Bilal’s unparalleled place in the pantheon of great vocalists is celebrated in the recently released concert film Live at Glasshaus.
The hour-long experience, directed by Jarrett Wetherell, weaves together interviews and rousing live performances to give longtime fans and fellow artists alike a fitting 25-year retrospective that opens with “Something to Hold.” Common (vocals), Questlove (drums), Robert Glasper (keys), and Burniss Travis (bass) were recruited for the special event.
Deep into the film, Common, who has worked extensively with Bilal throughout his career, expressed unending gratitude to Questlove for bringing him and Bilal together to make music of which he remains deeply proud.
“Once I heard this demo, I was like, this dude … man, this dude is incredible,” Common told the intimate crowd when looking back on his first time meeting Bilal. “He can do anything with his voice. We created on so many songs but just in that Like Water for Chocolate days, the albums and the material that was coming out of there, the fruit. Just hearing these songs now is just making be like, wow, that was a time. I’m just grateful that I lived through those times and was around these artists.”
Per Common, Bilal stands as “one of the greatest artists and vocalists that we will ever see on the planet.” Questlove echoed this praise when looking back on his own first time hearing Bilal’s voice, revealing that he wasn’t initially sure whether he was “singing notes” at all, at least not in the traditional sense.
“Is he singing notes or does he hear the key?” Quest said. ‘Like, what’s he doing? He didn’t sing an actual word until maybe four minutes into it. I’d never heard anyone that bold in my life.”
See the full film up top. Live at Glasshaus, the album, is also out now. It joins Bilal's other 2024 release, Adjust Brightness.
