A todos mis lindos Salvadoreños— May this be a visual reminder for you all to PROUDLY take up all the space that you want and to never forget that WE BELONG HERE and no one can ever make us feel like we don’t without our consent. I’m grateful to my Grandma Rina for making the courageous decision to immigrate to America during a time in ES that was plagued with civil war and violence, and who worked tirelessly to first provide for her three children by sending money back home, then to put together the means to eventually bring them here to Los Angeles to begin a new life away from the ongoing terrorism in their home country. I had the opportunity to honor her and her sacrifice by saying yes when asked to sing the anthem at Angels Stadium for Salvadoran Heritage Day, and instead of my stage name Rain Bisou, I asked them to announce me as Rina Cervantes as a gesture of love and appreciation for my namesake. I wouldn’t be here, the first college graduate in my family and the only professional singer, if it weren’t for her determination, resilience, hard work and commitment to laying a brand new foundation here in America. Thank you once again @afja.es for trusting me with the task and for giving me the pleasure to represent your organization on its mission to support Salvadorans throughout America, especially during this turbulent time. May we continue to work together towards doing all we can to uplift, inspire, empower and support our people 🇸🇻 Last but not least I want to give a special thank you to my friend @bryantlara for making the connection with @stevenlevy__ and being a GIGANTIC reason why this got to happen for me 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Que Dios los bendiga!
“MADRE.”
I wrote this for my mother in the aftermath of a series of traumatic experiences that drove us apart to the extent that she was not present on the day Soleil was born. It was a painful time— I was filled with confusion, resentment, rage and bitterness and the only move left that would preserve my mental and emotional health was to simply keep my distance. I cried abundantly during that season, especially because most of it was during my pregnancy and the most vulnerable months of my postpartum period— the moments where a daughter longs most for her mother’s support. Despite the amount of pain I endured, our time apart was valuable— I realized that all forgiveness was self-forgiveness and that my willingness to heal my mother wound would also support my daughter’s healing, a realization that came with the willingness to accept and take accountability for all of the ways I had fallen short as a mother to her thus far while still being offered the opportunity to continue experiencing unconditional love from her— a humbling truth that in turn left me filled with gratitude and compassion for my own mother. In the midst of this season of addressing this deep, generational mother wound, I gave birth to “MADRE,” the first single from my project with @cas1beats , @pattyclover and @yelloblac . We started the project when Soleil was only two months old. She’s now 18 months and the project is almost complete. Thank you @_studio354 for capturing this live performance and @cas1beats for providing the poignant, dark soundscape to a piece that, in all of my vulnerability and sorrow, I lovingly offer to all of you. As my mother always says: “Bendiciones.”
You altered the direction of my life, Joe… and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. Meeting you and getting to play music with you is one of the greatest blessings life has offered me. You were, and still are a blessing because no matter what transitions you experience in this universe, an energy as magnanimous as yours can never die…it only changes form. You gained the wings you worked incredibly hard for because you never took the time you had on this earth for granted. I watched you build your legacy with every moment that life offered, and I admired the way you loved your wife and daughters loudly, proudly, and with a steadfast devotion that very few women and girls in this world can say they’ve ever experienced. I’ll never forget all the moments we did our best to maintain our composure while you cracked your wildly inappropriate jokes on the talkback mic…jokes only the band was privy to. You made all of us feel special and you genuinely cared about showing us a good time. Your raw honesty, accountability and direct form of communication was what many of us, especially myself, needed to evolve into the next level of personal and professional development. Thank you for being that courageous messenger…. so many of us are who we are today because we had you as our mentor, whether or not we admitted that was even the dynamic! You didn’t give out compliments easily and you rarely, if ever, smiled in photos… But this was a moment where I dished back your humor by saying something ridiculous right before the camera flashed at the perfect time to capture you losing your cool guy composure. And I’m so glad this moment was crystallized cause I’m now finding myself having to face the fact that I’m never going to laugh with you again and that really, really fucking hurts. I’m gonna miss you, Joe. We all are. You made us all feel safe and I think that’s why no one ever imagined you ever not being here. You were one of those people in our lives who was never supposed to die. But God called you back home when He felt it was time and I’m glad that before you went, I told you how proud I was of you. I truly am. Rest in power, brother. You earned it.
