BlackRockStar

Inspired by groups and artists such as Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Michael Jackson. After his conversion at the age of 16, he had a desire to share the Gospel through music. At the age of 17 he first found his way to the stages with gospel choir the Go Gang. In this group he discovered his passion for live performance and began to develop a passion for writing his own songs.

After many years of touring under the wings of various groups such as Gospelboulevard and the Ronduit Praise Band, he thought it was time to start working full-time as an artist in 2002. That year he released his first single “Pull Yourself 2gether”, produced by Evert Nieuwstede, who has collaborated with Billy Preston and Herman Brood. A few years later he released his first EP entitled “Takin’ up my chances” which received many positive reviews in the CCM circuit. This EP was recorded and produced in collaboration with JayP Beijersbergen. In 2006 he founded the LOUD Foundation, a foundation with which he helped young people discover their talents in order to increase their self-confidence through workshops and talent development. He also received an invitation from World Vision in 2006 to go to Uganda as a music ambassador to give performances and music workshops to former child soldiers and HIV orphans. Through music he helped these young people express their feelings positively through music. This was an inspiring and life-changing experience that motivated him to get even more out of life as a person, artist and entrepreneur.

In successive years he was chosen as Serious Talent on Radio 3FM with his band RIVE and received a lot of airplay on Dutch radio with their hit single “Growing,” and his video for “Easy Lover” was played extensively on national television at TMF/MTV and Xite. RIVE’s debut album received many positive reviews in music magazines such as OOR, FRET, LiveXS and others. He also won the Heineken Heidepop Award and took part in the “Talented” project, initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. He also successfully released the song “Samira Come Back” together with rapper Kami-kazi, which earned them many shows and publicity on national TV and radio. This was followed by several tours through Europe with his band RIVE and he contributed to various books, including parts 2 and 3 of the Street Bible, and the book “God is not white” for which he also wrote the title song. He also contributed to the play “David” that was performed in 5 cities to sold-out audiences throughout the Netherlands.

In August 2015 he published his first book “Lifestyle” in collaboration with Leonie de Beer and Arkmedia. Of which 1000 copies were sold. For this book he developed a special concert called “Eat & Read” sessions in which he visited youth prisons, youth centers and community centers to talk to young people, youth workers and parents about various topics such as sexuality, mentality, crime and living with love and respect. He spent most of 2016 touring various theaters and schools with his autobiographic theatre-play “The stories of a Blackrockstar”.

In February 2017 he released his new single “Be A Nelson” which calls on people to commit to love, unity and solidarity and with this song he toured the country with Ilco van der Linde, founder of Masterpeace, Dance4Life and the Dutch Liberation Festival.

In September 2017, he published his second book “The choices you make” in collaboration with Ark Media and Ark Mission. This book has sold 5,000 copies in the Netherlands, Suriname, Aruba and Uganda, and parts have been made available for free distribution in all prisons in the Netherlands, including youth prisons. In May 2018 he released his new LP “Choices” on vinyl, CD and Spotify. This record received positive reviews in the Surinamese Parbode, among others.

On May 1, 2020, the first chapter “Friendship” of his 3rd book “BloedBand” was released online on his website www.blackrockstar.com. Each chapter that is released every month also has a special soundtrack, with or without a video clip that can be seen and heard on Spotify and YouTube. The book “Blood Tie”; was released in March 2021 and the soundtrack album was released on March 2023, including contributions from Candy Dulfer, Shirma Rouse, Neda Boin, Rocks (THC), Kami-kazi & Pearl Jozefzoon. In the same month he participated in the Euro Christian Music Festival in Turin and won the award for “Best Performance” and won “Second Best Winner” of the festival. That same year his 2nd book was translated to Italian for specific prison-tours in Italy, titled ‘Le Scelte Che Fai’, meaning “The Choices You Make”. If found it’s way to 2000 inmates.

His latest foundation is Criminal Minded. The main focus is on helping young adults in and out of detention to discover their talents and skills. To create a positive environment in which they can develop. This is done through rap workshops, talent development and 1-on-1 coaching.

He is also currently working on a new project called “Spear,” which tells the story of his struggle with kidney problems. With a visual and musical experience he wants to take people on a journey to how he became ill and how he is now working on his full recovery. This will take place through a special exhibition where images will be presented while Rivelino plays the accompanying songs with his band. These visuals will be available as canvases to be auctioned for the kidney foundation. An album and a book will be released next.

So keep an eye on this ROCKSTAR! Because with his big heart and loving message he hopes to touch many people in the world!