American R&B Singer, Miguel Makes Stirring Tribute To George Floyd

COVID-19. The George Floyd killing. The Minneapolis Riots. It’s hard not to get disillusioned with the current global situation.

It is heartbreaking, and perhaps, it raises the curtains on so many issues plaguing us since time immemorial. However, in times like this, the enabling and expressive power of music could not be more apparent, as demonstrated in a recent performance by Afro-Latino star, Miguel.

In a stirring display on the Coke Studio Sessions, the singer, songwriter, music producer and actor Miguel performed the song, “Candles In The Sun”, while referencing George Floyd, the African-American man recently subject to police brutality and the subsequent nationwide riots in the US.

In a moving demonstration, he performed the song lying on his chest, with his hands behind his back as if he was being restrained like George Floyd was — a powerful and painful imagery for many.

Speaking before the performance, the artist said: “A lot is going on in the world right now. And I won’t ignore what’s happening. I don’t want to pretend that we are not all feeling collective anger and rage, so before I go, I just feel like it’s important to say something because as much as this opportunity to perform and kick it with you guys should be about levity, I guess it wouldn’t be like me to not say something.”

George Floyd, 46, died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Footage of the arrest on May 25 showed police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he was pinned to the floor for over eight minutes.

“They say, we’re all created equal. That’s what they teach us but that ain’t how we treat each other,” the singer mouthed the lyrics to his song, expressing the collective feelings of the oppressed minority in a world underscored by inequality. Watch the performance here.

The incredible demonstration was made on the Coke Studio Sessions, a virtual concert series organised by Coca-Cola and #BeApp, aimed at supporting the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in its fight against the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

As of present, The Coca-Cola Foundation has donated over $2.5 million to support the IFRC in West Africa in response to COVID-19. The company will also match up to a collective total of $3 million in consumer donations made through this initiative.