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Green For All Announces Winners of The Dream Reborn: Who’s Next? Music Contest
20-year-old musician wins $1,000 and music video by submitting a song that honors Dr. King’s dream by calling for economic justice and green solutions
Oakland, CA – Today Green For All, a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy, announced that musicians Silent C and Invest have won The Dream Reborn: Who’s Next music contest. Their winning song, “7 Billion,” begins with a news reporter announcing that the population of the world has reached 7 billion as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous; “I Have a Dream,” speech.
Today Green For All, a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy, announced that musicians Silent C and Invest have won The Dream Reborn: Who’s Next music contest. Their winning song, “7 Billion,” begins with a news reporter announcing that the population of the world has reached 7 billion as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous; “I Have a Dream,” speech.
The song taps into the power and responsibility of the planet’s growing population to create positive change: “This is not a black thing, this is not a white thing, this is a world thing, power to the people, 7 billion strong,” is the song’s refrain.
Contestants were asked to write and perform a song about how Dr. King's inspiration leads them to push for a green economy. More than 40 different songs were submitted during the month-long contest, which began on Dr. King’s birthday. The public selected the winners by voting for their favorite songs on Facebook, and more than 5,000 votes were cast.
“We are thrilled by the amount of passion and creativity that made up the Dream Reborn entries this year,” said Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All. “The winning song was a moving tribute to Dr. King, the environment and economic justice.”
Silent C, a.k.a. Christian Dior Wade, a 20-year-old musician living in Atlanta, GA, and Invest, an artist/entrepreneur who was born and raised in Oakland, won the $1,000 grand prize – and the opportunity to have their music video produced by Green For All.
“I hope this song makes people realize that with seven billion people in the world, we need to come together more than ever to help each other and the planet we all share,” said Silent C. “Promoting economic justice and green solutions is a great way to honor Dr. King’s dream.”
The competition caught the attention of record producer Jack Knight, who has created songs for stars such as Diddy! and Jennifer Lopez. Silent C and the other two top performers will receive one-on-one advice and feedback on their music from Knight.
The second-place song and winner of a $500 prize is “Climate Control.” The song was written and performed by the Green Team, a talented group consisting of Marvelous, Moe Cash and MJ, students at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN.
Green For All held a similar contest in 2010 called The Dream Reborn. The Climate Change Crew, a group of middle school students in Minnesota, created the winning performance in that contest.
Green For All will release the music video for “7 Billion” later this year.
To listen to the winning songs, please visit:
“7 Billion” by Silent C featuring Invest: Listen
“Climate Control” by Green Team: Listen
For More info on The Dream Reborn: Who’s Next? contest please visit:
Watch “Change is Needed” by The Climate Change Crew:
About Green For All
Green For All is a national organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through a clean energy economy. The organization works in collaboration with the business, government, labor, and grassroots communities to create and implement programs that increase quality jobs and opportunities in green industry – all while holding the most vulnerable people at the center of its agenda. For more information, please visit www.greenforall.org.
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