Matt Blaque

At a time when many talented vocalists rely on the creativity of songwriters for their words and melodies, and many songwriters search endlessly for the right singer to boost their song into the stratosphere, Matt Blaque is truly in a league of his own.



The 27 year old East Oakland native has set himself apart from other artists, by virtue of being equally genius in both departments.



The product of a deeply religious and tight-knit family, Matt began to sing at the young age of 5 in the family church, inspired by his father- also a singer. He cultivated his vocals for years, supported by his family and friends.

Growing up in the environment he did, within such a turbulent time-period of Oakland history, it’s a small miracle Matt stayed on the right path. He watched his friends fall to drugs, crime and violence all around him over the years. Matt stayed ahead of the curve. He had three key fundamentals to keep him in line: family, faith and music. He was also a gifted football player at the well-known Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. He was recognized for his bruising play as Bay Area Defensive Lineman of the Year, and was eventually awarded a scholarship to college in Oregon. .



After a couple of years in Oregon, Matt realized football wasn’t his ultimate career goal and decided to seriously pursue a career in music. He enrolled in Ex’pression School for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA, not far from where he grew up. There, he was immersed in all aspects of recording arts: mixing, engineering, producing, composing, and songwriting. He was awarded a degree in Sound Arts and received an internship with Grammy award-winning producer Narada Michael Walden immediately after graduating. Walden made hits for virtually every contemporary pop artist in the 80’s and 90’s: Whitney Huston, Mariah Carrey, Tevin Campbell, Shanice and many more. His track record of hit-making success inspired Matt.



Recognizing Matt’s natural ability as a writer, Walden soon promoted Matt from engineer to senior songwriter. It was then that Matt had his first major placements, landing writing contributions to albums by Toni Braxton, Brian McKnight and the legendary James Brown.



After working as lead-writer at Walden’s Tarpan Studios in Marin County for almost 4 years, Matt set out on his own. A sort of free-agent if you will, he was determined to continue to build his musical resume in the thriving Bay Area urban music scene. He released his self-titled debut album “Matt Blaque.” The album went on to sell very respectful numbers digitally and regionally. Meeting people and making great friends while collaborating on music, he began to build an organization of producers, rappers, DJ’s and engineers who believed in him. Through this natural process he was introduced to Messy Marv, by his producer and friend, Cozmo.



Mess, a Bay Area heavyweight who’s been vastly successful as an independent artist, featured Matt prominently on several of his nationally distributed releases. From there, Matt’s career began to pick up major traction in Northern California, and many other regions.



He became the go-to artist in Northern California for anyone looking to release a record with commercial/radio appeal. His hooks graced the albums of a virtual who’s who in successful Bay Area artists; Yukmouth, E-40, Mistah FAB, Keak Da Sneak, Jacka, San Quinn, Killa Tay, Cozmo, and Guce- just to name a few.



In 2008, Matt was featured on a single called “All Over Me,” commercially released on The Jacka’s hugely successful 2009 “Tear Gas” album. The record went into regular rotation on KMEL and WILD 94.9 (both major market radio stations) almost overnight. The single spun heavily for over a year and still gets play today. The record propelled Matt’s career and notoriety to higher heights than ever before. He was a regional star.



In 2009, an established veteran artist from Richmond CA named Laroo, had a musical resurgence; largely aided by two huge singles that featured Matt on the hooks; “Put Me On” and “Dip.” Both songs received heavy rotation on KMEL and WILD 94.9 throughout 2009 until present day.

Describing Matt’s vocal skills as diverse would be an extreme understatement. Vocally, he’s a producer, arranger, harmonizer and soloist all in one. Sometimes, he builds thick, syrupy harmonies that can fill a room or car with electricity the moment the chorus hits. The very next second, he can pare himself down to only one honest and powerful vocal, which grabs a listener’s attention so acutely, it’s as if the music falls away, and all you hear is Matt.



As a writer of his own music, he has ability to encapsulate and express what is at the same time both current and timeless, relating to the listener on a deep personal level. As a writer of other’s music, he has the uncanny gift to step into the shoes of anyone and beautifully express what they might have difficulty putting into their own words, let alone sing.



Part of what makes Matt so special is his ability to appeal to fans of multiple genres. The R&B fans love him; the Rap fans love him. He steps back and forth from urban to pop and can’t be pigeon holed into a specific “sound.” His music literally transcends the genres. He’s developed an almost cult-like following in Northern California. His fan base is a fiercely loyal group that supports anything he’s musically involved with, and his commitment back to them is evident in the quality of his craft and his Tupac-like work ethic. Matt is constantly recording and performing, writing and innovating.



2010 is poised to be a pivotal year in Matt Blaque’s career. His duo record with San Francisco rapper Guce, “A Gangster and A Gentlemen” was released last month to intense fanfare. Think a 2010 “Best of Both Worlds,” (the collaboration record with Jay-Z and R Kelly), but with a distinctly California feel.



His hugely anticipated sophomore album, “Blaque Out,” is due to be released in 2010 as well. Without question, the record features some of Matt’s best work and collaborations to date. Listening to it, it’s hard to pick the singles out from the rest of the album. It’s as if every song has the potential be a single. The future is undoubtedly bright for this brilliant artist. When a magazine journalist was interviewing Matt recently about the upcoming album, she asked Matt how difficult it was to work with his management team and label to decide which songs to push to the radio. He replied with a sly grin-“It’s tough. But these are good problems to have.”



Good problems indeed.