rIVerse is the viral, multi-racial, LGBTQ+ and body-positive pop group that is breaking the internet. An independent Canadian pop and R&B group, rIVerse is a band known for making international waves for their high concept art pop and inclusive messaging. The group is comprised of band members Dizz, Monroe, Khadija and Zak. rIVerse recently released their newest music video for “BaeBeeBoo” off their critically acclaimed album, Poison IV. The album has been heralded for its innovative, genre-bending aesthetic and inclusive messaging which tackles themes ranging from body positivity, self love to systemic racism. We couldn’t wait to talk to the members of rIVerse and share the impact of their music and creativity. Please read our exclusive interview with rIVerse below.

Where are you based?
Monroe: We are a Toronto-based group, but our audience literally spans all around the world with the internet helping us to connect with fans everywhere.

How did you all come together to form rIVerse? Is there a meaning behind the name and what inspired the band?
Dizz: This group was born from me, because I’ve been putting together groups since I was 14-years-old. I’ve always known I wanted to create a music group that gives the level of quality we got from all the biggest pop & r&b groups I loved growing up, but that was also different from anything we’ve seen before. The name actually has two meanings: the first is that we are very inspired by those music groups from the past, especially the 90s and early 2000s, so with our music we give the sense that listeners are going backwards (reversing) in time while still remaining very current and in line with what’s happening in music today. The second meaning is the unique spelling, with a capital IV. We chose this to highlight the roman numeral IV, which represents the four members of rIVerse. We have always been told that the magic in our group comes from the four of us, our individual strengths, and the close bond audiences can feel between us. So we made that an important part of our brand, even down to the band name!

What is everyone’s “first love” in the group? Singing? Dancing?
Khadija: We are all strong in every aspect of our artistry but we each have a different background as artists that helps create a strong balance between us. For Dizz, it is definitely the creative aspect of being an artist - songwriting, production, artist development, choreography, etc. He has known he was destined to be creatively directing musical projects since he was a child. My first love is dance. I have danced my entire life and was actually just beginning my journey as a full-time professional dancer when I met Dizz and he invited me to become part of rIVerse! Zak has always loved music and singing, but he’s definitely the most trained musician out of the group. He grew up playing several instruments and is usually the one at the piano or guitar when we are rehearsing our songs or working on fun covers. And I think Monroe was literally born singing. You can tell when you listen to our records - her voice is a gift from above!!

What have you learned from each other since forming rIVerse?
Zak: After nine years of working together, we have probably learned more than we could express from each other. We are a family and we have been through many highs and lows together, so we turn to one another for all sorts of guidance, both personal and professional. We are blessed to all be committed to growth, so there is always some kind of learning happening between the four of us.

Your music is not easy to pin down in terms of genre -- which is really cool and makes your music even more fun to listen to. How would you describe your sound?
Monroe: The sound of our music is mainstream pop/r&b, with throwback elements from the 90s and early 2000s. Though we explore and incorporate elements from each of our music influences, the consistent rIVerse brand is that big pop sound that could play on radio stations alongside the top artists and those classic r&b vocal arrangements that we love to incorporate. No matter which genre the song fits into, when you hear those voices, you know it’s rIVerse.

Who inspires you and who would you consider your musical influences?
Zak: Our musical influences and inspirations are as individual as the actual members of rIVerse. We all loved the music we grew up with in the 90s and early 2000s, but those influences range from the pop-punk and ska I loved, to the r&b artists Dizz grew up on, to the acoustic singer-songwriters Khadija enjoyed, to the vocal divas Monroe used to imitate in her bedroom mirror. And, of course, we all loved the boy bands and girl groups of the 90s - Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Spice Girls, TLC, Destiny’s Child, etc.! Any of those start playing and it’s an immediate karaoke session for us!

Your new album is called Poison IV and has the alluring tagline “Sometimes Poison is the Cure.” What brought you to the theme of poison?
Dizz: This came from me, randomly one night and I immediately had to run to our group chat to share with the band! Our debut album, ‘Glad To Meet You 2.0’ was the very safe, bubblegum pop side of rIVerse. With this sophomore project, it was important to show the growth we had experienced in between the two, as well as share some of our very real stories. So part of the ‘Poison IV’ name is referring to the fact that we are giving a slightly darker, edgier version of the four (IV) of us. The album title also refers to the sonic throughline of the album. It starts off very light and positive, but as the album progresses the lyrical content and musical production get darker and more serious. We introduce topics like depression, the struggles of coming to terms with your sexual orientation, and police brutality. It is like poison slowly seeping into your veins through an IV as you listen. So ‘Poison IV’ has a dual meaning that we feel fits the album perfectly.

