‘AGT’ Winner Brandon Leake Debuts Powerful New Spoken Word Video
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America’s Got Talent Season 15 winner Brandon Leake has debuted a video to go with his recent spoken word release “Black Boy Born Beretta.” The track is featured on his album Level, a collaboration with Black Chakra.
Last year, Leake earned the Golden Buzzer from judge Howie Mandel for his audition. His poetry act ended up winning the entire season. He’s the first spoken word artist to earn the title.
Brandon Leake Releases Video for ‘Black Boy Born Beretta’
On Sunday, Leake released a visual to go with his powerful piece “Black Boy Born Beretta” with Black Chakra. As the description for the new video explains, “This piece explores the many ways black men are weaponized in this country.”
Leake starts the track by saying that his grandmother told him he was “loud as a shotgun in the quiet of the night,” adding that it was a warning that “for being too loud, Black boys are mutilated.” Black Chakra then shares that his weight as a kid made him look older, meaning he was seen as “both a boy and a Beretta,” referring to a type of gun.
“For what is a Black boy to do when he’s born with a barrel for a mouth, a ladder for a throat, a lineage full of rounds, and a heart hair-triggered?” the artists ask in the piece. They conclude the track by saying, “So before I leave my house, I ask myself, how loud is the sound of my breathing? Afraid that my breaths will be mistaken for a gunshot.”
SEE ALSO: ‘AGT’ WINNER BRANDON LEAKE REVEALS HOW HE’LL SPEND HIS $1 MILLION PRIZE
You Can Listen to Leake’s Album ‘Level’ Now
In the video for “Black Boy Born Beretta,” Brandon Leake and Black Chakra can be seen running from a police officer who catches up to them in an elevator, gun drawn. From the officer’s point of view, the men are shown to look like two assault rifles, driving home the message of the piece.
Leake released the nine-track album Level with Black Chakra in September of this year. When promoting the release on Instagram, Leake shared that it was “unlike anything I’ve ever made before,” adding, “This album has some truly heartfelt story telling, some hard hitting bars, and phenomenal poetry.”
The poet is also featured in the new America’s Got Talent Las Vegas show, along with fellow recent winners Kodi Lee and Dustin Tavella. The show just opened this past week, and it also features recent contestants Jimmie Herrod and Léa Kyle.
Powerful and Deep