Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old who showcased his beautiful vocals while delivering a powerful message has signed a deal with Warner Records and his viral song will be released June 19 (Juneteenth).
His song “I Just Wanna Live,” written by his mother, was released on social media May 26 in response to the George Floyd murder and was immediately shared by celebrities such as LeBron James, Janet Jackson, Lupita Nyong’o, and even our Forever President Barack Obama.
Billboard reports:
“It’s very exciting because this is what God’s called me to do,” Keedron Bryant said in an interview with The Associated Press this week, adding that “it’s just been an exciting experience to work with my mom.”
Johnnetta Bryant, 38, said watching the video of George Floyd dying as a police officer pressed a knee on his neck “really hit my heart just so deeply because I am a mom to a black son. I have a black husband. I have black brothers, uncles, cousins, friends.”
So she said a prayer and asked God to send her a sign.
“I needed his wisdom. I went into prayer. He gave me those words so clearly,” Johnnetta Bryant said of writing the “I Just Wanna Live” lyrics. “I shared it with Keedron … and I told him, ‘…I want you to take these words and I want you to pray over them. Meditate on them. Whenever you’re done with them, come out and we’ll record it.’ He did just that.”
LMusic producer Dem Jointz saw the video of Keedron Bryant singing a cappella and was immediately moved.
“It just moved me to create music around his vocal,” said Dem Jointz, who produced music for the song and then contacted the family to share his version with them.
Dem Jointz’s re-working of the song caught the attention of the head of urban marketing at Warner Records:
Warner Records is donating 100% of the net profits of “I Just Wanna Live” to the NAACP and for every stream of the song on Amazon Music, the company will donate $1 to the NAACP for the first 24 hours the song is out, giving up to $50,000.
Born in Sicily, Italy, to minister parents, Keedron Bryant began singing when he was 5. He gained fame earlier this year when he appeared on the NBC variety series “Little Big Shots.”
As for his mother, she said that she’s caught the songwriting bug and have 5 more songs to follow-up.
Congratulations to Keedron and his mother Johnetta Byant!