We really admire that you use your music to tell important stories and to make important statements about representation. What is your process like in writing songs? For songs like “Angel Boy” that have a strong emphasis on coming out and queer identity, how do you hope this story impacts listeners?
Dizz: As the topline songwriter of the group, I’m grateful that my bandmates trust me to write our songs and draw from what I know to share their truths. Since we communicate so openly about everything, I know enough of their stories to feel like I can use my songwriting skills to express them the best way possible. For a song like ‘Angel Boy,’ I literally just took Zak’s story and my story and put them into the lyrics of this song. And Monroe coming in with her “angelic” voice at the end is just like the way rIVerse has always been there to uplift each other and remind one another of how beautiful, magical, and wonderful we are, being authentically ourselves. We share this truth with hopes that anyone who can relate to these feelings and stories will understand that they are not alone and that they are also worthy of all the love and light in the world. It is such a rewarding feeling to receive messages from fans thanking us for sharing these songs and letting us know how they feel so much more hopeful after listening. That’s exactly what we want to accomplish.

We would also love to know more about the song writing process for “Stand Up”, which was inspired by Ahmaud Arbery.
Khadija: The song ‘Stand Up’ was actually written and recorded back in 2018. We were just starting the new album and Dizz was inspired by Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ - he knew he wanted rIVerse to create music that could ignite people’s passion in the same way and really talk about important topics. The song was written with the very public assassinations of Sandra Bland and Philando Castile in mind. After the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, rIVerse was deeply affected and we knew we needed to do something to be part of this movement against police brutality and racial discrimination. We had this song already existing so we decided to put it out as a single, even before the album was released. That outdoor video shoot was the first time we saw each other in months, due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order in Toronto, but everything aligned perfectly for us to safely create that video. Just before its release, the world witnessed the public assassination of George Floyd which sparked the massive momentum of protests and demand for systemic change we saw in 2020.

Your song BaeBeeBoo is so catchy and the music video is the happy content we need right now --we also love that Dizz wrote and arranged the song! We couldn’t get enough of the bright colors, the choreo, and everyone’s costumes. What was your vision for this video and what was it like making that vision come alive?
Monroe: ’BaeBeeBoo’ absolutely is the positivity and light that we wanted to share with the world in this dark time and we are so happy it all came to life the way we pictured it! The song started with production from a well-known k-pop producer I met back in 2018 during our month-long tour in Seoul, South Korea. He created this production specifically for us and as soon as Dizz heard it, he came up with the song. With this massive, high-level k-pop sound, we knew the music video had to be just as grand. We are so proud of the way this video came out. It perfectly matches the song and it matches where we feel rIVerse is at this point in our career. We definitely feel like ‘BaeBeeBoo’ marks a significant shift in the path of our career. While we were on set, we kept turning to each other like, “This is the moment we’re gonna look back on, where it all started!”

What has it been like for your group to create music during the pandemic?
Zak: Creating music during the pandemic has had its challenges. We announced that we were going to be releasing our album at the top of the year and then everything shut down and we couldn’t get into the recording studio for months! There was a point in time we thought it wasn’t going to get finished at all. Once restrictions were lifted in Toronto, we basically finished the last half of the album within a couple weeks, in the studio every night, learning our parts on the fly and building vocal arrangements while in the booth! We just wanted to make sure it got done since everything felt so uncertain here. But, on the other side of the coin, those last few songs felt the most magical! The pandemic allowed us to focus just on the music and the messages in a way we had always been too busy to do before. Once life was forced to slow down and we were faced with so many of the deep truths in our lives, it allowed the creation of the songs to flow, which we’re grateful for.

Aside from your music, audiences LOVE watching your “rIVerse Reacts” series on Youtube. What inspired this series and did you expect it to be so popular?
Dizz: We did not expect our YouTube series, rIVerse Reacts, to become as large as it has! This series was something we decided to just do on the side to build up our YouTube page, through a high school acquaintance of Zak’s. Leah Rifkin, who is co-producer of ‘rIVerse Reacts,’ suggested we try a few music video reactions in 2018 and those performed super well, so we continued making them and, over time, really built up the brand. We took the reaction video concept and expanded it to a full-production series. The growth of our channel blew us away and still surprises us to this day! We have reached milestones that many other YouTubers work years towards before they ever see and we are so grateful to every single viewer who watches our content each month.

Jejune loves that you are able to give back to your community in Toronto, Canada and that you serve as mentors for JUST BGraphic Youth Arts Outreach Mentorship Program. What has your experience in the mentorship program been like? What brought you to volunteer with this organization?
Khadija: Oh wow! Jejune has done its research! Our group has always been passionate about giving back to the community and inspiring young people through the arts. A couple of years ago, we had the opportunity to work with JUST BGraphic to perform at schools and speak with local students about the importance of self-acceptance and self-love. One year, we wrote a theme song for the youth and directed them on the recording and performance experiences. We’ve taught workshops on singing, dancing, and songwriting with them. Every time we have worked with JUST BGraphic has been so rewarding, because it is amazing how much talent is out there in our community!! A lot of time, these youth just need opportunity and guidance to help them really understand the power of their artistry.

