Pictured (L-R): Sarah-Beth Gerlecz (Nashville Counsel), Leslie Roberts (BMI – Assistant Vice President, Creative), Eric Hurt (VP of A&R), RVSHVD, Jonnie Forster (Manager), Heather Vassar (VP of Marketing), William Dyer (Product Manager). Photo: Steve Lowry
Rising Nashville recording artist RVSHVD has signed with Empire’s publishing division.
From Willacoochee, Georgia, the 23-year-old singer-songwriter started making music ten years ago. While listening to rap beats as a young teen, RVSHVD realized his talent for songwriting. Crediting Lil Bow Wow as an early influence, he dug deeper into the power of songwriting by studying the work of Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Tupac.
RVSHVD (pronounced RA-SHAD) jumped genres after hearing “Sweet Thing” by Keith Urban. With the help of a signature vocal tone, his home studio, and a viral TikTok video, RVSHVD became nationally recognized for his country version of Roddy Ricch’s “Ballin’.” The song went viral on Spotify, TikTok, Apple Music and YouTube, amassing over 20 million streams to date. RVSHVD has shared his talents through TikTok by posting country versions of some of today’s most popular hip-hop tracks. His song, “Raised Up,” teased on Tik Tok, gained nearly 6 million views and landed in the Top 10 All Genres Chart on iTunes. RVSHVD has continued to release original songs through Empire.
“As Empire Nashville continues to grow, we’re thrilled to add artist/writer RVSHVD to our roster,” says VP of A&R, Eric Hurt. “We believe his unique style and talent is important to the country format and we’re excited to be a part of his growing career.”
“It’s a relationship town and you’ll be hard pressed to find a more genuine and dependable crew than Eric, Heather [Vassar], William [Dyer], Sarah-Beth [Gerlecz] and the rest of the team at Empire,” says RVSHVD’s manager, Jonnie Forster. “RVSHVD already feels at home.”
“I’m thankful to everybody at Empire for the opportunity and my friends, family and my fans for the support of my music,” shares RVSHVD. “It’s so dope to be able to live my dreams and do what I love.”
Empire’s publishing division currently represents hit writers Yung Bleu, India Got Them Beats, !llmind, Nebu Kiniza, Fuse (of 808 Mafia), Justin Love, and Kal V, among others.
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