WASHINGTON, D.C. — B. Taylor, a decorated Navy veteran and award-winning musical artist, spoke exclusively with the Washington Examiner about his patriotic song and music video, “We Are One,” honoring those who have served.
“I came up with this, ‘We Are One,’ to kind of unite the country and put our military vets and first responders in the forefront,” Taylor said. It’s for everyone and the family members, because all of us are connected to someone we know, someone that is either a family member, served, is a veteran, in the military, or a first responder. We’re all connected.”
The music video has taken a few years to make with most of the footage taken during shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor was visiting Washington, D.C., to shoot scenes for the music video at the national monuments and memorials.
“I shot a lot, 85% of it, during the pandemic,” Taylor said. “It has all the branches of the military, the VA, first responders, and the NFL is engaged.”
The Navy veteran credits his military service for giving him the success he has today, but Taylor credits his faith in God for getting him through the hard times. When Taylor first joined as an E2, he had never been away from his family. His father, a reverend for Victory Baptist Church in Las Vegas, reminded him of the power of prayer.
“Going to the military, being nervous, it was wartime going on,” Taylor said. “I call my dad. I’m like, ‘Dad, it’s a little different. It’s crazy.’ And he’s like, ‘pray.’ He was just cutting me off, and he was like, ‘You know how to pray. That’s what me and your mom are doing.’”
“The military allowed me to pursue sports, entertainment, and get my education,” Taylor said. “But my faith in God. That’s all I needed. As long as you got God, everything else doesn’t matter, because he’ll open the doors. That’s what he’s done with me my entire life.”
Since retiring from the Navy, Taylor has gone on to play in the NFL and become an award-winning recording artist and producer. He even met Snoop Dogg during a chance encounter when he was stationed in San Diego. The rap and hip-hop legend took Taylor under his wing and became a mentor, helping Taylor break into and navigate the music industry. All opportunities Taylor credits to his time in the military and the hard work ethic the service instills in new recruits.
When asked about lowering recruitment standards, Taylor said don’t mess with the military’s method.
“I know the standards were higher when I was in!” Taylor said. “The military keeps peace around the world. What’s so great about [the military], is their method has stood the last couple hundred years. The method of how they break everyone down, from all walks of life, and they build you up to become one single unit. You work as a team and work as one. I feel like that needs to be taught, because a lot of times now, people just do their own thing. It’s about me, me, me. When I went to the military, I really learned the meaning of teamwork.
Taylor also works as a Global Ambassador for the U.S. Military. “We Are One,” featuring Chapel Hart and J Michael Harter, aims to unite the country and promote military recruitment.
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“A lot of times, when you see people join the military, it’s like, what are you doing that for? And it’s looked upon as a low standard,” Taylor said. “When it’s the highest standard that you can do, to be the less than 1% to wear the uniform. From a recruitment standpoint, I wanted to use this song, in my voice as a goodwill global ambassador and advocate, to help with recruiting measures and going into the veterans retention and say, hey, when you join this opportunity comes. Look what it did for me.”
The music video for “We Are One” was released by Beverley productions, Alinea, and 1 Life Organization on Aug 1.
