Nov. 6 (UPI) — Country music artist and U.S. Global Music Ambassador BRELAND will be in Brazil this week to attend a G20-sponsored cultural summit, the U.S. Department of State announced Wednesday.
BRELAND will be in Salvador, Brazil, until Friday to represent the United States at Salvador Capital Afro, which is an official side event of the G20 Cultural Ministerial, the State Department said in a news release.
Brazil currently sits as president of the G20 for this term. And according to State Department, this year marks the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Brazil.
The entertainer will participate in a panel called “Music for Diplomacy and Inclusion” hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, YouTube and the Salvador Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Tourism.
The panel will highlight “opportunities to empower Black artists and entrepreneurial communities, underscoring the impact of culture in local, regional and global creative economies,” officials say.
It also will feature Scott Weinhold, who is the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs traveling to the G20 as a senior U.S. official. And in addition to Brazilian government officials, the panel will see also Brazilian musical artist Majur and Tuma Basa, who is YouTube’s head of Black culture and Black music.
Born Daniel Gerard Breland, the New Jersey native is an American recording artist, songwriter and producer “celebrated for his innovative blend of country, hip-hop and gospel influences,” the State Department said.
Now a U.S. Global Music Ambassador, he works to “leverage his platform to foster cross-cultural connections and advocate for diversity and inclusion in the creative economy,” the department stated.
Over the summer, BRELAND joined other artists like Jelly Roll and Teddy Swims in South Korea to kick-off their public service debut as U.S. Global Music Ambassadors. The aim was to engage a global audience through music while traveling for tours, performances and songwriting camps.
Originally gaining popularity with his now RIAA-certified 2X Platinum song “My Truck,” the 29-year-old has collaborated in the past with other artists such as Keith Urban, Nelly, X Ambassadors and Thomas Rhett.
Announced earlier this year by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lyor Cohen, the global head of music at Google and YouTube, U.S. Global Music Ambassadors are “the centerpiece” of the State Department’s YouTube Global Music Partnership.
Spanning several generations of Americans and various music genres, the overall goal of U.S. Global Music Ambassadors is to “build on the legacy of the iconic U.S. Jazz Ambassadors of the 1950s and 1960s,” according to the U.S. government, with the hope to “use their music to bring people together and promote peace worldwide on behalf of the American people.”