TCP Teaching Artist Spotlight:

KiKi Breevlife

Kiki Breevlife, best known to her students as Ms. Kiki is a songwriter and performing artist in Boston, MA. She has a B.S. in Business Management, a Graduate Certificate in Trauma Studies which includes Childhood Traumatic Grief Training and Positive Psychology. Through her music, workshops and within her classrooms, Ms. Kiki has made it her Life’s Work to empower young people to find positive ways to express themselves through arts and build resilience in challenging situations.

BREEV (formerly Kiki Breevlife) is a female rap lyricist, singer, song-writer, and activist who originates from Brooklyn, NYC. She relocated to Boston, MA and during her time there she made her first appearance in the underground hip hop scene as a member of the group ‘Mass State Committee’ with REKS, Lucky Dice, and Chi Knox.

REKS released Along Came the Chosen on Brick Records in 2001 where she is featured singing on the song “Meet Corey Christie” and rapping on the duet “Till Death Due Us”’ .Kiki Breevlife went on to embark on solo projects and released her first underground single “Mind Iz Free” on the Critical Breakdown compilation in 2001.The track was broadcasted regularly on WERS 88.9, the #1 college radio station in America according to the Princeton Review. She appeared on hip hop nights with Dj’s Rob & Optimus, Dj Nomadik & Wil Monestime’s Tape Deck Tuesdays / Live Music Week — making her the first female rapper to gain continuous airplay on 88.9 over an extended period of time as a stand alone female artist in Boston. Her music has also been played on Jamn 94.5, Boston’s #1 radio station for Hip Hop and Hit Music on Dj GeeSpin’s show and Dj On & On’s Launchpad Cypher.

BREEV is a fierce performer and has performed alongside Boston greats such as Akrobatik, Termanology, Ed.OG, Esoteric, Mr. Lif, Edan and showcases by DJ Statik Selektah. She has also has opened for the likes of Pharoahe Monch, KRS1, Special Ed, and MC Lyte at Boston’s HipHop Unity Fest sponsored by Mayor Menino at City Hall Boston in front of 20,000 people for two consecutive years in 2003–2004. Kiki Breevlife has gone on to headlining venues in the city such as the House of Blues, Bill’s Bar, The Axis, other “Landsdowne Street” venues and the MiddleEast Cambridge while competing and championing in MC battles in and around Boston and New York City including Kevin Powell’s HipHop Speaks MC Battle in New York hosted by Poison Pen.

She performed with Ty Nitty of Queensbridge’s Infamous Mobb on tracks that she’s featured on for the Screwball mixtape with songs like “Chase the Trap” and “Dats da Game”. She’s also appeared on NY DJ J-Ronin All Elements Vol. 6 Mixtape hosted by Jaz-O among others. She appears on Brooklyn MC Marco Polovision’s “Legendary Cypher” Album in the album-titled song with legend DMC (Run DMC), Persia (White Rapper Show), Hakim Green (Channel Live) and battle rapper DNA. She is also featured with on the song “Revolutionary Suicide” on the same album.

BREEV has featured in a range of publications such as the Boston Globe, Boston Phoenix (discontinued), as one of Boston’s most influential female MCs of the early 2000s and has also appeared on 106 and Park with Raw Earth, an all female hip hop collaborative that she co-founded.

In 2005 BREEV released the mixtape ‘Unfinished Biz’ then took a break from music to complete her college education and engage in community organizing. She returned to releasing music in 2012 with the multi-faceted project “Total Control vol. 1” which blends the underground lyricism that she’s known for with both hard and smooth hip hop beats as well as hard hitting EDM based production. It is in the song “Sweet Caroline” of that mixtape that she declares ‘just call me Breev’ which sets the tone for future projects.

BREEV brings a tasteful blend of underground hip hop, electronic sounds, wordplay, and thought provoking concepts that reflect her creativity.

Tell us about your experience as a Teaching-artist

My experience as a teaching artist has been wonderful! Whether we are painting to music, having an “open mic” or creating a collage, every day in the classroom is a new experience and an opportunity to help a student grow creatively, build confidence and recognize their personal strengths. As a teacher artist my experience has not only allowed me to share information but to also help guide each student to find a positive medium of expression that works for them.

What inspired you to want to work within a classroom setting?

My goal as an artist and an educator has always been to inspire others to be the best version of themselves that they can be, to focus on developing their personal strengths both personally and as a part of their community. It is a natural path for me to work within the classroom setting because I have always believed that expressive arts in public schools is essential for the learning environment.

What do you hope students will gain from your class?

I hope students will gain the confidence to express themselves in a positive way while understanding that although Life may present its many challenges, there is nothing that they cannot overcome with a positive mindset and a can-do attitude.