Meet BLVD | Artist/Songwriter & Recording Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with BLVD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi BLVD, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Ideally I was an athlete coming up and that was my first true passion. My senior year of high school I got into a nearly fatal car accident, I was unconscious for 48 hours and through the grace of god I am still here, which at the time, life seemingly pushed me in the direction of my artistic pursuits. The following year I was invited to record a feature for a music group in the genre of “Bachata” which needed a rapper for a fusion track. That song awarded me two trips all expenses paid to the Dominican Republic for media press tours and to shoot the video for the single. That experience opened my eyes to the possibilities of pursuing music professionally and was surely enough to woo me into the journey of following an artistic dream. I would always jokingly say I didn’t choose music, music chose me lol. It definitely unraveled my gift and craft for spoken and written word and the rest has been history so to speak.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My Logo is an artistic representation of the phrase “Bite the bullet” which I feel embodies my journey on this path. It paved way for the acronym for BLVD which is Beyond Limitations Vigorously Determined, “Tough Times Don’t Last Tough People Do” and it kind of stuck with me as I’ve always experienced the story of the underdog. I’ve faced many adversities in life and on this path including almost passing away 3 times. People have seen me go through many trying times in life and never give up and forge ahead as if the obstacles never existed. It helped me find strengths I didn’t even know I possessed. One of the main lessons it has taught me is the power of spoken word, something as humans we take lightly day in and day out. Our words have the influence to shape the world around us if used correctly it can have an amazingly positive effect and on the other hand it can be very destructive. It has definitely taught me patience and dedication especially when trying to bring a vision to life that only you can see. People will talk about and work against you or try and ridicule you when they don’t see what you see. I guess it’s life’s way of testing our faiths, and as they say we have the short road and the long road, the long road is the toughest but also the most rewarding in terms of life lessons and character development, you learn priceless gems that others couldn’t learn from an actual school. Continuing my pursuits has landed me in positions others could only dream of, from my first mixtape release landing songs in #1 and #2 spots in Japan, Australia and Canada to getting a feature on one of my songs from the Legendary Memphis artist Project Pat and shooting a video, most recently landing two songs on an album by the Squad of Knights executive produced by Grammy award winning producer “illmind”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First and foremost growing up next to Yankee stadium, a Yankee game would definitely be a must to experience for any one not from NY. And the rest would depends on said friends interests, New York City has a vast selection of interests that are sure to suffice in making it a wonderful trip. Wether you’re into the arts we have wonderful museums and exhibits, if you love nature we have some dope landscape. Most people aren’t used to tall skyscraper buildings so a visit to Times Square and the city is a must. As far as food goes, I love the small low key gems, especially when you’re craving something close to the love of “grandma” in the kitchen. We have a wide variety from Spanish to Italian, Mexican, Jamaican, and Asian foods just to name a few . Definitely can’t visit NY without having its Pizza, as far as entertainment we have an array of nightlife choices in the city that never sleeps and parties run until the wee hours of the morning surely to make for a memorable experience.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
On the journey of my artistic pursuits there has been many ups and downs and every time I was just about ready to throw the towel in, people who are listeners and supporters of my music would randomly reach out to me to share stories of how I have inspired them and helped change the trajectory of their lives even with what I considered the simplest of things. I quickly started to see the pattern and noticing the universe’s way of pushing me into what I would consider a calling. I saw first hand the impact that one’s words or truths can have on others and that become the sole drive for my creations, to have an impact on people and help others as music had once did for me growing up. It truly showed me the power of music and it was a beautiful thing to experience.

Website: www.BLVDBX.com

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