Leslie Odom Jr. featuring Mzansi Youth Choir -" Little Drummer Boy" (video, information, & comments)

Leslie Odom Jr,, December 10, 2020

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the official YouTube video of Leslie Odom, Jr featuring Mzansi Youth Choir performing "Little Drummer Boy".

Information about Leslie Odom, Jr. is included in this post along with information about Mzansi Youth Choir. 

This post also includes information about how this song was recorded as well as selected comments from this video's discussion thread.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composer of "Little Drummer Boy" and thanks to Leslie Odom, Jr, Mzansi Youth Choir, and all those who are associated with this song's production and this video.  

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INFORMATION ABOUT LESLIE ODOM, JR.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Odom_Jr.
"Leslie Odom Jr. (/ˈoʊdəm/, born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He has performed on Broadway and in television and film, and has released three solo jazz albums. He is known for originating the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical Hamilton, a performance for which he won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album as a principal vocalist.[1] His television roles included Sam Strickland in the musical series Smash (2012–2013). He is also the author of the 2018 book Failing Up.[2]"...

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INFORMATION BOUT MZANSI YOUTH CHOIR
From https://mychoir.co.za/
"The Mzansi Youth Choir was established in July 2003 with the aim of affording talented, underprivileged teenagers and young adults the opportunity to proficiently perform locally and abroad. The choir consists of on average 50 choristers (13 to 24 years of age) with outstanding musical ability from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The word Mzansi means “south” in isiZulu and is also the township slang word for South Africa. The choir’s repertoire is an exciting assortment of South African music which incorporates elements of traditional music, pop and jazz."

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EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE "BEHIND THE SONG "LITTLE DRUMMER BOY" BY LESLIE ODOM, JR
From https://americansongwriter.com/the-christmas-album-leslie-odom-jr-album-interview/
by Jacob Uitti, Nov. 30, 2020
"While the world knows the name Leslie Odom Jr. for his role in the exquisite Broadway show, Hamilton, another perhaps just as monumental moment in the life was when he got a karaoke machine on Christmas day from his parents at 10-years-old. At the time, Odom Jr., who has since won Tony and Grammy awards, had begun riffling through his father’s records, but the portable karaoke machine – known as a “Singalodeon” – allowed him to record, harmonize and build songs. This experience proved invaluable who would bring the machine to his parents’ room and play them compositions at a young age. Now, just a few decades later, Odom Jr. is poised to release his latest LP, The Christmas Album, on November 6th. The 10-track record, composed during the COVID-19 quanratine, features original and standard standouts, including the song, “Little Drummer Boy,” which features the South African Mzansi Youth Choir. We caught up with Odom Jr. to ask him about his relationship to the song, what it was like working with the choir and much more.

[...]

Did you look into the meaning or history of the song or, simply, what do you like about “Little Drummer Boy”? What does the song mean to you?
Yeah, you’re looking at when it was written. For sure. Every song is different. It’s like scripts, I don’t always do the same work for every one. To me, “Little Drummer Boy” offers a sweet memory of childhood of elementary school – middle school and elementary school choir. That song was a staple. There was rarely a Christmas concert that I wasn’t singing that song in my little boy soprano with 50 other kids. So, it was really nothing more than that. That was my memory of it. Which, in telling my producer that memory, that likely led him to wanting us to add the youth choir. That was his idea, adding the youth choir.

[...]

...What did the Mzansi Youth Choir bring to your recording of “Little Drummer Boy?
We knew that we wanted it to be reimagined. We imagined that little drummer boy possibly in a different scene of the manger. Possibly that manger is in South Africa – just a different version of the scene. But it has the same humility, same sincerity. But we just imaged his drum a little different and then building a chorus of drums around him. That was, at least our idea. Adding the youth choir, we sent them a very stripped-down, bare-bones version of the song where I sang it straight down. We left a section for them. And then we knew we would sing the final chorus together.

