Sydney R&B singer Israel Cruz has returned with a new single ‘Hard Right Now’ – filmed in the heart of Redfern – taking a stand against the Sydney government, who he believes are acting against the interests of the people.

Name-checking Mike Baird and Pauline Hanson, Cruz outlines how his latest stint in prison has affected his approach to music. “I know that it’s been a while since my last release – partly because I spent a year and 2 months locked up. I’ve learned a lot from my mistakes, and living amongst drug dealers, thieves, murderers, armed robbers, and violent offenders opened my eyes to discover something seriously wrong beneath the surface of this city,” he says.

“Our government has put so much pressure on our people to survive, that everyday some of us feel the need to commit crimes to live. It’s sad because this pressure only exists out of pure greed (from our government and their rich allies). The more it costs for us to live in this city, the more it causes us people to do things we wouldn’t normally do. I have seen middle-classed men with jobs dealing drugs to pay their mortgage off. More and more women I know have 9-5s, but are working in the sex industry just to make rent,” he continues.

Indeed, its a sentiment shared with many Sydneysiders – particularly youths who have had their interests shunned and locked out of the nightlife scene and housing market. Watch ‘Hard Right Now’ below, with the video filmed by the Fling Fling collective: