New LOS RAKAS Album “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” Debuts Today As The Top Latin Urban Album On iTunes, With The Powerful “Sueño Americano” (The American Dream) Also Chosen As This Week’s iTunes Latino Free Single of the Week!
The Critically-Hailed/Multicultural Hip Hop Duo Also Unveil A Chilling New Video For “Sueño Americano” Today. Los Rakas describe the song and video as a hard look at the story of a frustrated young immigrant who faces the death penalty after one bad decision – a botched armed robbery – not only forces him to lose his best friend but shows how the American Dream does not always go according to plan.
Sueño Americano (The American Dream – English Translation)
[Get Entire Album Spanish & English Translated Lyrics Here]
These guys don’t know anything about me – Nor do they know what it’s taken for me to survive
Life in America is not what I thought – And even less how they think it is
Those who don’t live here – It’s hard homie, this ain’t Panama
Where if you don’t have something – The neighbor gives it to you
Here, if you want something, you have to find it – And if you don’t have work, you have to sin
Cause the rent is high, the law is bad – Without papers, you’re nothing
They don’t treat you like a human being – This is a message for all of my people
(Chorus)
Hey nothing is like it was before – Things have changed – But you have to keep moving forward
I am an immigrant and they treat me – Like I am a criminal (Repeat)
The American dream – It’s the American dream
That’s how the American dream is – It’s the American dream
The circumstance limits me – I can’t go to college
Because I don’t have my green card – I’m without a job and a negative mind
Doing what has to be done to get to the top – You feel me?
I’m not the same innocent kid anymore – America turned me into a delinquent
Hanging with dudes who rob and sell – Drinking, smoking, making trouble
And my mom is tired, yesterday she called me – She said she can’t anymore
That all day she’s praying to God – That it all goes well for me – And that I’ll never go astray
And my eyes begin to water – She needs me and I can’t even help her
Forgive me mother – Soon me and Rico will have fame and fortune
(Chorus)
Hey nothing is like it was before – Things have changed – But you have to keep moving forward
I am an immigrant and they treat me – Like I am a criminal (Repeat)
The American dream – It’s the American dream
That’s how the American dream is – It’s the American dream
The Panamanian Born, Now Oakland Based Duo Look To Create A Milestone Moment For Multicultural Hip Hop With Their Major-Label Debut Which Is Out Today!
Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, April 15th 2014): There are two clear sounds to Oakland-via-Panama’s Los Rakas major label debut after 7 years of growing their independent Raka movement. “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” presents cousins Raka Rich and Raka Dun as individuals with distinct sounds, expression and stories. With 14 tracks total, first we hear Raka Dun – known as “El Negrito Dun Dun” – spit quasi-autobiographical hip-hop and reggae immigrant love story raps; a soundtrack for a changing world. Then we meet Raka Rich’s “Ricardo” – a sleek and sexy West Coast-sounding 90s reminiscent vibe about a young man who wants and gets it all.
During an interview with MTV Iggy last year, when asked about the album’s uniquely differing sound, Raka Dun explained, “It was organic, we didn’t really plan it like that. We were each working on releasing solo projects. So we sat down and were like, ‘Let’s just release them at the same time.‘” On what to expect from the release, Raka Rich continued, “Dun’s side of the album is like a documentary. It’s a little more personal. The sound of the album is like dancehall reggae with hip-hop, experimental, with a little bit of jazz and soul. My side is called ‘Ricardo’ – it’s more about partying and nightlife. The sound of the CD is like Michael Jackson, ‘90s, uptempo music, feel-good stuff.”
Los Rakas take their name from the Panamanian word “Rakataka” – long a slur used to describe someone from the ghetto. The duo of Raka Rich & Raka Dun have instead chosen to empower the term into a proudly touted badge for cultural Rebels – looking to both inspire and embolden fellow ‘Rakas’ to become successful despite their circumstances.
Los Rakas in Panama in 2013. Photo by Raka Pitufo.
