By Alex Gryciuk
Kev Choice is an impressive artist capable of masterfully combining Hip Hop, Jazz, Soul, R&B, Funk, and Classical into intricate musical compositions; each song and performance immersing the audience in a musical experience uniquely different from anything they’ve ever heard before. Starting his musical career at age 11, Kev Choice began rapping and learning to play piano. Further on, he graduated with a Bachelors in Piano Performance at Xavier University of Louisian and graduated with a Masters in Music at Southern Illinois University. Later, traveling all over the world to play as a professional keyboard player. He has worked with Lauryn Hill, Michael Franti, Goapele, Too Short, The Coup and opened for Robert Glasper, Mos Def, Digable Planets, DJ Quik, J Davey and many other artists. He also leads a band, Kev Choice Ensemble.
This incredible artist has created multiple albums each with interesting beats and creative combinations of different musical genres. His music challenges what listeners might not normally hear and immerse themselves in new music. His debut album Oakland Rivera is included in one of musical achievements. Recently, he also created an album called Socially Distanced as a coping mechanism to the pandemic. Recorded before lockdown, all the songs explore the life behind an individual experiencing a pandemic through rapping and beautiful jazz and hip hop.
Furthermore, Kev Choice has participated and thrives in the local musical community. His song Movements was released as part of the CURRENTS series at the SF symphonies and performed at local venues like the SF Botanical Gardens with Kev Choice Trio and the Zellerbach Playhouse with Vân-Ánh Võ and the Blood Moon Orchestra. This local, Oakland native, educator, pianist, composer, emcee, producer, and activist continues to create interesting music and change the music scene with his expertise.
I would highly encourage listening to his music found on all music platforms by looking up Kev Choice. Some of my favorite songs from this artist are “Life I Always Wanted”, “Crazy Illusions”, and “Silver Lining”.