Today, one week before the U.S. election, Keedron Bryant wants to “Talk About It.” The young crooner returns with an inspiring, affecting video for the soulful song from his EP I JUST WANNA LIVE.
Wise beyond his years and blessed with a voice that has already captured the heart of America through the EP’s viral title track, the 13-year-old singer continues to show just how strongly his work can resonate amid dark times.
With a knack for thoughtful meditations on the current state of the world, it’s no wonder that he was tapped to perform Jermaine Dupri’s pleading “Change” at the “I Will Vote” concert for the Biden/Harris campaign on October 25th—Bryant has a voice the country needs to hear.
The video for “Talk About It” condenses the disorientation and discord of 2020 into just a few minutes. Thousands of protestors march with “BLACK LIVES MATTER” signs. Armored police stand menacingly against a backdrop of fire. Service workers disinfect the handrails inside a subway. And yet the music it’s paired with is aspirational.
Over booming, retro-minded horns and bass, Bryant raises his fist and his voice, filling in the spaces of the big chorus, “Let’s talk about it!,” with soaring ad libs. He calls for a conversation, then a crowd of voices sings, “Light that fire!” It’s the classic soul, blues, and fervor of icons like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, bursting out of a young Black man with a breathtaking voice and the guts to speak his mind.
Since a smartphone-shot video for “I JUST WANNA LIVE” went viral this summer, Bryant has turned his surprise success into a genuine platform for awareness and activism. Even before his concert for the Biden/Harris campaign, he recently delivered a stirring rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy, Me” on Good Morning America.
He also worked on the I Can’t Breathe / Music For the Movement EP, released in tandem by ESPN’s The Undefeated and Disney Music Group. And his own EP I JUST WANNA LIVE is full of songs equally aspirational and inspirational that serve as both a tonic and political response to the year’s social unrest. Every generation has its crop of politically minded superstars, and Bryant might just turn out to be one of Generation Z’s greatest.
This Friday, Keedron Bryant releases his first holiday EP, The Best Time of Year; The project features one original song and three Christmas classics, including “Let It Snow” with his sister Aiyanna Bryant. More to come!
