesus children And I'm sorry for what we allowed this world To transform us into Oh Jesus children For we will be someone's ancestor So act accordingly Act accordingly Act accordingly [applause].

ROBERT: I just take a page out of the books of the people who came before me.

The Harry Belafontes, the Stevie Wonders, the Gil Scott-Herons, the Nina Simones.

DON: I think the most important thing that an artist can do is, address who they are in the times that they live in.

ROBERT: I feel like it's my responsibility to address a lot of the social issues going on, issues in general that's that's going on.

And music has always played a part in that stuff, you know, throughout the history of, of, of music, and the history of, you know.

Um, just being, being Black and fighting against the system, and trying to survive here.

I just try to use my platform to, to do that.

To talk about what's going on.

DERRICK: And I hope more than anything that that stands the test of time.

Because that's, that's what you want.

You want something like that to carry legs and help the world in some kind of way.

DJ JAHI: Who he is as a person is what allows him to be where he is as a musician.

ROBERT: You know I start, I started using vocals.

Started using singers and started using rappers.

I started using poets, you know, and thinkers, and you know.

And I felt like that, that really just struck a chord.

DJ JAHI: What he has created with Black Radio is a triumph of personality, a triumph of relationship building, a triumph of himself.

LALAH: And I Oh I You're ruling the way that I move I breathe your air You only can rescue me This is my prayer If you were mine If you were mine I wouldn't want to go To heaven I cherish the day I won't go astray I won't be afraid You won't catch me running Cherish the day Won't go astray Won't be afraid Won't catch me running Won't catch me running Oh whoa whoa oh Oh I Oh I Oh I You're ruling the way that I move I breathe your air Only can rescue me This is my prayer If you were mine If you were mine I wouldn't want to go To heaven Cherish the day I won't go astray Won't be afraid Won't catch me running I cherish the day I won't go astray I won't be afraid, yeah Won't catch me running [vocalizing] Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmm I Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh You I You ruling the way that I move And I breathe your air Oh only can rescue me This is my prayer If you were mine If you were mine I wouldn't want to go To heaven I cherish the day Won't go astray Won't be afraid Won't catch me running Cherish the day Won't go astray I won't be afraid Won't catch me running Cherish the day Won't go astray I will not be afraid Cherish the day Won't go astray I won't be afraid Ooh I Oh, oh, oh, I ROBERT: Lalah and I pretty much only do first takes.

She's like, perfect every time, she just goes in and knocks it out and she's done.

And you know and I'm not a fan of like doing, overly doing things.

I'm not a fan of 'let me take two more takes, three more takes, four more takes'.

I don't like, I don't like doing that.

She came in, it was literally, there's video of it.

She's literally reading the lyrics from her phone, she thought it was a sound check, it was a sound check.

And when we finished it, it was so good I was like, "uh, we're good, thanks".

She was like, "wait that's it?"

I was like, "yeah that's it, we good".

And we never did another take after that.

QMILLION: He's not in a rush to do anything.

And so, when he plays and you hear it, and you feel it, it just, it just pulls you in.

I just got sucked in, and I was just like man, I love this song, I love this playing, I love this interpretation of it.

MESHELL: I feel he's able to sonically express several different emotions, and he's a beautiful player.

The touch really is what affects me too.

CHEADLE: I think what really makes Rob, you know, who he is musically is that he's agnostic as far as what's good music, you know?

What's correct music to play.

Rob appreciates all different kind of musical styles and is very facile at moving between all of them.

He ingests it all and it all finds its way into his music.

QMILLION: When you sit down and play, like, you feel what he's feeling.

You feel the sensitivity.

DON: His heart is as big as his talent, and the soulfulness of his music.

ROBERT: That's why I surround myself with people I trust musically.

I musically trust everybody I'm around.

People that are just like me and they're fearless, and they have a great understanding of what's going on, and they're not afraid to venture out and see what's out there.

Seeing a record like that win that let people know "oh I can be honest and explore and do these things and, and also I can get recognized by the Grammys".

CHRIS: We didn't really think about any of this ten years ago, you know.

Like no, we didn't think we would win a Grammy for it anything.

So, just, let's just get it out.

And maybe someone would like it.

BILAL: And I think the movement happened because everybody was friends, everybody was hanging, it was more than the music.

AMIR: There is a, like a Black Radio community, that is larger even than the projects or the songs themselves.

MESHELL: He's made something timeless.

Um, it's 10 years but it's still sounds just as fresh and it could be made now, it's just beautiful songs, beautiful music.

ROBERT: Real music, honest music lives, you know, forever.

DERRICK: I'm seeing now that the legacy of it is unapologetic self-love.

And I hope that stands the test of time.

ROBERT: The black box in the airplane, when it crashes, airplane crashes, the black, black box always lives through the fire.

You know, tells you the truth.

You know, about what happens to truth.

And I felt like Black Radio was the truth.

[cheering] BILAL: The hand that wrote this letter Sweeps the pillow clean So rest your head and Dream a treasured dream I care for no one else but you I tear my soul to cease the pain I think maybe you feel the same What can we do?

I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do So I've been writing just for you They say your life is going very well They say you sparkle like a different girl But something tells me that you hide When all the world is warm and tired You cry a little in the dark Well so do I I'm not quite sure what you're supposed to say But I can see it's not okay He makes you laugh He brings you out in style He treats you well And makes you up real fine And when he's strong He's strong for you And when you kiss It's something new But did you ever call my name Just by mistake?

I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do So I'll just write more love to you You ooooh Ooh ooh ah Ohh Ahh [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] Oh I wrote this song just for you Oh yeah I wrote this song just for you Yeah Oh, I wrote my love song I wrote my love song I wrote my love song Yeah [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] Yeah Yeah [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically] Yeah Yeah Oh Oh Oh Oh, just for you I wrote this song just for you Just for you I want to say I want to make love to you I want to make love to you Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Oh, oh, oh, oh Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ROBERT: Bilal ladies and gentlemen.

Thank y'all so much for coming out to this tonight.

It means so much.

[music plays through credits].

[scatting rhythmically] Yeah Yeah [scatting rhythmically] [scatting rhythmically]