By Steven Duffy

If you grew up on the candy-coated, choreographed joy of Total Request Live–era pop, but always wondered where the queer people, the people of color, and the plus-size bodies were? RiVERSE is the answer to that question. Composed of Justice, Khadija, Zak, and Monroe, this Toronto-based collective is rewriting the boy-band/girl-group playbook with a sound that is aggressively nostalgic yet radically modern.

Since their 2012 debut, they have been crafting what they call “the pop group of your nostalgic dreams”—a high-gloss blend of 90s R&B harmonies and 2000s Max Martin hooks, delivered with the kind of synchronized precision that usually requires a major label budget. But unlike their Y2K predecessors, RiVERSE isn’t selling a sanitized fantasy. They are queer, they are diverse, and they are vocal about it.

With their new EP, Humanity In Volume, the group is pivoting from viral K-Pop covers and bops to something heavier: a concept record centered on member Justice’s journey with HIV. It’s a bold swing for a pop act, trading vague breakup anthems for a specific narrative about stigma, shame, and the hard-won euphoria of survival. It’s dance music with a pulse and a purpose.

Steve Duffy spoke with the group to talk about their decade-long hustle, the reality of being “underrepresented” in an industry that loves buzzwords more than actual change, and why they’re done performing for tumbleweeds.

Steve Duffy: For anyone discovering RiVERSE today, how would you describe who you are?

Justice: This is something we’ve heard said about us, but I’m going to repeat it today because it’s true. RiVERSE is the pop group of your nostalgic dreams. Everything you love about the music you loved in the past, especially the 90s and early 2000s, but brought to the 21st century in a new way.

Steve Duffy: What brought the members of RiVERSE together?

Justice: The members of RiVERSE were brought together through the vision of a child named Justice to put together a different kind of group that hadn’t been seen before in mainstream music. Holding on to this vision, he searched high and low to no avail. Then, when he wasn’t looking, the Universe presented the band members to him whilst they were all doing a live production of Disney’s High School Musical 2 in Toronto.

Khadija: Oh, come on, epic journey! Steve Duffy: Your music blends pop, R&B, and queer storytelling. How intentional is that stylistic mix, and how much of it happens naturally?

Zak: I would revise that to say not necessarily queer storytelling, but rather it’s human storytelling. It’s just bringing our natural selves to the music through Justice’s clever songwriting. It is queer storytelling because we are all queer, but it’s also just very human on many levels.

Justice: It’s always intentional, because this band’s mission is to represent the underrepresented. So everything we do is to uplift, inspire, and speak to those who don’t feel seen and represented.

Steve Duffy: As a queer group in a rapidly shifting music landscape, what barriers have you faced, and how have you pushed through them?

Justice: When RiVERSE debuted in 2012, there was nothing that remotely looked like what we were doing. Some key people supported the journey, but we also faced a lot of pushback from people who didn’t understand what they were seeing. We did not look like your typical, average boy band or girl group. There were many hurdles and barriers we had to push through, but we did so by creating our own lane. We decided we didn’t need to follow the conventional path to succeed in music, so we forged our own path.

Steve Duffy: Do you feel the music industry is evolving in meaningful ways for queer artists, or is there still a long way to go?

Khadija: Like Justice just said, there has been a lot of change in the industry from when we first debuted. It’s really encouraging and inspiring to see so many openly queer artists who are being supported and building their own audiences. The internet is a big part of that, because people can find their own music they relate to instead of whatever is being pushed to them through traditional media. But within the industry itself, there is still a lot that can be changed and probably should be changed. It’s an ongoing process.

Steve Duffy: Tell us about your new EP, Humanity In Volume?

Monroe: The EP is about Justice’s personal HIV journey. It was written about his personal health journey, but it was also written in a way that makes it relatable to anyone who has ever faced a challenge in life. The EP takes you from a devastating beginning to living a full, happy, thriving life, which is such a human experience. It’s about the fullness of being human, it’s Humanity In Volume.

View this post on Instagram

Steve Duffy: Justice, why was it important for you to share your HIV diagnosis?

Justice: I’m not the kind of person who can live with a lie. The feeling that I’m hiding something, a huge part of who I am, is the heaviest feeling for me. Giving myself the freedom to share about my HIV experience helped me feel like I could fully show up, be present, and work on being the most fulfilled version of myself. So much of what RiVERSE does is about offering representation as well. I knew that whatever I was experiencing, there were other people out there who had felt similarly. Especially when it comes to HIV – there is still so much stigma and misinformation out there. The story is not what it used to be in the 80s and 90s, and I know how much it helped me to talk to my doctors and other people who were living with HIV to understand that. I wrote this EP to bring these conversations to a broader audience through the power of music and help smash that stigma. 

Steve Duffy: What inspired your lead single “Lovin’ Me Down”?

Justice: ‘Lovin Me Down’ was inspired by being on the other side of devastation. When I was first diagnosed, it felt like there was a self-value that died and a new self-value, self-worth, self-love was born on the other side of that devastation. That new self-love is what ‘Lovin’ Me Down’ is about, and owning it in a much bigger, brighter, and more magical way than I did before I was diagnosed.

Steve Duffy: What inspired your lead single “Lovin’ Me Down”?

Justice: ‘Lovin Me Down’ was inspired by being on the other side of devastation. When I was first diagnosed, it felt like there was a self-value that died and a new self-value, self-worth, self-love was born on the other side of that devastation. That new self-love is what ‘Lovin’ Me Down’ is about, and owning it in a much bigger, brighter, and more magical way than I did before I was diagnosed.

Steve Duffy: What impact do you hope this album has on fans, especially those who see themselves represented in your music?

Monroe: We want people to know that they’re not alone and no matter what hardship they’re going through in life, there will always be sunshine on the other side of the hill. I think this album is a fantastic journey to realize that, and you don’t have to have HIV to connect to this music. It’s about going through life.

Justice: This plays into the title of the album, ‘Humanity In Volume.’ It’s simply humanity. This is what we all face as people, in different ways. It’s not just about  HIV; it’s just humanity. 

Steve Duffy: Your recent viral KPOP covers have been viewed over 6 million times.  Do you feel any added pressure now that millions of people are watching your work?

Zak: Uh… no.

Justice: Period!

Zak: I think we hold ourselves to the highest standards. Even in our humble beginnings, when we were performing for tumbleweeds at totally empty festivals and stages, we always strive to bring stadium-level performances to every space, including our online platforms. More people are looking now, but it doesn’t change the quality of the product. It’s lovely that more eyes are on us now, and we’re so humbled and proud of that. But we’re just going to keep moving through and doing what we do.

Watch the video to RiVERSE’s Lovin’ Me Down.