By: Fredwill Hernandez
Los Angeles-based direct-to-fan music ecosystem HITMKR partnered with Pointblank LA [music school] to present its final 2025 showcase on December 1, held at the main stage of the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, California. The lineup featured performances from Sangina, KvnLee, Gingerr Rust, Vinny Bravo, Duplexity, Remy Vox, Brooklyn Kelly, and HITMKR’s Ayanna Butterfly.
Butterfly, a versatile artist recognized for her distinctive mix of heartfelt R&B and engaging storytelling, set things off by performing an acoustic piano version of “Matador,” a song she recently penned. Her performance set the mood for the rest of the evening.
One of the eagerly awaiting performers was Vinny Bravo, who arrived early and delivered his singles “Rolling Strikes,” “King Tut,” Cherry Hair,” Play Date,” “Come or Not,” “Velocity,” “Zeitgeist,” and “Primate” with a live band.
“I’m from Indianapolis, Indiana. My name is Cam Cunningham and I’m 25. Music has been part of life forever. I play alto saxophone and began jazz around age 10.IN 2012, I discovered Mac Miller, fell in love with hip hop, and started writing my own lyrics. It was an honor to perform my first show as Vinny Bravo on the Hotel Café’s main stage, where Mac Miller had his final performance.”
Throughout 2025, the HITMKR ecosystem hosted various showcases designed to highlight and support rising artists, sometimes in collaboration with partners like Green Tea Studios, Traklife Music, and Pointblank LA music school.
Another standout performance came from 27-year-old Kevin Lee Boulware, known artistically as KvnLee, who hails from Herndon, Virginia—just 25-35 minutes outside of Washington, DC.
“I grew up loving music my whole life, with major influences like Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, and Chris Brown,” KvnLee shared. Managed by his uncle, 1Shot Mike, he explained that before ever pursuing his own career, he witnessed firsthand what it took to put together and host successful shows in the DMV area. “It wasn’t until after I graduated high school in 2016 that I decided to use my gift for writing to become an artist. Writing was always something my teachers affirmed in me, so I committed to studying songcraft and eventually began creating my own music.”
KvnLee performed the singles “Small Things,” “Positive Energy (Affirmations),” and “Breakthrough!” featuring Walking Eagle, delivering a set that felt both intentional and spiritually grounded. “Performing at the showcase felt right, like it’s happened before — like déjà vu, like God confirming I’m on the right path,” he said. He also praised the live band, noting that drummer Evan Hart learned the entire set in under a week. “Once we got to LA, we only had a two-hour rehearsal to lock everything in, but the synchronization was effortless. It was stressful at times, and getting to California wasn’t guaranteed, but I’m incredibly thankful. I couldn’t have done this without my team and the support back home.”
A number of individuals like myself expect the HITMKR ecosystem to be quite successful, particularly in light of increasing dissatisfaction regarding DSP’s low payment rates per stream, alongside music artists exploring fresh ways to connect directly with their audience. As to what prompted Vu Ho to launch the HITMKR ecosystem, “I wanted to shorten the time it takes for upcoming musicians to gain traction and exposure. I wanted to build something that can provide the right knowledge and resources for upcoming talent. Something that can help musicians connect and provide them with the opportunity to shine. With my experience in both tech and music, I knew that I had to go out and build this platform for the creative community.”
“The HITMKR platform is incredible! I got so much love and appreciation for their hard work, intentionality, and great site. We made our website through them, and it’s helped us cut costs tremendously at 1Shot Enterprise LLC. We look forward to working and growing with them. I’ve already put another artist onto their platform! They’re legit; I truly see them as a big name in the years to come,” also added KevLee. “Lastly, I’d just want to encourage anyone who’s pursuing a dream, wanting to build a business, or go for a certain career, whatever it may be that seems grand… you should go for it! Take that leap of faith! Build and keep solid relationships with people who genuinely love you and will believe in God with you that whatever you feel called to do, whatever you’re passionate about, to take action in, they will help if it’s pure. All it takes is some action and a whole lot of belief that it’s possible!”
Thoughts on how the HITMKR ecosystem is well poised to thrive in the AI-driven music era, Ho added, “The focus for us in 2026 is scale. Scaling the team, the platform, the community, and value that we deliver to our artists. As a part of this, we are introducing a marketplace portion of HITMKR. While the standalone artist page on HITMKR allows artist to reach out to new fans and existing fans and operate independently, the new marketplace helps to solve the problem of discoverability. Overall this strengthens our operating system giving artist more reach and opportunities for revenue. From a team perspective we are in the middle of fundraising a community round and a seed round with VCs to scale our day-to-day operation.”
