Amplifi Napa Valley provides grants for emerging artists.
Hip-hop artist Matthew Osivwemu, also known as Oke, grew up in the Bay Area music scene with a dream since age 11. He wanted his music to make a difference.
His dream is becoming a reality as a performing arts grants recipient, thanks to funds provided by Amplifi Napa Valley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in the next generation of artists in the Napa Valley.
The nonprofit announced on April 10 this year’s winners of the 2025 Emerging Artist Grants and Arts Organizational Funding. The incubator of arts and culture provided a total of $220,000 to the initiatives this year.
Emerging Artist Grants are designed to provide assistance for training, coaching, classes and other professional development. The organizational funding supports projects that foster creative expression.
Overall, the grants aim to empower local performers, musicians, playwrights and other creative types.
Osivwemu, who lived in Napa County as a teenager, was among the emerging artists selected. Pleased with the news, he said his music genre, hip-hop, can at times be misunderstood.
“We’ve always been a diverse nation. Why wouldn’t we want to diversify?” he said. “Then, those who choose to understand it, will.”
He received $10,000 in funding that he plans to use to take his show on the road to cities such as Dallas, Sacramento and Los Angeles.
“This money will help me take (my music) to the next level,” he said, noting costs associated with being a traveling musician are high.
Amplifi Napa Valley Executive Director Olivia Dodd wished him luck, knowing the uphill climb that goes with a career in the arts.
“Art is not thought of as a business, but it really is. So we have to learn to be economically resilient and independent,” she said.
Founded in 2022, and with an annual budget of $650,000, part of Amplifi Napa Valley’s goals involve “knowing how to bridge and blend crossover segments” from audience to performance.
On April 30, the nonprofit debuted a Latino Leaders VIP Suite in conjunction with the Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Bottlerock’s La Onda Music Festival slated for May 31 and June 1.
The suite will feature performances by Amplifi awardees.
