Raka Rich and Raka Dun celebrate the release of their debut album, “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” at The Independent in San Francisco tomorrow. The group will rock with a full band as they prepare for upcoming shows in Sacramento, Santa Cruz and Swarthmore College this month. The group is also confirmed for Electric Forest Festival with Schoolboy Q and more exciting festival dates to be announced!
“If you’re going to listen to anyone about how broken the U.S. immigration system is, it may as well be Oakland duo Los Rakas. Cousins Raka Rich and Raka Dun should know: They emigrated here from Panama, and, though they’ve risen quickly in the world of Spanish-language hip-hop and R&B, they haven’t forgotten their roots. The first single off of El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo, their recent major-label debut album, is called “Sueño Americano,” and it’s a fierce meditation on the travails of leaving home for El Norte, and all the ways the journey can end in tears, or worse: “The rent is high, the law is bad — without papers, you’re nothing,” they sing. Not that Los Rakas are always so heavy: Their new album blends this smoldering indictment with romantic R&B and smooth, buoyant rap.”
Los Rakas’ new album “El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo” IS OUT NOW on iTunes & Amazon.
“Sueño Americano” (“American Dream”) – a song and video that could change the world – 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.