Captivating the hearts — and ears — of listeners from all ages, 14-year-old American singer Keedron Bryant impresses listeners with his new and self-titled EP, the third one of his career.
The teenager from Jacksonville, Fla., has produced six R&B tunes that contain relatable lyrics showcasing his confidence and coming-of-age experiences.
Keedron tells of the musician’s personal experiences with a girl that he is attracted to, exemplifying the young artist’s charisma.
The singer, who first got noticed when his social justice song in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, “I JUST WANNA LIVE,” went viral, kicks off his album with “Hello.”
The nearly three-minute song has become the most popular of the six. According to SoundCloud, the tune has nearly 17,000 listens compared with his other songs that average around 2,000 listens.
At two minutes and 41 seconds, the bouncy hit starts with a powerful and rhythmic drum beat laced with charming handclaps and hi-hats followed by Bryant’s singing a few seconds later: “Baby can you turn around (hold up, hold up, wait) / Tryna take you on a date (hold up, hold up, wait) / Never seen a girl like you before.”
Listeners can definitely groove along with Bryant as he chases after the girl of his dreams.
Because of his young age, Bryant has a higher vocal range than older singers of his genre, adding to the tracks’ appeal.
Two songs contain collaborations with other up-and-coming artists: “Stubborn,” which features 20-year-old rapper Curly J, and “Like I Do,” which introduces his older sister, Aiyanna Bryant.
Continuing the same overall theme of the album, “Stubborn” reflects the artist’s flirtatious and determined passion for a girl with words like, “Think I’m goin’ crazy over you / Ain’t no ifs or maybes when I’m with you / Is this what they call love?”
However, the three-minute-and-39-second song also unveils a struggle that Keedron Bryant faces: “But she told me I was too young, baby / Shawty so stubborn, heart made of chrome.” Despite this setback because of his age, the sanguine track still maintains a cheerful and confident beat.
The family collaboration in “Like I Do” showcases yet another successful artist feature, as his sister beautifully harmonizes in the background of the song. The connection between the two is evident to listeners, even if they are unaware of the sibling relationship the artists have.
The Accolade was also presented with an opportunity to interview the musician earlier this month with questions regarding the message behind his two other tracks, “Passing Thru” and “Everything.” (The singer appeared via Zoom on Thursday, March 31, during The Accolade’s period five class to perform some of his hits a cappella as well as answer additional questions about his musical journey.)
“‘Passing Thru’ is the image of how I want my life to be: traveling the world and enjoying what I do,” he said from a previous email interview. “At the same time, [I’m] letting my girl know I still think of her too when I’m on the road.”
Similarly, the last song on the album also addresses Keedron Bryant’s feelings toward his crush: “‘Everything’ is where I tell her how much I really care about her,” he said.
Both successfully express the 14-year-old’s feelings through sweet lyrics that are bound to make any girl melt. The artist claims to “sometimes” have a girl in mind when writing these songs.
Compared to lyrics from many of today’s adult R&B artists, like The Weeknd and Chris Brown, that contain explicit and rather unromantic lyrics about lovers, listeners — even those who are not in their teenage years — can find Keedron Bryant’s music to be fresh and revitalizing with its expression on young, genuine love.
Overall, Keedron, released in January, unveils a refreshing layer to Keedron Bryant and effectively captures his audience’s attention. Musically, the album incorporates old classical sounds such as jazz with newer trends like autotune; this interesting combination can intrigue listeners to stick around and look forward to more creative music like this in the future.
For his young age, this talented artist who already surpassed 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify retains potential to only grow and become more successful in his musical career.