But the truth is, they sent us back something that was so exceptional. They really had done a wonderful job and we had to up our game. We had to reproduce the track to be something that was worthy of what they sent us. So, we really owe so much to the choir. What they did was just so beautiful that we had to make the track better."...

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS EMBEDDED VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
All of these comments are from December 2020. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1.Michael Anthony
"this is SO iconic"

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2. Edward Sanchez Productions
"leslie odom jr is so talented"

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3. Karen Marks
"Incredibly beautiful, played it like 40 times today no joke while sewing masks for covid.  Lord I needed this. Bless these children for their love of music and sharing it with us :)"

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4. Maddie Mutungi
"Listennnnnnnnn!!! I am so blessed by this song!!! Oh my goodness!!! Sikilizaaaa this is straight up from the throne room of heaven!! Thank you for bringing joy to many this Christmas 2020!!! This song is the healing the world needs! Asante sana my South African brothers and sisters God bless you exceedingly and abundantly! You all sound and look like angels 👼🏾👼🏿👼🏾👼🏽👼🏾👼🏿👼🏽👼🏾❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" -snip- Swahili to English results from Google translates: Sikilizaaaa = Listen

Asante sana = Thank you very much ** 5. Stessie Egouy
"Love the content he's released lately 😍 Go check out his L.L Bean virtual holiday concert! Love from Martinique ❤💚🖤"

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6. Karen Bole
"OMG so beautiful makes me cry.  Merry Christmas and happy holidays how ever you celebrate"

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7. Mitsuki Kuchiki
"this is just beautiful..this is needed right now"

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8. Tulsa Hudson
"Got Black Panther/Lion King on Broadway vibes from this. Friggin beautiful Leslie. Always blown away"

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9. May Moses
"Love this!! This choir is great and Leslie Odom Jr. you just keep showing the world your many talents!!"

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10. Michael Alexis Palmer
"KILLED IT KILLED IT KILLED IT! THANK FOR BRINGING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT BACK TO US!"
-snip-
In the context of this comment, "killed it" is an African American originated vernacular English term that means "performed extremely well". 

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11. Noel&Jekyll
"The soloist in the choir is incredible. Love this so much"

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12. LuminescentReign
"When you hear music and see videos as this, it's hard to fathom that there are people who don't appreciate different cultures. Thank you

Leslie for this beautiful rendition."

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13. Heather S.
"Great to see traditional African music! This pairing is excellent!"

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14. Klea Tselentis
"Mzansi represent! 🇿🇦👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻"

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15. Grace MacIntyre
"Gorgeous ! The pride in culture in this is beautiful"

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16. Ramen
"THIS IS THE BEST VERSION"

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17. Julie Longchamp 
"SA Lyrics?? ANYONE LOL PLLEAASEEE"

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Reply
18. Azizi Powell
"Yes, PLEASE add the lyrics that Mzansi Youth Choir sings for "Little Drummer Boy". Also, what language are they singing? 

I agree that this is the BEST version of "Little Drummer Boy" I have ever heard. And I LOVE the visuals, including the traditional African attire (and Leslie Odom Jr's jacket that complemented that attire), the face dots, and the natural hair styles.   

 Blessings up from an African American sister who is a new subscriber. "

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19. M D
"they are PERFORMING here 💞 ...kudos to the choreographer and the lighting"

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20. farah diggs
"i love your voice. i love the background vocals. i love the energy. i love everything ❤️❤️"

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Reply
21. M D
"...yeah that's it, the energy it's great"

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22. Azaria Zulu
"LESLIE...REPPIN WITH MY COUNTRY?!!! LESLIE AND MZANSI??!!!

 

God, you've been listening to my prayers?

 

Excuse me while I just go onto my balcony and cry tears of intense gratitude."

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Reply
23. Johanna Florez
"The choir (and the drum arrangement) made this song so perfect!! I never liked it before this version."

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24. Je Marje
"So Beautiful, Thank you! Many Blessings!"

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