Music for Ivan B began during his freshman year in high school, and once he decided to go professional with his talent, he honed his craft and skills through a series of consistent practice and music releases. In the last three years, Ivan B has released a body of work annually and has attracted millions of listeners globally. What started from one popular song has grown into a worldwide following keen to see and hear where the journey takes them.
Ivan Paniagua, popularly known as Ivan B, grew up 20 minutes north of San Francisco in Northern California’s Bay Area, home to a lively multicultural music scene where mainstream artists such as G-Eazy, Kehlani, and E-40 originated. He graduated from San Rafael High School and proceeded to work as a waiter in a retirement home, after which he was a busboy for three years while attending Santa Rosa Junior College. After those three years, he went on to release his first album in August of 2017 titled, “Forgive Me for My Honesty,” which debuted at 10th on the iTunes charts and caught the eyes of labels and thousands of new listeners. He followed that up with his sophomore album titled “FRAMES,” a project laden with a heavy message of pushing past regrets.
His most recognized single, “Our Time Together,” has surpassed 21 million plays on Spotify and millions of streams on other digital platforms. His follow-up single “Need You Still” is on the verge of hitting the 20 million milestone. Although one or two hit songs do not define an artist, and in the case of Ivan B, it is certainly not enough to sum him up as an artist. To understand his core as an artist, one needs to delve deeper into his entire artistic representation. In Ivan’s music, one can see the story of a troubled past perfectly told in his emotion-laden lyrics. With a closer look at Ivan’s discography, one can see a recurring theme of self-belief and bravery to make any attempt no matter how bleak things seem. Even in times where he questions himself most, Ivan finds a way to remind himself and his listeners that there is light.
Music remains a universal language, but it is specific to each genre of music and particular demographic of listeners. Ivan targets anyone that has doubted themselves at any stage of their life—most of Ivan’s following comes from young adults within the age of 14-27 who appreciate real heart-driven music. According to Ivan’s team, “We aim towards the general hip hop community as well as the Christian rap community because all of Ivan’s music is clean with no explicit content. Ivan talks a lot about his faith and relationship with God but doesn’t express it in a way where he’s pushing his beliefs or trying to brand as Christian—though people in that area can appreciate it all the same because the music is clean.”
At only 25 years old, Ivan has been active on the music scene for a decade with no funding or backing from a label. With close to 500k monthly listeners on Spotify, Ivan B is set to headline his first mega show in Los Angeles on November 4th, at the “Catch One” venue. This show is something he considers a big step in his career because once the show is done and deemed successful, he and his team will put finishing touches on their ongoing plan towards a 2022 tour.
In five years, Ivan hopes to tour the world and see everyone that his music has impacted. Aside from the tour and plans of making music for a global audience, “We would also love to turn our merchandise line ‘Apparel by Ivan’ into an all-inclusive apparel line that branches into other areas and ideas. We also hope to collaborate with bigger mainstream acts and give back to communities that have helped make our dreams a reality.”
Ivan B’s music and full discography are available on all digital streaming platforms, or you can visit his website.