Brandon Rivera, now known by his stage name Bravenn DeHill, has been making music since before he can remember.
Music runs through the Lorain native’s bloodline, he said, with him as the next in a family of musicians.
A 2017 graduate of Sheffield Lake’s Brookside High School, DeHill said his chief inspiration is the blending of multiple genres.
“I’ve been listening to music my whole life, like I’ve been around music,” he said. “I was born in Lorain. My whole family is into music.”
About three years ago, DeHill was noticed by local record executive Tito Tahan, who took him under his wing. After signing a record deal with Tahan’s label, ProducerLife Records in 2021, DeHill began working on new music.
“I’m related to (DeHill’s) dad… I was like OK, you know, he’s got a little something,” Tahan said. “I talked to him one time and he was singing for me, and I was like, wow, he’s got talent. Raw talent, though… (I wanted to) get him into the music industry and stuff like that.”
DeHill described himself as a “background character” for much of his musical life, and he originally had trouble overcoming his fear of singing in front of people. Now as a solo artist, he said that his sound fuses a variety of genres such as rock and roll, pop, hip-hop, R&B and trap music.
“It’s a lot of emotions first of all, because music is purely emotion,” DeHill said. “When I was younger… I played drums in the church. I was scared to sing at that point.”
DeHill said the culture shock of the music industry hit him hard at first. Changing from a summer landscaping job to putting in hours and hours of vocal work, as well as songwriting, was a difficult transition at first.
“It’s weird kind of changing over from cutting grass every day to then just focusing on your vocals, your writing, your music, everything,” he said. “Even life, too. (Tahan) is kind of like a big brother almost in that way.”
Tahan said that the process of breaking a new record label signee into the industry can sometimes be easier than getting an established artist up to speed. While it has its ups and downs, the progression of DeHill’s musicianship has been much easier to track.
“I knew the stage where he was starting at, and where I needed him to be in order to release his music,” Tahan said. “We were set to release some music probably I think in 2021, and we didn’t. It had a lot to do with the COVID, and also I just felt like he wasn’t ready yet.”
After having the initial release of his debut single delayed, DeHill said he worked with Tahan on “a few hundred” songs. The extra time gave DeHill a chance to perfect his craft and focus on his own sound, which he said is inspired by artists such as Post Malone.
DeHill’s debut single for the label, titled “One of a Kind,” is set to be released on Oct. 10. Following that, he is going to be opening on tour through the southern United States and west coast, Tahan said. Details on the tour are not yet available.
“It’s called ‘One of a Kind,'” DeHill said. “It’s kind of just about coming out of nowhere, right? I think… in the beginning, I say, ‘I’m not on the road, but soon enough I will be.’ That was just me talking everything into existence.”