While the United States has certainly had a reckoning with racism this past year and an influx of support with the Black Lives Matter Movement, many people don’t recognize that Canada has been dealing with similar issues of racism. Can you tell us your thoughts on the state of how Canada is confronting and combating racism in your local community? Where would you like to see improvement?
Dizz: The topic of racism is such a tricky one in Canada because we are a nation that loves to talk about our diversity and showcase how multicultural we are, so much that we sometimes underestimate the lived realities of Canadian POC. We are happy to see that with the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement all over the world, people in Canada are also being more vocal about addressing systemic injustices and demanding change. We would love to see improvement in how widespread those conversations are, though. More people, especially people in power at various levels, need to acknowledge the racism that happens here in Canada. We can’t truly create any major change until we are honest about the issues that are happening in our own communities.

In turning the same critical eye to the music industry, we know that your group is all about defying the historic gatekeeping of the mainstream entertainment industry. What challenges do you think are the biggest hurdles right now that are easy to recognize and what difficulties remain more elusive that we should know more about?
Monroe: There are still many challenges to face when it comes to more inclusivity in the music industry. For a long, long time, the music industry has been run by a certain demographic (middle-aged, white, cisgendered men) and they have been the ones to make the decisions on what is “marketable” and what isn’t. But they don’t really know what audiences want to hear! They just know what worked in the past and how to reproduce that. As the internet grows, we’re seeing more independent artists who don’t fit into that classic “mold” gain lots of popularity and support. Slowly, music industry execs are signing more marginalized artists, because they are seeing the dollar signs behind viral success. Unfortunately, though, the industry hesitates to take a chance on something new until they have SEEN the proof that there’s an audience for it. The backing, development, opportunities, support, etc. that other more cookie-cutter artists get are rarely seen by artists like rIVerse.

We see that you have a GoFundMe for Poison IV Concert - Support UNDERREPRESENTED Arts. Can you tell us a bit about this concert?
Dizz: We are so excited to be producing our Poison IV Virtual Concert! We are creating a 60+ minute show that will bring the full concert experience directly to viewers’ homes. We are building this show exactly the way we would a live concert, so the audience has an experience from beginning to end, and we’re finally able to perform the songs off our ‘Poison IV’ album. Just like we did with the BaeBeeBoo music video, we are going full out with this concert to make it the absolute highest quality we can. This time around though, instead of funding it completely by ourselves, we are asking our supporters to help make it happen. We have shown what we can do on our own with the BaeBeeBoo music video and the Live Performance Video we released a while ago. So we hope people who support rIVerse, our music and our message will have faith that we can do it even bigger and better and will donate generously to help cover the costs.

We love that it is also a fundraiser for Allies In Art. Can you tell us a bit about this organization and why you decide to partner with them?
Khadija: We are so excited to be partnering with the non-profit organization Allies In Art for our upcoming Poison IV Virtual Concert. When we decided to fundraise to cover costs of the concert, we wanted our efforts to go towards more than just our show so we’ve committed to giving a portion of our donations to a non-profit that also serves others. We chose this organization because their mission is to support artists in marginalized communities, just like us. They create programs, offer grants, etc. for LGBTQ+, BIPOC and Womxn artists so we are very excited to contribute to other underrepresented artists in this way.

The pandemic has been hard on everyone, but it has especially hit the arts world hard. What support would you like to see for artists moving forward?
Zak: One of the largest supports we’d like to see for artists moving forward, especially at a time like this, is more recognition of the work that independent artists do. The creation of art isn’t something that’s done easily, on a whim. It takes time and effort and energy and, often, years and years of training. Especially during the pandemic, people have turned to the arts for comfort or solace, but they don’t recognize that the artists who create the work they’re consuming also need to make a living. A simple way to support artists is to share their work, especially with decision-makers or those who are responsible for booking talent. And any company, event organizer, brand, etc. that wants to use any type of art for their projects or events should allocate appropriate compensation for the artists to make sure they are being properly paid for their work.

How are you staying positive during shelter in place?
Monroe: One of the best ways we’ve been able to stay positive is through one another, actually. We really are a family and we are always there to support one another. When any one of us has been going through a hard time, the other three are always there to talk, to listen, or to simply just be there. Also sharing our music, our videos, and our message with our fans has been so helpful throughout the pandemic! They always message us about how we cheer them up, but they don’t realize how much they cheer us up too with their kind messages and comments!

What is your life motto?
Dizz: rIVerse has a declaration that we include in our online content, as well as featured on our album. We ask our fans to say this declaration along with us, everyday, to remind themselves as we use it to remind ourselves as well! To any readers of Jejune Magazine, say this aloud as you read it: I am Beautiful, I am Worthy, I am Valued and I am Loved.

To learn more about rlVerse, please follow them via the below platforms:
Instagram: @riverselive
Twitter: @riverselive
Youtube: @riverselive

You can also access our music, along with links to all our social media accounts, and the links to donate to our fundraiser or PayPal at:
http://www.linktr.ee/riverselive

rIVerse Is Going Viral - The Future of High Concept Art Pop