Grab a tissue, because YouTube personality Michael Korte has reimagined “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s new song as a stirring plea for love and acceptance.
On Monday, Korte released a music video he created for the title track of Smollett’s debut album, “Freedom,” which is due out later this spring. Dancer Anthony Burrell, who has collaborated with the likes of Beyoncé and Mariah Carey, glides gracefully through an empty church as he appears to wrestle with his inner turmoil.
Korte, best known for his viral Beyoncé-“Hamilton” mashup, “#HAM4BEY,” told HuffPost he wanted to send “a message of equality and freedom to love whomever we so choose.” Ultimately, he’d like “Freedom” to “encourage community and promote conversation,” as well as “provide escape” in America’s divisive climate.
“Art awakens and art demands response,” he said. “It is through that awakening and through conversation that unity will become a reality.”
He called Smollett “an incredible inspiration.”
“We have very few gay artists ― especially gay artists of color ― to turn to, to respect and to idolize,” he said. “To have Jussie be who he is, singing about the freedom in loving whomever we so choose ... proved to be more than enough inspiration for myself and my team to want to showcase the song.”