Patti LaBelle, Common perform at DNC in Chicago Tuesday

Two R&B powerhouses, Patti LaBelle and rapper Common, performed at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night in Chicago.

The theme for the night is “A Bold Vision for America’s Future,” and the programs will include speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama.

Here’s an introduction to Tuesday night’s DNC performers:

Who is Patti LaBelle?

Patti LaBelle kicked off the DNC’s second night with her hit song “You Are My Friend” during an In Memoriam segment.

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“We have lost so many patriots since the last convention,” said Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who introduced LaBelle. “So before we go any further tonight, let’s take a moment. Join with me, and let’s remember them all.”

LaBelle strolled onto the stage, adorned in black lace over a white blouse, and belted, “My friend, I feel your love when you’re not near.”

“Kamala!” LaBelle shouted between loose, wild and powerful belting and scatting. “God bless America, Kamala Harris!” She strolled off-stage to roaring applause.

Known as the “Godmother of Soul,” LaBelle is an R&B diva with two Grammy Awards and 13 nominations.

She got her start in a small, Philadelphia-based girl group, according to a 2023 radio profile. The group performed locally and shifted its name three times, from “the Ordettes” to “The Blue Belles” to simply “LaBelle.” LaBelle launched her solo career after the girl group put out five albums and the smash hit “Lady Marmalade.”

Her solo career produced hits like “On My Own” and “You Are My Friend.” In the ’80s, she released a now-iconic cover of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and the song “The Best is Yet to Come,” a collaboration with Grover Washington Jr., which earned LaBelle her first Grammy.

In 1992, LaBelle won her second Grammy for her album “Burnin'” in a rare tie with Lisa Fischer.

Later in her career, LaBelle took a songwriting hiatus, which lasted until her 2017 jazz album “Bel Hommage.” She also competed on “Dancing with the Stars” and, wearing an incredibly life-like flower costume, performed on “The Masked Singer.” She has since released a Christmas album called “Christmas Favourite.”

Who is Common?

About a half-hour into Tuesday’s program, Common took the stage with fellow Chicago native Jonathan McReynolds, a Grammy Award-winning gospel musician. The pair returned to their hometown to perform a mash-up of two songs: Common’s new “Fortunate,” off his July release “The Auditorium Vol. 1,” and McReynolds’ hit “God is Good.”

“I thank God for this moment in time where Kamala Harris will change the world for the better with love, hope and grace,” Common said before breaking into song. He rapped: “The feeling is free. We live at the DNC.”

Common, whose legal name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn, is a rapper, actor and activist who has had a long and stable career since the ’90s, collecting a whopping three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Common began rapping in high school, when his Chicago-based group C.D.R. opened for names like N.W.A. and Big Daddy Kane. His solo career began in 1991 under the stage name Common Sense and spread outside of the Chicago music scene by the late ’90s. By then, Common was collaborating with R&B stars like Lauryn Hill, Questlove and Erykah Badu.

In the 2000s, Common’s career saw mass critical success for his albums “Like Water for Chocolate” and “Finding Forever.” He contributed to fellow Chicago native Kanye West’s debut album “The College Dropout” and signed to West’s label GOOD Music.

In recent years, Common collaborated with John Legend to write “Glory,” a song featured in the 2014 movie “Selma.” Both artists won an Academy Award for the song. In 2018, Common starred in the film “The Hate U Give,” which follows the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager. He has also appeared in the Apple TV+ show “Silo.” He’ll go on tour at the end of this month.