Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 band has added its “incomparable” sound to a theme song for the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Tapped by FAMU alumnus and three-time Grammy award-winning rapper Common – who initially created the musical composition titled “Victory” in October − the university’s marching band was chosen to perform a recreation of the theme song for Amazon’s Prime Video following an inaugural 2025-2026 NBA on Prime unveiling in October that makes NBA games viewable on the streaming platform. The Marching 100 performance premiered March 7 for the opening of the Orlando Magic vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game, and it will serve as the signature sound for the NBA on Prime each week for the 2025-2026 season.
“We’re very grateful for this piece of music and the opportunity to be a part of the NBA with Amazon,” Common said in an interview with NBA on Prime. “We feel like we created something new with this music that still has the soul and spirit of what we love music to be.”
Common, rapper, actor, writer and activist, is featured during a book talk and signing event for his book And Then We Rise: A Guide to Loving and Taking Care of Self at the Wilmington Public Library on Friday, Jan 26, 2024. A capacity crowd of approximately 350 people attended.
A Chicago, Illinois native, Common studied business administration at FAMU from 1991 to 1992. He has had several accomplishments in both the music and film industries, where he earned Emmy and Grammy awards and has appeared in films such as “Selma,” “Barbershop,” “John Wick 2” and “The Hate U Give.”
Common was also a commencement speaker for FAMU during a spring 2019 graduation ceremony.
After he composed “Victory” in October, he had the idea of inviting FAMU’s Marching 100 to perform the song, and over 140 student members brought the vision to life in different settings of the university’s campus, including the Lawson Center. It is unclear when the band received the invite.
Common was not on campus during the performance’s recording because he was out of the country. But he did FaceTime the band students to watch their rehearsal and virtually praised their musicianship, according to a FAMU spokesperson. He also got on a FaceTime call with the band a second time for singer and actress Jennifer Hudson to listen.
FAMU’s Marching 100 band performs the theme song “Victory” for NBA on Prime.
Other composers of the “Victory” song were record producers Karriem Riggins and James Poyser, and their collaboration with Common marks the first national NBA broadcast theme created by three Black composers.
The opportunity for the Marching 100 comes after the band recently kicked off an HBCU Marching Bands promotional campaign for the Lionsgate’s film “Michael” in a one minute and 50-second promo video performing pop icon Michael Jackson’s award winning song “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough.” The band was not paid for the performance, a university spokesperson said.
Related news: Florida A&M’s Marching 100 kicks off Michael Jackson film promo
In a March 7 Facebook post, FAMU Band Director Shelby Chipman thanked Common as well as Amazon Prime and the NBA for including the university’s marching band in the recent theme song performance. While the band received an honorarium for the performance, it is unclear how much the payment was.
“Thank you Common for your new release of ‘Victory’ for the NBA,” Chipman wrote in the post. “We’re grateful for the collaboration with the NBA on Amazon Prime. Go ‘100.’”
Watch the FAMU Marching 100 band perform ‘Victory’ for NBA on Prime
The marching band’s performance of the NBA on Prime theme song can be viewed on FAMU’s Instagram page.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Marching 100 band performs theme song for Amazon’s NBA on Prime