Young Franklin County rapper Ray Emmanuel nails performance at Atlanta MLK event

ATLANTA (WTVD) -- A Franklin County high school student and aspiring rap artist crushed his biggest-ever performance Monday at the MLK Commemorative Service at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Raymond Barnes, 14, is a rapper who performs under the name Ray Emmanuel. He has a massive following on Instagram because of his positive lyrics.

The family of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. invited Ray to perform at a service in Dr. King's honor.

The freshman at Bunn High School spoke to ABC11 before his Atlanta trip.

"It's an honor to even be considered," Ray said. "When you're in my position, and you're able to get on the stage or use your platform to reach more people, it kind of engraves it more into their heads," he said.

Ray has more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

He is hoping to use his platform and ability to connect to a younger audience to spread the teachings of Dr. King.

"No matter what odds he was against, he always fought in what he believed in, and that inspires me to do the same, being that he lost his life doing what he had a passion for," Ray said.

The Atlanta performance caps off an exciting few days for Ray. He just released a new single. You can watch his video on Instagram.