Hip-hop artist I Mean Love to give first major concert at VEF Culture Palace on 6 November
Latvian musician I Mean Love, whose real name is Raiens Rolands Šaubergs, will perform his first large-scale concert, “Know Thyself”, at Riga’s VEF Culture Palace on 6 November. He calls it the “last concert of his first era”.
The Latvian musician I Mean Love, a hip-hop artist whose real name is Raiens Rolands Šaubergs, will give his first major concert, “Know Thyself”, at the VEF Culture Palace in Riga on 6 November. He describes it as the “last concert of his first era”. Seated concerts are not typical of the Latvian hip-hop scene, but this performance is an exception.
The show is designed as a look back at the musician’s creative path, from his first recordings to his latest work. The music will be accompanied by visuals created specially for the evening, choreography and personal stories.
Career
I Mean Love began his musical career at an early age, then took a break and deliberately returned to music in 2017. In the first five years after coming back he released four albums – “The Secret” (2017), “Spiritual Wellness” (2018), “Spēle” (2020) and “9” (2021) – as well as the EP “Rozaa kraasa” (2022). His best-known work is the project “Rīta Saule”, created with Krish, also known as Kristaps Hļevickis (2024).
Besides hip-hop, his music includes pop, R&B, soul and electronica, so he is not a typical rapper.
Guests and the idea
Several guest artists with whom he has collaborated at various stages of his career will join him on stage: ansis, Būū, Prusax, Patrisha, Ods, Lessijs and Hunn.
“Know Thyself” is an idea that has run through his work from the very beginning – an attempt, through music, experience and self-exploration, to come closer to an answer to the question “who am I?”.
Raiens says the concert is a chance to look back on what he has done over nine years. While making “Rīta Saule”, he began to realise that all his earlier projects were like separate chapters in one book, and he wanted to close this period with something ambitious. He describes the concert as a ritual of celebration with the people who have been part of his journey, and with listeners. “With this concert I symbolically close the book of the first nine years, so that I can then start writing the next one,” he says.
