Shortly after release of his unreleased single, 'Million Dollar Baby', in April, Tommy Richman and his close collaborator and good friend Kavi made a 'club pop-out' appearance together. The club, Abigail in Washington, DC, seats about 250 people—but it soon became clear to Kavi that it wasn't going to be big enough.
“The second we went out, actually, they were taking pictures of us like paparazzi. I walk down to the club, and there's a line around the block, packed,” Kavi recalls. “About 700 people showed up … It was just a great night.” He pauses, then states with a laugh, “At least for me and Tommy. I don't know if everyone else [thought so]because it was so crowded in the club!”
Such flashback moments have quickly become commonplace for Richman, Kavi and the rest of their inner creative circle — which also includes “Baby” co-producers Max Vossberg and Jonah Roy, recording artist Paco (currently opening for Richman on his Before the Desert mini-tour) and videographer Josh Belvedere, whose moving behind-the-scenes clips of the song's recording helped it catch fire on TikTok pre-release. Kavi says his role in the team is both executive producer and producer: “When [Tommy] sets a vision, I can think of people who can collaborate on what would be best for it and sounds we can chase — just creatively steer the direction it needs to go.”
While the 21-year-old Los Angeles-based producer is one of five credited on the ultra-smoky, falsetto-tinged “Baby” — with Mannyvelli and Sparkheem rounding out the group — Kavi was responsible for the song's “aha” moment. . He was going through a sample pack by Canadian producer DJ Smokey that he found on Reddit and heard the vocal track that ended up inspiring the song's catchy, charming opening. “I was like, 'Oh, this is kind of hard!' Kavi recalls. “And Tommy agreed… So we took that vibe based on the steak I found and just built it into its own world.”
Born Kavian Saleh in Iran, where he grew up in Shiraz and Tehran, Kavi moved to Los Angeles at the age of 11. Growing up in Iran, Kavi says his musical influences were a mix of alternative rock bands like Muse and The Cure and EDM acts like Skrillex and Knife Party, “a mash-up of what my parents showed me and what he would find every 12-year-old on YouTube.” Not hip-hop, though: “Rap music doesn't really exist in Iran,” he says. “And if he does, he's quite an ass.”
That changed upon his arrival in the US in the mid-2010s, when the up-and-coming producer was exposed to rappers like Future and Chief Keef. “Wow… That's what it's all about!” he remembers thinking. “Really, like it cracked me up.” His love affair with these artists led him to study the techniques used by then-up-and-coming producers like TM88 and Southside on their records. “My main focus in the beginning was very, very, just trap beat oriented,” he says. “That was all I did for a good four years.”
His relationship with Richman began about three years ago, when Kavi DMed the singer-songwriter after catching his 2021 song “Chrono Trigger” on TikTok. The two began a creative relationship and friendship, and after going on hiatus while Kavi continued his trap production work, reunited in 2023. When they began recording again, two of the first songs they worked on together were “Million Dollar Baby” and the follow-up, “Devil Is a Lie”, which was released in June.
Kavi admits the immediate success of “Million Dollar Baby” — which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent its first 17 weeks in the chart's top 10 — wasn't something his crew saw is coming “We were like, 'Oh, this is a good vibe, this is sick,'” he recalls. “It wasn't anything where we all sat down and were like, 'Wow, this is a headbanger! This is crazy!' It was another record we worked on.” (Kavi says he personally prefers the more “relaxed” groove of “Devil Is a Lie” — which didn't match the success of “Baby,” but has shown impressive legs, debuting and peaking at No. 32 and spending 13 weeks on the Hot 100.)
Still, he's grateful for the exposure that 'Baby' gave to his tight-knit group — “the best part about it is… we're all together and we keep the sound and the circle very sacred and tight,” he says — and for the opportunities that now gives him, and as one of the central contributors to Richman's debut, Coyoteand with his own work. Since his debut on 'Baby', Kavi has linked up with A$AP Rocky and is also making more pop-oriented productions for the first time with Disney Channel star Kylie Cantrall. Kavi says he's started studying the work of pop super producers like Jack Antonoff and Max Martin as he tries to expand his skills and portfolio: “I think I've developed my sound more now to not necessarily be one-sided when I'm in the room.”
Meanwhile, Kavi is also working on his own solo music, which he likens to enigmatic alt-R&B singer-songwriters like Jai Paul, and plans to have his newfound friend appear on his upcoming debut as well—though Kavi hopes that eventually, his own name begins to stand out.
“Tommy is my main priority because he's like my best friend — we're developing something great here,” he explains. “But I'm trying to build my own legacy as a producer as well. I don't mind being the guy in the background… But also, I want my name to be known as, “Oh, this is Kavi's production. Wow, that's great.” Build a legacy around it and just make amazing music, you know?”
This article appears in the October 5 issue of Billboard.
