Single

Stop

Stop is a new single that I’m honored to present to you. For me it represents ending the toxic relationships that we have within ourselves and with each other and realizing how powerful we are. I want to extend this message to symbolize the necessary end to current systems in place that prevent us from realizing our full potential.

To highlight just two in this first post…

***Can we say “just stop” to the system that monetizes people’s illness and disproportionately impacts black people and other minorities? Healthcare for all is key to ending systemic racism. This is so evident. It’s now that we have to demand that our government recognize the need for healthcare and education for all, defunding police and military to invest in communities. We don’t need policing, we just need tools, and our health is the basis upon which everything is built.***

***Can we say “just stop” to the one narrative of linear progress, development, capital gains, and success tied to fame and material riches? I don’t want to idealize or generalize “indigenous” or “native” people, but I know that my sense of peace, appreciation for life, and understanding how interconnected we all are, stems from the experiences I have had living and working with indigenous people.***

The powerful symbol that you see is a Bolivian flag representing the plurality of Bolivia’s indigenous peoples, the complexity of Bolivian society, landlocked in the heart of South America, where the depths of the Amazon meets the high planes of the Andes, which I am so proud to claim as part of my heritage. I hope that our world will evolve to allow for multiple worldviews to exist and thrive. How wide can we expand our mind, is our ultimate richness, all is circular, nothing is lost or gained.

I hope you enjoy “Stop”, and that the musicality inspires you and fills you with powerful emotions.

Thank you multimedia artist Miriam Speyer for the masterful highly symbolic artwork. I highly recommend her for commissioned artwork and also, she is a very talented musical artist. Please check her out!

 

Watch the music video here.

BOMS (Blood of My Soul)

This song, BOMS, “blood of my soul” is dedicated to all of the black women and men who have been murdered by police, a result of systemic racism which permeates every facet of our society. Until #BlackLivesMatter, all lives will not.

Profits from streaming on any platform will be added to my monthly contribution to the Equal Justice Initiative (eji.org), and, if it is ever licensed (big money) profits will also be donated. I am reposting a list of organizations that you can donate to (credit: @botanicaldyke), together with a list of legal resources.

shorturl.at/krxCD
Tab 2: Legal Services and Bail Support
Tab 3: Advice for Protesting and Social Media
Tab 4: Bail Funds, Memorial Funds, Organizations & Mutual Aid
Tab 5: International Solidarity and Resources
Tab 6: Misc Mutual Aid and Community Projects

Here are a few of the names of the women and men lost. I know many many more have gone unnoticed, but they are not forgotten. Say their names.
Breonna Taylor
Sandra Bland
George Floyd
Ahmaud Arbery
Rayshard Brooks
Michael Brown
Eric Garner
Oscar Grant III
Trayvon Martin
Amadou Diallo
Rekia Boyd
Tamir Rice
Alex Nieto
Aiyana Jones
Jonathan Akeem Pairre Ferrell
John Crawford
Ramarley Graham
Kendrec McDade
Ousmane Zongo
Kathryn Johnston
Eugene Ejikeobiora
Tarika Wilson
Sean Bell
Philando Castile
Terence Crutcher
Freddy Gray

I hope we keep up the fight and force true change in the USA. Demilitarise and defund the police allocating these resources directly to the community. Track individual police and hold police accountable when they use excessive force for any reason, not just when it results in severe injury or death. And so much more.

We can do so much. We can vote and make sure those who represent us follow through with their promises, we can protest in the streets, we can donate money, we can boycott businesses use prison labor or otherwise support a white supremacist agenda and we can directly support the black community, by, buying from black businesses, supporting and promoting black artists across disciplines.

I hope that we do not allow the numbing effect of living in a society of instant gratification consumerism to continue to drug us into inaction through surface-deep distractions, the illusion of division. I hope we can rediscover the unique creativity that lies in each of us, our power of expression, of true love.

 

Watch the music video here.

Reach

“Reach”, is a sweet love ballad, in two versions, the first, an organic sounding production featuring the Venezuelan cuatro played by world renowned artist multi-instrumentalist Jackeline Rago (V Note Ensemble, Venezuela) and live drums by Jayme Arredondo. The second version has a polished commercial sound and was produced fully in the box at Crē•8 Music Academy and is being released under new artist name Renay to mark this stylistic evolution.

 

Watch the music videos.

Addicted

Featuring Razteria’s single Addicted (side A) and version of Legendary Roots Reggae Band The Abyssinians – There is no End (side B)