Meet Matt Perry of BLVCK Kosher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Perry.

Matt, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I embraced music wholeheartedly as far back as my memories reach. I remember listening to Michael Jackson’s “Number Ones” compilation album on my mom’s laptop while I played flash games. In third grade, I began playing violin. That ended by the time I reached middle school and by seventh grade I was singing in Sherwood Middle’s boy’s choir. I continued to sing all the way through high school and into my freshman year of college; performing in different showcases along the way. BLVCK Kosher (further referred as “BK”) began as an idea to start an amateur music label (originally spelled BLVC KSHR).

It was formed with the help of my friend Angel Grant (who is our current Treasurer/Head of Operations) my junior year of high school in order to make the music I was releasing seem more official. Eventually, I began to get more serious about my craft and decided to put on a release party for my second mixtape “Ascension” with two other peers (one of which is Joe Abiakam, aka Elise of the BK art collective). This was August 2017; the summer after graduation.

A year later after my freshman year had wrapped up, BK officially put on its first event with more help from another good friend Nick Williams (BK’s Head of Public Relations/Venue Operations) called “The Exhibit”. It was a showcase of music and visual art with a small sound system and a projector in Nick’s backyard. With a turnout of about 20 people, we were content and called it a success. After going back to school out-of-state and facing issues with the financial aid system, I returned back home to Denver for my Spring semester. While I was back I decided to use the opportunity to officially incorporate two more close friends who could see the vision I held for BK.

These two members are our Head of Community Outreach, Josiah Peters, and head of Sales, Rashad Holland. With this team of six artists, we decided to collaborate and transform BK into an LLC and began planning the second annual showcase of “The Exhibit”. We had one goal in mind though: this time would be bigger and better. And it was. We had a turnout of about 75-85 people at Favor by Rome on N Broadway (shoutout to Fidel for letting us rent out his shop). The event featured music by BLVCK Qi, Nohbdy, Elise, Kidd Sage, Shinobi, and Ayana; visual art by wwangarii and Cameron Azari; photography by Evonne Yup; poetry by Dope Joey; and a dance performance by Natalie Drummond. After the event, we got a lot of positive feedback and interest in future events. Currently, we’re in the process of putting our next event on and connecting with more artists, partners, and businesses in the Greater Denver Area.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wish I could say it’s all been smooth, but like anything in life that worth your time and energy, it’s been a process. The main difficulties we’ve had have been within our own circle regarding communication, and with outside artists making the commitment to our events.

Using six minds to put an event together has a ton of pros that lead us on a progressive track, but it also creates difficulties that cause road bumps for the planning process. On the note of artists, we’ve had mostly success creating those connections and establishing relationships, but we’ve had a few artists show interest and then drop off, which can be a bit aggravating.

Tell us more about your work.
BLVCK Kosher LLC is an art collective that aims to encourage, promote, and create authentic, revolutionary, and innovative art. We aim to use our art and our voices to create opportunities for a better future. BK further aims to create opportunities within the community for young artists to perform and showcase their talents in order to network for future collaborative success.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 7209870600
• Email: blvckshr@gmail.com
• Instagram: @blvckkosher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blvckkosher/
• Twitter: @blvckkosher

Image Credit:
Josiah Peters
Nick Isaiah

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