rivan & The Art of The DELUXX

Ask Brooklyn-based rapper rivan where his name comes from and you get a family tree with a folk tale tangled in the roots. It is his father's middle name, borrowed from Rip Van Winkle, the old story about a man who would rather do anything than his chores, drinks himself into a decades-long sleep, and wakes up to find the world has carried on wthout him. Where Rip Van Winkle slept through his own life, rivan has spent the past few years determined to stay very much awake for his.

That determination runs through his album, as well as the DELUXX. The original was created with executive producer LACHV, whose sound he credits as the landscape the whole project stands on, alongside collaborators Kidd Revel and Aadi. He met the latter two in the early days of his sobriety, and that closeness is audible in the result.

The DELUXX is where his instincts as a collaborator really show. rivan admits that he announced the continuation of the project before he had any new material recorded, convinced he could make it happen within the week. He and LACHV wrote four new songs, then handed the originals to a network of producers he had met in his Discord server and through the album's rollout. What came back is a deluxe that argues that features are an opportunity for reinvention rather than filler.

Taking a look at the cover art, rivan got into graphic design in 2018 through an internship that handed him the full Adobe suite. On his own time, he taught himself to make flyers for his shows and soon, he became interested in video as well. As of right now, he is freelancing as a designer and building his own branding, but the creativity doesn’t stop there. The multi-talented mogul also dabbles in modeling, labeling it as “an incredible side hustle”. Yet as a child, none of this was even in the picture, as he wanted to be a chef, not because he could cook, but because he liked to eat. That much remains true to this day.

None of this would exist without the move that made it possible. He left Vermont for New York with no connections and no plan other than he had to leave home. The first couple of years were the hardest of his life, which is descriptively detailed on the album. Yet through it all, he is as hungry as ever, but what makes this facet of career different is that he sure knows how to cook. 

An important figure in his life is Eli (DiabolicalDiscs), who’s someone who is always willing to build a vision from the ground up while lifting others creatively. He’s learned alongside Eli that you can manufacture almost any opportunity you are willing to make your own here. Other than Eli, his community turns up all over the deluxe. Appearances from Wild East Radio, Ashton Chase & Sumaya Nazar as well as remixes from PEZZZ!, lilith, J P Rose, TYJOHNSON & Lee Ikari bring the project all together. And of course, music isn’t the only part of art that he collaborates on, with Vidhu, Quinn, Taj & Sean assisting on visual work. “None of what I do would be possible without the greatest artists & friends I’ve ever worked with”

As for what is next, rivan plays Alphaville on July 18. And if you happen to be in the market for a high-energy jungle/drum n bass rapper, he would very much like you to know that he is available for booking.