This song is for anyone who’s really going through it right now… life is CRAZY atm for most of us and for the sake of our sanity and self-preservation, we gotta learn how to cultivate a healthy sense of humor to get through these dark times! We’re gonna get through it, and we’re gonna get through it together. Take some time today to look back at an experience from your past, one that really riled you up back then that you can genuinely laugh about now… and realize that whatever it is you’re going through presently, you WILL get through it, you WILL learn and grow from it and you WILL see the silver lining in all of it. Sending all of you a ton of love 💜
🎥 & 🎶: @yelloblac ✨
Recorded at @elementrecordingstudio 🎧
Mixed by @mixingmo aka @moshakray 💜
Mastered by @jordanriverrecordings ⚡️
🧿DIVINE F**KING COMEDY🧿
How we all experience life is all a matter of perspective… @yelloblac and I were up late one night contemplating a film where the director’s creative choice was to present the same scene first as a tragedy and then as a comedy and it got me musing about what life would be like if we decided to always see the humor in how life moves for each of us… This is how “Divine Fucking Comedy” was born. @itriune then offered me a pair of gorgeous bookend verses to complete this piece, and because of his genius contributions, this is easily one of my favorite tracks I’ve ever released. You can listen to the full version of DIVINE F**KING COMEDY on my album SIMPLE CHEMISTRY. We hope you’ll enjoy it! The link to the album is on my bio, and if you’d like to directly support the creation of my next album, you can buy SIMPLE CHEMISTRY on Bandcamp for $11.11! Thank you so much for supporting my journey as an independent artist 🙏🏻
🎥 & 🎶: @yelloblac
Recorded & Mixed by @mixingmo aka @moshakray 💜
Mastered by @jordanriverrecordings ✨
The day I wrote this verse I was driving down the coast in a literal fury on my way to Terranea to sing at a wedding… I was so fervently involved in my songwriting that I literally rear-ended someone’s brand new BMW… they still had a paper license plate. I’m lucky to be alive.
Still, the show had to go on. As soon as the other driver and I exchanged insurance information, I took an Uber to my gig, pretended like nothing just happened, performed onstage like I didn’t have a totaled car waiting for me in front of Smart & Final on the corner of Western and 25th, and I would have had to take another Uber back to the mess I made if @zachfenske didn’t offer to drive me back . If it weren’t for my Tia Jenny lending me her AAA that night I would have been completely assed out.
This was almost 5 years ago. I’ve obviously learned a lot of important lessons since then (songwriting on the notes app while driving was a very stupid, dangerous, selfish and inconsiderate decision that I haven’t made since) but I’ve also stuck to my guns with regard to whom this song was about. I truly do wish you well. I truly want you to thrive… but I want you nowhere near me as you continue on your life’s journey, and I’ve collected enough data in our time spent together to trust my instincts and to stick to my decision. People are sometimes only with you for seasons and/or for reasons. Not everyone is meant to be with you throughout your lifetime, and this includes people from your childhood and the people you call family. There’s ZERO SHAME in deciding you want to leave someone behind because you’ve decided to make the revolutionary decision to CHOOSE YOURSELF.
I hope this verse serves to affirm whoever may be watching this and feeling ready to make that decision now for themselves and/or for their loved ones. I hope this message offers anyone who’s ever had to walk away from someone they never thought they would walk away from the strength to follow through.
🎥 & 🎶: @yelloblac
Mixed by @mixingmo 💜
Mastered by @jordanriverrecordings 🎧💻
🧿I WISH YOU WELL….🧿
This is track 15 from my latest album, UNRELEASED OVERFLOW. Check out the full version which includes a verse by the one and only @kidabstrakt 🔥🔥🔥 Unreleased Overflow is out everywhere but if you’d like to support the production of my next album directly you can purchase this and other projects on Bandcamp for $11.11 ✨✨✨ The link to my albums is on my bio! Thank you for supporting me on my journey as an independent artist 🙏🏻
🎥 & 🎶: @yelloblac
Recorded and mixed by @mixingmo 💜
Mastered by @jordanriverrecordings ✨
🍸🏖️: @tantalumlb
🧿F**K AROUND & FIND OUT (VERSE II)🧿
This is track 4 from my latest album, SIMPLE CHEMISTRY! You can find the link to my album on my bio and you can also purchase the entire album for $11.11! Thank you for supporting my journey as an independent artist ✨✨✨
WHY DON’T YOU JUST F**K AROUND AND FIND OUT?
This is track 4 from my latest album, SIMPLE CHEMISTRY. You can purchase it on Bandcamp for $11.11 ✨✨✨ Thank you for supporting my journey as an independent artist 🙏🏻
🎥 & 🎶: @yelloblac
Recorded and mixed by @moshakray aka @mixingmo
Mastered by @jordanriverrecordings
