Canada-based reggae singer Kirk Diamond drew on the philosophies of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I and Jamaican National Hero Marcus Garvey for his latest single Let It Be Done .

“Let It Be Done was inspired by the social unrest that we all have been witnessing. First with all of the injustices that black people are still facing in America and all across the world. Secondly, with the coronavirus pandemic literally stopping and changing what the world thought was normal, I felt we needed to have hope and faith that together we will all get through it,” Kirk explained.

Released on October 8, the song is on the Movement of Ahyrel imprint.

Kirk Diamond was among the millions shocked by the graphic footage of the May 25 cellphone recording of a white police officer suffocating a black man in Minneapolis. The death of that black man, George Floyd, has sparked international condemnation of racism and police brutality.

To date, more than 39.8 million people have been tested positive for COVID-19, while it has claimed more than 1.1 million lives.

“I can relate to the song a 100 per cent and so can the world at large. We have all been affected directly or indirectly by the pandemic and oppression of the black community. We all need to have faith and have some hope that we will be all right at the end of it all. The song has been doing well. There have been reviews in publications and several media outlets that do not usually feature reggae music. I’m very happy about the reception.”

Originally from Spanish Town, Kirk Diamond migrated to Canada in the 1990s and resides in Brampton, Ontario.

“Music has always been my joy. Especially sound systems when I was younger. After migrating to Canada, Jamaican music was my way of staying rooted to home. And it evolved from me singing Beenie Man and Bounty Killer songs, to me singing my own lyrics,” he shared. “Musically, the hope and goal is to spread my message, which is always love, unity and hope.”

In 2018, he won the Reggae Recording of the Year category at the Juno Awards for his song Greater. The Juno Awards is the Canadian version of the Grammy Awards.

His others songs include Blind to Them, Dem Nuh Real and Love Inna We Heart, featuring Bob Da Builda.