New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Willie Jones shares his poignant, powerful new song "American Dream." Penned by Jones, Josh Logan and Jason Afable, who also produced the track alongside Alex "Lex" Goodwin (Nelly, Jason Derulo), "
American Dream" is a patriotic protest against the racial injustice that continues to plague this country. It recognizes civil rights leaders such as Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and those making an impact in the
Black Lives Matter and current social justice movements.
Watch/listen to "
American Dream" in this patriotic protest video directed by Jamal Wade of Dreambear here: youtu.be/K8xqcuK-aD0
"When I saw the final edit, I knew this was my most important statement to date as an artist," says Jones. "It's going to make people think and understand how I see our country, our collective past, and our future. It was captured perfectly -- the emotion, the creative use of anime, the message being relatable to so many... I felt relieved and inspired. No joke; I got chills."
Jones' video paints the "
American Dream" as a superhero, something for people to look up to and work towards, while also putting a spotlight on police brutality and racism and paying tribute to
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Rayshard Brooks,
Daniel Prude,
Sandra Bland, Aura Rosser, Botham Jean and many others.
Here's what critics are saying of the new track:
"a genre-bending R&B-country song" — PEOPLE
"stunning... anthemic" — Rolling Stone
"adept at blending signature hip-hop with his genuine country" — CMT
Along with the song and video, Jones launches his #IHaveAnAmericanDream challenge initiative in partnership with the
National Museum of African American
Music (NMAAM), which opens today (1.18). The initiative asks individuals to share their dream for change in
America and encourages donations to the museum by texting'AMERICANDREAM' TO 707070.
Watch Jones performance from the museum's ribbon cutting ceremony, which begins at 1 PM EST / 12 PM CST, here: facebook.com/theNMAAM/
Jones' debut album 'Right Now' is available this Fri., Jan. 22 via The Penthouse/EMPIRE.
Website: williejonesmusic.com
American Dream: empire.ffm.to/americandream.opr
Right Now Album: music.empi.re/rightnow.opr
