Raptivist Muneer says it takes wearing a life jacket to ‘Be Alright’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 31, 2022) – In a public service announcement featuring his new song “Be Alright,” the Artist and Raptivist Muneer Gonsalves tells fans that wearing a life jacket when boating or recreating in the water will help keep them afloat and safe when visiting Corps Lakes.

Muneer, who embraces activism and positivity when performing hip hop, said he partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” campaign because even a single loss of life is too much.

“I know that my fans like to get rowdy sometimes and the energy can get up there, so I just want them to be conscious about what they are doing, especially on the water,” Muneer said. “One wrong step and you can lose your life. I don’t want that for anyone.”

Muneer, a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, now calls Nashville, Tennessee, home because he’s working hard to write meaningful songs and make Music City the catalyst that helps him reach his fans, especially the nation’s youth, to embrace the positive culture he’s featuring in his music.

“I’m a positive content hip hop artist. My goal with hip hop is to encourage the old to set a better example for the young, and to show the young how to forge their path in the right way – making better decisions and the right things with their lives,” Muneer said.

In the water safety PSA, Muneer shares that it takes wearing a life jacket at Corps Lakes to “Be Alright,” which is also the name of his song playing in the PSA.

Muneer served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2012, including a deployment to Iraq. He started as a cavalry scout and then reclassified as a crew chief on a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. He said he loved every bit of his military service, but left the Army having achieved the rank of specialist to focus on family and being a dad.

As a father of four children, his focus is on investing in the younger generation by changing the genre of hip hop. He said his music is all about being very expressive, full of energy, uplifting, and absent of profanity, which is why partnering with the Corps of Engineers on something worthwhile like water safety makes perfect sense.

“I decided to shoot this public service announcement to make people aware that one step could be your last one. Please be careful. Please wear a life jacket, make good decisions and keep an eye on your kids as well,” Muneer stressed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is one of the nation's leading federal providers of outdoor recreation with more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states. Its Water Safety Program reports 154 fatalities at Corps Lakes in fiscal year 2021; 90 % of those were men. There were 55 fatalities related to swimming and 81 related to boating accidents. A total of 139 of the 154 people died from drowning and a whopping 147 of them were tragically lost not wearing life jackets.

Corps officials note that it is important to wear a life jacket to survive unexpected slips or falls overboard because it buys time to be rescued. It only takes an adult an average of 60 seconds to drown and an average of 10 minutes for a strong swimmer to put on a life jacket after entering the water.

The National Operations Center for Water Safety in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Education Foundation (The Corps Foundation) developed the “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” campaign. The campaign targets adults, primarily adult males. Over the past 10 years (2012-2021) 88 % of USACE public recreation fatalities were male, 87 % were age 18 and older, and 89 % were not wearing life jackets.

The Muneer PSA can be viewed on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System website at https://www.dvidshub.net/video/855900/muneer-says-takes-life-jacket-alright. Corps Lakes visitors are encouraged to visit www.pleasewearit.com for more information about water and boating safety. For more about Muneer, go to www.theartistmuneer.com.

(Story written by Lee Roberts. The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.)