MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis musician is making waves with his single entitled 'Black Man.'
The lyrics express his own pride for his background and serves as a commentary on today’s injustices.
Timely is that’s was music artist Brandon Lewis calls his song.
The music video was filmed on the steps of the historic Clayborn Temple.
It’s message he says is to represent men of color amidst a time of racial injustice.
“I really wanted to give a sense of pride as a black man - that was first and foremost. And I just really wanted to express some of the unjustifiable things that have happened to black men overtime and still in today’s time as well,” said Lewis.
The singer-songwriter says his song serves as an exploration of what it means to be a black man in America.
“We’re still treated like second class citizens and I talk about that inside of the song as well. And that’s just something again I wanted to bring awareness to hopefully inspire some type of change,” said Lewis.
Lewis agrees that music can help showcase what a generation is going through, and hopes his inspires others to use their voice against injustices.
“We wrote this song months ago,” said explained Lewis. “One of the things I said is, what makes this song so timely? You know that means there had to have been some things happening before the George Floyd situation for me to feel a certain type of way for me to write the song the way we did.”
Lewis is the protégé of Stax Records Hall of Fame songwriter David Porter.
“He has such powerful music,” said Porter, the CEO of Made In Memphis Entertainment. “In addition to this message music, he has songs that can resonate in a more meaningful way in all kind of relationship situations.”
The artist also is a product of the Consortium MMT, a music mentorship program led by Porter.
“I definitely want my music to be a soundtrack of the times we live in,” commented Lewis.
Porter shared that he’s honored to be a part of the 'Black Man' record and work with Lewis.
“You have to find a special way to be expressive and he’s a specialist at that,” commented Porter.