Independent, latin-infused hip-hop music recording emcee, Joaquin Rivs, was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Washington Heights, one of New York City’s most culturally driven neighborhoods. Rivs grew up listening to Spanish music and 90s hip-hop, both of which influence his musical style. Some of Rivs’ hip-hop influences include Black Thought, Big Pun, Nas, Common, Ludacris, Mos Def,  Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.

Listening to these genres and growing up in the Heights, inspired Rivs to pursue his dream: To one day become an influential music recording artist.

Rivs began writing rhymes as a hobby in late 2008 after the passing of his grandmother, seeing it merely as an outlet through which he could express himself. After a handful of gigs at open-mic nights, he settled into the advertising world and put music on hold until 2011. That year, his agency was putting together a cover band to perform at its annual award show. Word of Rivs’ rap skills got around and he was invited to perform. He accepted the opportunity and was able to showcase his talents at the Hammerstein Ballroom in front of 1,200 people. The performance was so successful that Rivs was then invited to perform at the Highline Ballroom in front of more than 1,000 people, followed by a performance at the legendary B.B Kings Blues Club.

Rivs finally took the leap and decided to quit his full-time job. He became a freelance artist in 2013, a decision that provided him with the freedom and flexibility to fully dedicate time and energy into his music.

After a couple of unexpected bumps on the road, Rivs took some time to reflect and fine-tune his vision, carefully thinking about how he wanted to be perceived as an artist. The effort led him to change his stage name from JayMyth to Joaquin Rivs, a change that in Rivs’ mind better represented the music he was aiming for and where he was from.

Joaquin Rivs announced his name change in late 2015 with the release of “Forecast”, a track produced by Akilis Music, inspired by the coincidence of Hurricane Joaquin at the time. Rivs is currently working with Akilis on his upcoming EP due out in mid 2018.

Joaquin just performed at the Richmond International Film & Music Festival in Richmond, VA, where he shared the stage with fellow indie artist and good friend, Zaxai. He performed their collaboration “Colors of You (Remix)” and also premiered his first single “Fuego” off of his upcoming EP due out in mid 2018. Joaquin is also set to hit the stage at a couple more festivals this summer as he is hitting the road with Zaxai.

Rivs hopes to put out material on a consistent basis, perform as much as possible to polish his craft and build his following to gain notoriety among the taste makers in the industry. He hopes that these goals will help him gain the exposure that will catapult him as a standout artist in the hip-hop genre.