When songwriter Jermaine Lawrence heard about the make-it-awkward movement, he had what you could call his light-bulb moment.

Lawrence, known in the music world as Mayne Champagne, saw the video that spawned the movement, where Edmonton actor Jesse Lipscombe, while shooting a commercial, and was called the N-word by men in a passing car.

What came out of that was a video of Lipscombe and Mayor Don Iveson launching the make-it-awkward campaign, encouraging people to confront racism when they see examples of it.

Even the prime minister jumped on board, endorsing the campaign online.

Edmonton songwriter Jermaine Lawrence has written and recorded a new song for the city's make-it-awkward movement. (Supplied) Despite the massive exposure and coverage by local and national media, Lawrence thought the younger generation wasn't getting the message.

"I read the news a lot, I'm on the Internet a lot, but when I talk to my peers, who are my age or younger, a lot of them are not aware of what's going on," Lawrence said. "Like, a lot of them can tell you about the Kim Kardashians, and all these different other reality TV shows, but they couldn't tell you about what's going on in their own city.

"So, I felt like if I put it in the media form of a song, people would connect with it."

Lawrence, who is originally from Toronto, phoned his friend, local singer Rachel John-West, also known as Aliza, to produce the make-it-awkward song.

He said he relied on his own experience with racism to come up with some of the lyrics.

As a youth in Toronto, he said he remembers being called racial slurs by police officers on a bus trip to visit his grandmother in Mississauga.

"I was thrown on the ground by police, I was accosted," he said. "I wasn't suspicious or anything. I was just a kid and they said a lot of derogatory names towards me.

"I've been affected on every level. Not just me. I come from a family of Jamaican immigrants, and they've felt it as well."

'People have been really feeling the song'

So Lawrence and John-West produced the song and uploaded it on Youtube. He said so far the reaction has been positive.

"From the response, people have been really feeling the song and really can identify with it," he said.

One line of the song is: "O Canad, they say we're strong and free, but why are we dividing ourselves.

For Lawrence, that line is "the icing on the cake, right there."

"People always say, 'Well, at least we're not like the States.' Yeah, and in a lot of ways we're better than America, and we've made a lot more progress. But there's still a lot more issues that we need to overcome as a people."

John-West said when she was approached to sing the song, she jumped at the chance.

"I sing mostly for fun," she said. "But this is a perfect way for me to get into singing, because it's something I'm already passionate about singing."

As an inner-city social worker, she said she sees people who experience racism and bigotry on a daily basis.

"I'm hoping lots of people see the song, like the song, and that they'll understand that the message is what's important really. That people will get the message and share it with other people, and see that it's something that young people actually care about."