Fittingly, the first single from “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” – entitled “No Tan Listo”(“They Ain’t Ready”) warns conventional society and the music establishment that a fresh, new hip hop sound and mentality is arriving, whether they are prepared or not.
Follow-up single “Sueño Americano” (“American Dream”) takes a hard look at the story of a frustrated young immigrant who faces the death penalty after one bad decision – a botched armed robbery – not only forces him to lose his best friend (in the video, played by Raka Rich), but shows how the American Dream does not always go according to plan.
“Africana” is an irresistible reggae dancehall-tinged tribute to Afro-Latina women. The dedication was produced by Los Angeles’ Yeti Beats, who also produced “No Tan Listo.” Raka Rich & Raka Dun exalt black and brown women from all across around the world, with a hook that ends in: “Africana, eres number one” (“Africana, you’re number one.) They call for their sister, mothers, aunts who are Black to truly love themselves to recognize their power and beauty: “La mamá de mi papá es negra / La mamá de mi mamá es negra / Ay como quiero a mis negras Latinas, Africanas / Ellas todas son bellas.” (“The mother of my father is black / The mother of my mother is black / Oh how I love my black women / Latinas, Africanas, they are all beautiful.”)
Featured in the world’s leading soccer video game – FIFA 2014 – El Negrito Dun Dun goes in on “Hot,” a Southeast Asian-influenced bass number with a chorus celebrating all the “Hot, Hot, Hot” women of the world.
We start to feel the switch in tone on the album with track 9, “Pegaito” where, alongside Raka Dun, Raka Rich (in the character of Ricardo) and the music transport us: “Vamos a los ochentas” (“Let’s take it back to the 80s feel…”) taking you to a 1980s-era San Francisco party scene. It sets the mood for the remainder of “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo.” This is music for the grown and sexy.
“Hasta El Piso,” (“To The Floor”) which the group released visuals for in Complex Magazine, is a steamy call from Ricardo to his lover to lay it down for him to take control. It eases you into the mood, complete with a sensual guitar solo from the track’s producer and longtime collaborator, Stylo.
Another standout track, “Siente La Musica,” (“Feel The Music”) is a bilingual pan-global anthem recalling a romantic night with Ricardo’s dream girl when the perfect song played all night. It’s an uptempo, 1990s-sounding track you might hear at a rooftop party in the summertime as the sun rises over the Bay after a long night of dancing: “Tu cuerpo mi cuerpo se piden acción/ Y de repente escucho mi canción / Es una noche perfecta llena de emoción/ El ritmo me hace perder el control…” (Translation: “Your body, my body are asking for action / And suddenly I heard my song / It’s a perfect night full of emotion / The rhythm makes me lose control…Feel the music!)
“El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” is a bold debut album from Los Rakas. With two definite sounds to the album – due to the fact that the album was originally conceived as each member’s solo project and later joined together to represent the group’s debut with Universal – it’s their respective stories told in the way they artistically want to tell it.
Raka Rich’s Ricardo, fantasy-laden and sensually spectral, is like a film or a soundtrack to a novela, and Raka Dun’s El Negrito Dun Dun, heavy-hearted and honest, is like a documentary. In some ways, it’s a metaphor for all the aspects of our lives, the truths and fantasies we all have within us all.
The group also continue to tour nationally (including San Francisco’s The Independent on May 1st, California Roots Festival in Monterey, CA on May 24th, and Electric Forest Festival on June 26th in Rothbury, Michigan) and internationally, so stay tuned!
Tour dates here: www.losrakas.com/events
Singles:
“No Tan Listo“, “Sueño Americano” y “Chica de Mi Corazon” = Soul & dancehall music with a cultural, urban twist.
“Siente La Musica”, “Malibu Girl” y “Pegaito” = 90s-feeling Latin house music for the grown and sexy.
Get “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” on April 15th and support the Raka movement worldwide at www.losrakas.com and www.soyraka.com
Download “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” at iTunes or Amazon
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