Love + Revolution is the second full-length album from New York-based ‘Puerto Punx’ Ricanstruction. The album is the best yet, packed with raging rock licks and radical lyrics in English and Spanish. Ricanstruction is one of the most creative and unique rock bands recording today. They combine punk, Hip Hop, reggae, rock and salsa into a wholly original barrio creation. Reminiscent of Bad Brains, the Clash, Public Enemy, Fishbone and Fugazi among others, the band is doing their own thing.
Ricanstruction gained notoriety from their inclusion in AWOL Magazine’s musical compilations and tours. AWOL opposes military recruitment among young people and supports conscientious objectors and resisters in the military.
Fronted by vocalists Not4Prophet (N4P) and Taina, Ricanstruction’s lyrics are uncompromisingly revolutionary. They are inspired by an eclectic political heritage from Pedru Albizu Campos, father of Puerto Rican nationalism, to Assata Shakur, to Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, to Malcom X and beyond. Both Marxism and Anarchism seep into the rage and militancy of Love + Revolution.
Drummer Chuck Treece, New York radio DJ Steph Lova, veteran rap revolutionary Chuck D and Dead Prez are just some of the guests on the album. The title track opens with an excerpt from a speech by Fidel Castro and ends with some wisdom from the mouth of Assata Shakur. In between, N4P and Chuck D hold it down on the theme of Love + Revolution. The chorus grates in the background:
Outside children dying politicians lying
cutthroat corporation gang land generation
X and king forgotten Huey Newton shot and
arms and evolution love and revolution.
Vernon Reid, cofounder of the Black Rock Coalition and formerly of rock innovators Living Colour, joins Ricanstruction on ‘Love + Happiness,’ the most successful song in the bunch. The call and response between N4P and Taina is addictive and the politics are right on. Reid’s guitar solos are legendary and he delivers here. There is even some Latin percussion and a sample of Malcolm X. I don’t know what will move you more, the beats or lyrics like
We will feed/all that need
Plant a seed/no more greed
None will bleed/or exceed
All will lead/all are freed
We will fight/for what is right
And unite/black and white
And invite/the knock at night
And incite/love and light
The longest track on the album, ‘Illegalize It’ is a reggae-tinged reference to Peter Tosh’s classic pot anthem. The song questions pot-smoking as a form of resistance in the barrios and ghettos. Revolution, not escapism, is the solution. “Marijuana in my left hand/Molotov in my right/End all confusion/of which one to light,� N4P chants. The song is mellow but militant, a nice break from the driving pace of the rest of the album.
You may not agree with all of the politics on the album, and you may grow tired of the grinding guitars that run through most of the songs. But everyone has something to love here. If you want an album that rocks, but has an urban feel, Love + Revolution is it. If you are a punk that is down with reggae and Hip Hop, Love + Revolution is it. If you are a young revolutionary looking for a new obsession, Ricanstruction is it.
For more information:
Ricanstruction Home Page www.ricanstruction.net
AWOL Magazine: Revolutionary Artists Workshop www.awol.objector.org
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