Rituals of Mine – the immersive, hybrid R&B electronic project of Los Angeles-based songwriter Terra Lopez – is set to drop a new album, HYPE NOSTALGIA (Carpark Records), on September 25th. Today, she shares the new single/video “Free Throw (feat. KRIS),” which follows lead single “Come Around Me.” Through the dark pop and noisy freakbeat of “Free Throw,” Lopez urges equality for BIPOC artists in the music industry. Lopez and KRIS (King Woman, Miserable, NGHTCRWLR) recorded the song in the studio last summer with Wes Jones. The accompanying video, animated by AvaantGarbDesign, is futuristic and matches the track’s noir tone.

“Kris and I talk a lot about our experiences being women of color in the music industry and how time and time again, we’ve been fucked over by either white women musicians or white guys and that shit takes a toll on you,” elaborates Lopez. “It takes a toll on your mental health, your confidence, your perseverance. It also limits your access to opportunities within the industry in a very real way. We wanted to address how we were feeling and have been feeling for years in ‘Free Throw’ by airing it all out, putting it all out there because at this point this needs to be addressed. These disparities within the industry have to be examined and ultimately broken down. Kris and I want to help change the industry and music is just going to be one of the ways in which we shed light on issues. We have a lot of things in the works to help even the playing field when it comes to BIPOC artists. ‘Free Throw’ is just the introduction to that.“