By Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Franklin
ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD Jelani Brown was the fourth star which shone at 3 The Lord's Way, staged on Saturday night at King's House. The chubby youngster who attends Mico Practising Primary and Junior High joined Kirk Franklin on-stage and 'represented' to the fullest. This coveted opportunity was seized by young Brown after a call went out from Kirk Franklin for a young boy who knew the words to the song Speak to Me Lord Jesus to come up from the audience.
It was almost not to be for Jelani, as another youngster beat him to the punch and reached the stage first. Luckily for Jelani, the other youngster just wanted to get up on-stage beside the artiste and did not know the words to the song.
After this false start, Kirk called once again to see if he could get the real thing. It was then that Jelani's father, with the help of some members of the audience, raised the youngster over the barricades and he was subsequently lifted on to the stage. The microphone was then placed in Jelani's hand with the rhythm being played - and the rest is history. The massive crowd on hand did not seem to scare young Jelani as he confidently belted out the lyrics of the song. His boldness and vocal prowess was met by
monstrous applause from the audience.
Jelani and Kirk, in probably what was the highlight of the latter's performance, danced and entertained the massive audience, which obviously had no qualms about Kirk turning the spotlight on the youngster.
When The Gleaner contacted Jelani sometime after, he was still on a high. Reminiscing about his moment he said: "I felt very excited, I did not know how to contain my joy." He pointed out that he was a big fan of Kirk Franklin and that he saved the $800 needed to buy the ticket for the concert out of his lunch money. His mother, Jennifer Walker-Brown, concurred that her son is a fan and the family has all of Kirk Franklin's albums. Mrs. Brown, who attends the Church of God Seventh-Day in Darling Spring, St. Catherine, opted to remain in her seat after her husband and son went to join the other enthused patrons at the front of the stage. She stated that she was not in the least surprised to see her son on-stage and performing the way he did, since he was a lead singer for both the children choir at his church and his school choir.
"That was typically him; he loves music, he plays the keyboard a bit, as his father teaches keyboard classes. He is never afraid of the crowd, he is accustomed to it," noted Mrs. Brown laughingly.
The primary schooler said that although he was happy, he was a bit nervous at that moment, but after a while the uneasy feeling subsided. He also revealed that his performance with renowned Franklin has given him some fame of his own among his family and peers.
"They say that I was the superstar. Everybody is saying that I was the superstar," said a jubilant Jelani.
