Keedron Bryant of Jacksonville, Florida, is living his dream after his hit song “I Just Wanna Live” captured the attention of millions of people all over the world. The eighth grader at Oakleaf Junior High School can now add award winner before his name after The Associated Press named his song the song of the year for 2020.
In May 2020, the track athlete appeared on the popular NBC show “Little Big Shots.” However, it was his heartfelt song posted days later about police brutality following the death of George Floyd, that led him to stardom.
The touching tune was written by Bryant’s, mother Johnnetta Bryant, a civil service employee, after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of Floyd while he was in custody and crying out that he couldn’t breathe.
Bryant, 13, and his mom saw the song as a way to express what he and many others were feeling over the killings of Blacks by police. His a cappella performance has been viewed on social media more than 3.6 million times.
“When it went viral, I was on Instagram and scrolling and I was like, wow, a lot of people are posting it and people are sharing it across the world, so it was definitely great and fulfilling inside,” Keedron said.
It’s since been shared by numerous celebrities who empathized with the deep message that Keedron and his mother were trying to convey in the song. Johnnetta said it was difficult keeping up with the number of people reposting the video because it all happened so fast.
“It was hard to keep up, you know. I don’t know who was first. But definitely LeBron James and Timberland, Janet Jackson, and Ms. Tina Lawson. Those are the ones I can remember. But, again, it was so rapid,” Johnnetta said.
Keedron said he has dreamed of and in some ways worked toward becoming a singer since he was 5 years old. He says his newfound stardom has put him a lot closer to pursuing his lifelong dream.
“Since the song went viral, I landed a record deal with Warner Records. I got signed, and since then, I’ve been recording music,” added Keedron. “I’m putting more content out there, doing video interviews, and I just keep on recording and recording and doing a lot of events with other artists, so, it’s been a lot.”
And for his mom-turned-manager, much has shifted as well. For three years now she has written songs mostly in her journal. Now she has witnessed one gain acclaim in landing a recording contract for her son.
“Definitely busy trying to adjust to all the pull on Keedron and even myself as the writer. We’ve been very busy, but it’s been a great busyness. One thing on the mom-manager side there are so many requests that he gets and it’s just kind of hard to tell people no,” Johnnetta said.
The two said thankfully they, Johnnetta Bryant’s husband, and Keedron’s older sister haven’t had any negative encounters with police. However, they are cognizant of how Blacks are being treated all over the world and even in their community.
“I am very conscious and aware of the danger that my skin color puts me in. So even though it has not personally knocked on my door, it’s in my culture, it’s in my community. It could be me, I still don’t take it lightly,” Johnnetta said.
Although the viral video has caused their lives to change for the better, they are still hopeful that things will continue changing in communities all over.
And Keedron had a special message for anyone with dreams of following in his footsteps.
“The advice I would give them is to always stay humble. Never get distracted. Just always stay focused and just keep working hard,” said Keedron.
“Keep growing in your gift and talent, whatever you want to be, just stay on track. Trust in God and believe in God that he will protect you from anything that will come towards you. But, you will have some hard times and some tests and trials that will come, but you can still stay motivated and have positive vibes,” Keedron said.
From the words of his song, Keedron has this message to those who find themselves abusing their power while in uniform.
“I just wanna live, I just wanna live,” Bryant said.
