Who is Tasha Cobbs Leonard? Meet the Ravens-Chiefs Week 1 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' singer

The 2024 NFL season gets underway Thursday, Sept. 4 when the defending champion Chiefs host the Ravens in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship.

After losing in last year's opener, Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City will look to open the season on a good note as they welcome reigning MVP Lamar Jackson & Co. for a star-studded matchup.

In addition to stars playing on the field, a pair of Grammy Award-winning artists will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game kicks off. Learn more about Tasha Cobbs Leonard, the talented singer chosen to sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" on Thursday.

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Who is Tasha Cobbs Leonard?

Tasha Cobbs Leonard is a Grammy Award-winning gospel musician and songwriter. She will sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at the season opener between the Ravens and Chiefs.

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Cobbs Leonard began her solo singing career in 2010 with the release of the album Smile . Her 2013 album Grace features a live rendition of "Break Every Chain," which won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance in 2014.

Cobbs Leonard's 2017 Heart. Passion. Pursuit. album features the song "You Know My Name," which entered the sports world during the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers implored then-Philadelphia star James Harden to listen to the song before Game 4 of the series. Harden credited the song's good vibes after capping off a 42-point performance with a game-winning 3-pointer.

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What time does Ravens-Chiefs start?

The Week 1 showdown between the Ravens and Chiefs is set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET (7:20 p.m. local time) on Thursday, Sept. 5. The game will be played at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

Singer-songwriter and actress Coco Jones will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the night's other main performer will be Quinn XCII, who will perform from Baltimore during pregame festivities.

Pregame festivities, the game, and postgame coverage will air on NBC.

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'Lift Every Voice and Sing' lyrics

Lift every voice and sing,

Till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the list’ning skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chast’ning rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past,

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who hast by Thy might,

Led us into the light,

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,

Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;

Shadowed beneath Thy hand,

May we forever stand,

True to our God,

True to our native land.