Entertainment of Saturday, 20 June 2020
Source: www.mynigeria.com
George Floyd: 12-year-old Bryant signed by Warner Records after heart-breaking song went viral
Keedron Bryant
A 12-year-old Gospel singer, Keedron Bryant, has been signed by Warner Records after his passion-filled original a cappella song addressing social injustices went viral on social media.
His heart-breaking performance of his song, “I Just Wanna Live”, composed by his mum, Johnetta, gained wide attention. Vied love 3million times on his Instagram page with reposts from former President Barack Obama, Lebron James, etc.
Keedron, who was featured on NBC's "Little Big Shots," released the song titled “I Just Wanna Live” Friday on Juneteenth — a national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“I’m a young Black man/ doing all that I can/ to stand,” Keedron sings in the video. “Oh, but when I look around/ and I see what’s being done to my kind/ every day, I’m being hunted as prey.”
The song was inspired by the killing of George Floyd and on May 26, the day following, Keedron posted a video on Instagram of him singing about being young and Black in America.
Warner Records released a studio version of the single on streaming platforms along with an accompanying lyric music video. The video for the stirring song features black-and-white stills of protesters holding signs with the poignant lyrics of Keedron’s song.
The Florida native performed “I Just Wanna Live” Friday evening on ABC’s 8 p.m. “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming.” Previously, he performed a rendition on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” via FaceTime and even did a snippet on TODAY for Hoda.
In solidarity, Warner Records wrote that it will be donating 100 per cent of the debut single’s net profits to the NAACP. Amazon Music will also be donating $1 for every stream through 9 p.m. PT, up to $50,000.
“With R&B energy, soul range, and gospel power, he will undoubtedly make a major impact,” Warner Records wrote in a press release. [TODAY]
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