Alicia Keys uses her star power to uplift the nation after protests in New York City and Ferguson. The “As I Am” musician releases a moving anthem called “We Gotta Pray” with an accompanying video.
The release of the touching song comes just in time for the grand jury’s decision in New York not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo after using a deadly chokehold on Eric Garner.
Backed by a piano, the three-minute ballad Keys asks for the world to remain hopeful during these dark times.
“Pray for the world tonight / We gotta save somebody, save somebody tonight,” Keys sings. “Fire in the air / What the hell going on? / Sirens everywhere, singing that street song/ Violence everywhere, barely holding on.”
Keys gave some backstory on the new anthem via social media. “I wrote #WeGottaPray a while ago, yet the lyrics have never meant more to me than during this time,” wrote Keys on Twitter.
The music video for the song includes photographs of civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.
Listen to “We Gotta Pray” by Alicia Keys below.
