Amber Riley Covers Beyonce’s ‘Freedom’ Amid Protests
As the #BlackLivesMatter protests continue, artists are doing their bit to honour George Floyd. Jay- Z recently put out a page long advertisement in newspapers across the United States that held the caption #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd along with quotes from Martin Luther King Jr’s speech from 1965. His wife, Beyonce, has taken to social media to put out petitions and to voice her opinions on the issue. Stars like Halsey, Ariana Grande, Nick Cannon and others have taken their protests on foot, holding up placards and helping injured protesters.
In fact, a number of artists recently gathered outside LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s house for a peaceful protest led by Black Lives Matter co-founder, Patrisse Cullors.
The sit-in at Garcetti’s home, witnessed a celebration of African-American art, with dance and music. One live performance in particular that’s getting a lot of praise is Amber Riley, who covered Beyonce’s track, ‘Freedom‘.
‘Freedom’ & The Lyrics it Brings to the Table
‘Freedom’ featured on Beyonce’s 2016 album, ‘Lemonade’. The lyrics are, as expected, quite heavy but play a very relevant role in these difficult times.
Ten Hail Marys, I meditate for practice
Channel nine news tell me I’m movin’ backwards
Eight blocks left, death is around the corner
Seven misleadin’ statements ’bout my persona
Six headlights wavin’ in my direction
Five-o askin’ me what’s in my possession
Yeah I keep runnin’, jump in the aqueducts
Fire hydrants and hazardous
Smoke alarms on the back of us
But mama don’t cry for me, ride for me
Try for me, live for me
Breathe for me, sing for me
Amidst this, the rapper Chika also did a brief speech over a microphone where she emphasized the importance of communities standing up for and supporting each other. She also highlighted the fact that protesters were being injured and detained, simply for speaking up. Here’s a couple lines from her speech:
“Three days ago, me and my manager were detained for no f—ing reason out here doing what is our constitutional right to speak up for ourselves. We are here to fight for our cause. Take care of each other. The whole point of us being out here is to take care of each other…. They want to talk about us needing to go home. We shouldn’t have to f—ing be here, how about that?”
As we mentioned earlier, artists in the music industry are focusing all their efforts on honouring George Floyd and pushing for racial justice, which is the need of the hour right now.
By: Nina Karun
