Exploring Oceans

By Nzingha Florence

Nina Rivera is a 28-year-old upcoming R&B artist residing in the Washington D.C. area. who recently dropped their first album “Oceans’’ for the world to hear.

Identifying themself as she/they, Nina was born in Suffolk County, New York before she moved to live with her grandmother in Flagger, Florida. Today she lives between both Washington, D.C. and Miami, Florida. The artist has been making music since 2014 but originally went to school for theater where she developed her passion for music through initially writing poetry. “My father was an instrumentalist and I learned how to play the guitar at 14. It was a redefining journey that reminded me that I have musical genes,” said Rivera.

Through individualistic sounds, vibratory beats and Rivera’s own vocals, “Oceans” becomes a body of work that cultivates a peaceful environment to anyone who listens. The album opens with a conceptual song that Rivera produced, using meditative instruments such as a singing bowl and tingsha. These are vocalist instruments created to assist singers in deep breathing. “In the first track, I used sounds of the ocean from the trip I took to Puerto Rico. The second track is kind of my ‘woke’ track, a reminder to look for the divine in yourself outside of where we are taught to look for value,” explains Rivera.

As the album continues, Rivera explains that they are continuing to grow into their selfhood throughout each track, however the climax is the fourth track, “Shipwrecked (Interlude).” In this track, Rivera is realizing their worth and divinity as a Black woman and relates it to other Black women and people’s experiences with the assault on their selfhood by society. Growing up at the hands of the state and having a close relationship to poverty, Rivera relates her own life experiences to others in an attempt to exemplify a journey of self-empowerment. “The main message of this album is that I and everybody like me just want to be free. We just want to be free and we have the keys, so respect it.”

Although the “Oceans” album was released in 2020, some songs on the project were created 2-3 years prior to it being on streaming platforms. For many musical artists, the COVID-19 pandemic had both pros and cons to their creative processes. While this time of solitude allowed some artists to really focus on their work, Rivera temporarily struggled this year in creating music due to the social and political climate of the world. “What happened to Breonna Taylor, what happened to everybody leading up to Memorial Day when the country exploded in protest, I had a dry period. And then I had a push one day and all I had was my story. And if I wasn’t going to tell my story, no one would tell my story. I’m still here, six months later and COVID hasn’t gotten me,” said Rivera.

When it came to the production of the “Oceans” album, Martin J. Ballou and Mav Rock helped Rivera bring their vision to life. “Martin is from Baltimore and is a musical genius in my opinion,” said Rivera. Mav Rock produced Rivera’s single “Push,” which also has its own music video on YouTube, shot by Jada Imani M. Rivera’s favorite song off her project is “Toe the Line” because it’s one of the more resistant songs on the album. “It’s very defiant, which I feel like I deeply identify with. I feel like it summarizes my vibe and my energy,” said Rivera. Three of Rivera’s biggest inspirations when it comes to her music are Sadé, Frank Ocean, and Yung Baby Tate.

Rivera emphasizes to upcoming artists such as herself that in order to get to where you want to be, dedication and devotion is key. “Keep going,” says Rivera. “Seek out people who have knowledge and research. Practice every day. The only thing that makes a difference between anybody and you, is they’re practicing, and they are making it something that they do every single day.”