Hurray for the Riff Raff amps up the political stance with the “Rican Beach,” a new single from upcoming album The Navigator. It addresses the gentrification of the South Bronx and the co-opting of Puerto Rican culture in New York City and beyond.
Out March 10, The Navigator is a concept album written by Alynda Segarra and produced by Paul Butler (Devendra Banhart, Michael Kiwanuka). In the album, Alynda tells an interwoven, cinematic story of a wandering soul at a crossroads of identity and ancestral weight. It finds a street kid named Navita traversing a perpetually burning city. Navita is a superheroine who saves her people from a dystopian future by reconnecting them with their ancestors and pride.
The Navigator is a thrilling call to arms that could not come at a more crucial time. The 12 original songs were inspired by Segarra’s own journey from the South Bronx to the downtown punk scene and beyond, in search of her identity.
Alynda Segarra says about “Rican Beach:”
The significance of releasing this video on the day the Army Corps of Engineers plans to evict the water protectors of Standing Rock does not escape me. I think of the water protectors and I think of the people of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico who are demanding an end to the AES dumping of coal ash which leads to water contamination.
All over the world there are heroes, who, despite suffering generations of oppression, are protecting the land and the future of our humanity. Rican Beach is a fictional place, but it was written with my ancestors in mind. It’s time to call on yours and to always remember: this land was made for you and me.
Follow Hurray For The Riff Raff on Twitter @HFTRR.
