A second-grader has garnered attention for his debut song, “Wanna be somebody,” which his father posted on Facebook.
The boy, Curtis Marshawn Bean Jr. (also known as “Kid Balla”) raps about what motivates him to be successful in life.
The song starts off with the words: “My dad says I can be whatever I want to. Just put my mind to it ...”
In the chorus the 7-year-old raps, “I go to school and get nothing but As. I’m going be somebody. I’m going be somebody.
“My life depends on the choices I make.”
The original video posted on Facebook by his father, Curtis Bean Sr., has gathered over 38,000 views.
“If you’re not getting good grades in school, if you’re not taking care of that right there, then all those moves which you know in football, all those touchdowns that you score, it’s not going to be worth nothing if you don’t handle this right here. School. Put this first,” he said.
Bean Sr., who wrote the lyrics of the song, said he wants to encourage his son to take the right path.
“I was back and forth, coming from jail,” he told the news outlet.
“I can give it to you blood raw, you know what I’m saying. I didn’t come up the best way. But I am here. God blessed me to be here in my kid’s life to show him another way.”
Bean Jr. is a student at Bethune Academy in Haines City, Florida. His maths and science teacher Cynthia Bouknight said the video almost moved her to tears.
“We’ve talked about kindness and respect. So when I saw that video, it almost brought tears in my eyes because I know that’s in him. And I’m very proud of him,” she told Bay News 9.
One of the lines in his song is: “I respect my elders. I love my mama. I do all she tell me. My teacher ask me ‘Curtis what you want to be?’ Whatever it be, my parents will be proud of me.”
Fans have been sharing motivational messages as they spread the video on social media.
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