BRITISH SINGER-songwriter Jorja Smith today shares the powerful video to accompany her new track “By Any Means”, the lead single off Roc Nation’s upcoming Reprise project.
Smith is no stranger to gracefully addressing social issues; her 2016 breakout hit “Blue Lights” speaks to police brutality, and “By Any Means” accurately tackles the urgent energy swirling in 2020 around a larger civil rights movement.
“By Any Means” is a bittersweet ballad with an operatic backdrop, reflecting on experience in the moment and offering encouragement to stand together and fight.
The lyrics Smith sings speak to her experience as a young Black woman actualising the change in the world, “I take pride in the things that we’ve done / Side by side in the revolution / Won’t stay silent for things that I love”.
Smith states: “The inspiration behind ‘By Any Means’ really came from going to the Black Lives Matter protest and leaving thinking, what can I do to keep this conversation going? It’s not just a post on social media, it’s life.”
Reprise, a collection of songs curated by Roc Nation, is a forthcoming initiative, comprised of multiple artists uniting to let their voices be heard in musical protest. This collection of songs was compiled with hopes to bring awareness to social justice issues. A portion of proceeds will go to funding organisations that support victims of police brutality, hate crimes, and other violations of civil rights.
Over the past two years since the release of her Grammy-nominated debut album Lost & Found, Smith has been celebrated unanimously across the world for her evocative song-writing, powerful delivery, pure emotion and unbridled talent as a young woman navigating her way through the world.
Smith has graced covers of magazines, performed at awards ceremonies and on late night TV, and sold out shows across the world, now surpassing over one billion streams across the world.
Her 2019 hit single ”Be Honest” featuring Burna Boy has become her biggest song to date at almost 200M streams worldwide.
Smith continues to hone her craft and “By Any Means” serves as a much anticipated prelude for more new music from Smith to come in 2020.
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