manuel joachim

An ever-evolving artist and musical voice of extraordinary depth and insight, Darrell Kelley has forcefully met many of these moments by speaking truth (and truth to power) with an ongoing array of worldwide hit singles addressing key issues – including “The Coronavirus,” “Ahmaud” and “Police Brutality.” While these and other politically charged songs – including the fiery title track and “Vote Him Out,” both critical takedowns of Donald Trump – form the core of The Audacity, the Atlanta based singer/songwriter’s latest full-length album, Darrell balances them with songs about love, hope and unity that offer a constructive way forward beyond these anxious and challenging times.

“To be honest, until someone pointed out how many songs I had that addressed socially relevant issues, I never saw myself as that kind of artist,” Darrell says. “I grew up listening to great artists who wrote important message songs like The Staples Singers, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, and feel there aren’t enough of them now. But this was never a conscious intention for me. I’m just a guy who has definite opinions about what’s right and wrong in our lives. If I see something wrong, it shouldn’t go unnoticed.

“When people listen to The Audacity,” he adds, “I want them to get a very strong message that as taxpaying Americans, we the people are the ones who run our country. Our vote is what empowers us. You have to realize the power you have and not let the system play tricks on you. There are very serious things going on in our lives here in 2020, and we have the ability to be the change we seek.”

Speaking provocative truth to power from the get go via its title track, The Audacity finds Darrell addressing Trump directly, singing (over a seductive, hypnotic groove) lines like, “You have the audacity to tell us to open up the country/Especially when we don’t have the things we need like vaccine. . .I know our life’s more important than the stock market or economy. . .How in the world can you protect us if you can’t protect yourself. . .You have the audacity to disrespect reporters. . .” Later in the tracking, on the incisive “Vote Him Out,” he calls out Trump on his lies and makes clear the importance of going out and standing up for what we believe in by voting “that sucker out.”

Track Name: Insane In The Ukraine

Track Name: You Gotta Live

Track Name: The Audacity

Track Name: Baby Bae Baby

Track Name: Why Lie On The Queen

Track Name: Derrick Scott

Track Name: Systemic Racism

Track Name: Gun Reform

Track Name: Do It

Track Name: Violence and Hate

*The year 2020 is not over, but between COVID-19 and the global protests for systemic change in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, it will go down as a watershed in world history, a wake-up call for humanity when complacency was shattered and sitting on the sidelines was not an option for socially conscious people.

This song you gotta live is a Very unique song   You’re always asking God to help you but you never know that the door is always open All you have to do is walk through it.   You will never know that you can reach the sky if you do not pursue your goals in your dreams to get to the top of the mountain.    You cannot call yourself a mountain climber if you never climbed the mountain You can never accomplish anything in life if you do not follow your dreams and work harder on your goals.   You Gotta live your life Because you can’t leave it twice Not everything in the world is easy or nice So don’t think that all your dreams is going to come true by imagining it your dreams will only come true by keeping your faith and pursuing all of the opportunities that God has giving us all We only live once on this planet so make the best out of it You gotta live And the only way you live is by keep working and thriving and pushing God Knows your limitation and he will not let you down 

People keep dying because of gun violence.

America needs to step up and stop being so dam silent.

It’s hard to get a drivers license and even your state ID.

But if you’re 18 years old you can buy a AR15.

What are we gonna do to keep these assault rifles out of the wrong hands.

We as The American people demand to hear your plans.

All of This killing in America is very wrong.

It makes us look weak but we say that we’re strong.

We got to stop the pain

 we need to make a change

Let’s get on the same page

 we need to find a  better way.

How many more time’s do we have to go through this.

we need gun reform who cares about blue and red politics.

it’s about children and black people dying in the United States.

Let’s  stop police brutality let’s stop killings because of hate. 

What do you have to think about why do you have to contemplate.

We need better gun laws right now
Let’s change the laws we can’t wait.

America we need to stand together let’s unite.

We are killing each other and that ain’t right

We got to stop the pain

 we need to make a change

Let’s get on the same page

 we need to find a  better way.

Gun Violence

America is not alone when it comes to experiencing gun violence. After taking a vacation over to the Caribbean islands because there was a lot of police brutality issues here a lot of gun violence here and I want to find peace of mind because I’ve been thinking too hard about the situation in America and this song just took my mind off of the negative things in America