'Wake Me Up' Singer Aloe Blacc Releases Funky Lyric Video

What's This?

By Brian Anthony Hernandez2013-11-13 10:44:43 -0800

DJ Avicii's "Wake Me Up" has risen to No. 1 on charts all over the world this year — with uncredited vocals from soul singer Aloe Blacc.

"There's a certain bittersweetness about not having my name attached to it," Blacc told Mashable. "The sweetness, of course, is people have fallen in love with my lyrics and my voice, and it has nothing to do with how my image was sold."

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Now, Blacc hopes people will fall in love with his lyrics and voice all over again — He's premiering the above lyric video for "Can You Do This" on Mashable.

"I'm giving listeners a chance to learn more about the song through the lyrics, so it's just not just noise in the background," he said. "Lyrics are important to me. This song is really about the sense of urgency around one particular issue."

That issue is the ongoing deadly war in the Congo, and the lyric video loosely addresses it with references to gunshots and camouflage amid much talk of dancing. Meanwhile, Blacc is working with Falling Whistles, a group striving to end the war.

"Writing songs is a way I get to address this very important issues," he said. "It's like a spoon full of sugar with the medicine — people get into the music, but the medicine is the lyrics ... I want to drive home the message of what's happening in the Congo."

People may also recognize Blacc's voice from "I Need a Dollar," which was used as the theme music for HBO's How To Make It in America, and "Ticking Bomb," which was featured in a gaming commercial for Battlefield 4.

In October, Blacc released this acoustic version of "Wake Me Up." The video addresses another timely issue: immigration.

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Image: Getty Images; Vevo

Topics: Aloe Blacc, Entertainment, Lyric Videos, Music, music videos, Video