Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Kahiem Rivera manages to weave a bluesy, world-weary perspective into rap songs about love, sex, race and disappointment. In a constant effort to unpack dealings with mental health and past trauma, he points to a lyric from his song “Woo!” as the mission statement: “I make ‘em dance and depressed at the same time.” Mission accomplished.

Kahiem treats songs as time stamps, with stream of consciousness storytelling that manages to capture his current state of being without sounding like a journal entry. Peppering in clever wordplay over a quilt-like stitch of sonic influences, the music is both highly collaborative and disarmingly intimate. In these tracks, Kahiem gets indie rock vocalists to play footsie with boom bap producers and jazz saxophonists, enforcing his philosophy that community is key and collaboration is everything. His ever expanding live band consists of players from various local NYC projects who share that same vision. 

Ever the multi-hyphenate, Kahiem is also an actor, writer, and has managed some of the most high profile clubs and restaurants in New York City (The Sultan Room, The Nines, Jean’s, Le Dive to name a few). The thread that ties this all together is an ethos that makes sure no interaction feels purely transactional, and that artists and laborers feel their work is valued and important. Because it is. Perhaps Kahiem’s second mission statement can be found in another lyric quote: “We all wanna be heard. We all wanna be seen.” 

Mission in progress.

Kahiem Rivera’s most recent album “How to Write Effectively (During a Slow Apocalypse)” is streaming everywhere now.

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