Song Premiere: Bobby Ross Avila Debuts ‘Heaven & Hell,’ Plus ‘Beats, Riots & Lives’ Tracklist and Artwork

Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and producer Bobby Ross Avila addresses the racial divide on his song “Heaven & Hell” featuring KXNG CROOKED that premieres exclusively on Yahoo Music.

The Avila Brothers, Avila and his sibling Iz, have composed a knocking hip-hop track full of DJ scratching, sampling, handclaps and a driving funk undercurrent that serves as the perfect soundtrack for the chaotic times. Enhanced by talk box vocals, Avila sings, “I see what’s going down / I see what’s going round.”

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Bobby Ross Avila will release his EP, Beats, Riots & Lives, on Dec. 1.

Slaughterhouse MC KXNG CROOKED also chimes in on the chaos, describing tensions between the police and the inner city in addition to gang violence. “These streets ain’t got no sympathy,” he raps. “Even if you catch a gunshot that was meant for me.”

One of the stand out samples is a quote from Donald Trump commenting about immigration. In the excerpt, Trump says, “When Mexico sends its people they’re not sending its best.” Avila used the audio because he wanted to respond from a Latino perspective.

“There’s power in voice as Mr. Trump displayed with his comment,” Avila says. “We need to stop the divide as humans and since that day that Donald Trump made that comment the world now has paid more attention to dumb politrix and to the Latin culture. I wanted to take a stand and use the power of music two voice my opinion and to let Latino’s know that they don’t have to be afraid to stand up and be a voice for good. I will not sit back and let someone stereotype us Latinos and call us aliens, immigrants or talk down to us as if we don’t belong.”

“Heaven & Hell” appears on Avila’s Beats, Riots & Lives EP out on Dec. 1. While Avila is speaking from the Latino perspective, he is an advocate for equality. “I am tired of experiencing the negativity that is going on in our culture today as it relates to Latino’s in particular,” he says. “But I also have compassion for all cultures and religious groups who are facing discrimination from every angle – police brutality, politics, etc.”

Avila has produced by Usher, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gwen Stefani, among others.

Beats, Riots, Lives tracklisting

1. Bobby Ross Avila x KXNG CROOKED - “Heaven & Hell”
2. Bobby Ross Avila x R-Mean - “My Computer Steez”
3. Bobby Ross Avila x Jasiri-X - “No Apology”
4. Bobby Ross Avila x RZA - “Mistakes”
5. Bobby Ross Avila x D.U.B.B. - “Simple Kiss”

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