The Grammy winner said she felt called to write and sing the song, as a way to speak out against injustice.
“I have felt called by music like I have never felt before,” she captioned an Instagram post about the ballad. “I have been following its lead. It has led me to the song ‘A Perfect Way to Die.’ The song title is so powerful and heartbreaking because WE are heartbroken by so many who have died unjustly.”
She continued: “Of course, there is NO perfect way to die. That phrase doesn’t even make sense. Just like it doesn’t make sense that there are so many innocent lives that should not have been taken from us due to the destructive culture of police violence.”
“Simple walk to the corner store/Mama never thought she would be getting a call from the coroner/Said her son’s been gunned down, been gunned down/Can you come now/Tears in her eyes/Can you calm down/Please ma’am can you calm down?” Keys sings.
Keys said she initially wrote “Perfect Way To die” with the deaths of Michael Brown and Sandra Bland in mind. She appeared on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” on Monday to debut the song and discuss her campaign with artist Rapsody and activist and founder of Until Freedom Tamika Mallory to bring attention to the case of Breonna Taylor.
Also Friday, Keys will face John Legend for a VERZUZ battle on Instagram Live.