This East Bay Artist Proves ‘Opera Can Be Performed Anywhere’

As famed streamer and influencer IShowSpeed stood atop the roof of Hyphy Burger in September, millions of fans from around the world tuned in. Hundreds more stood on the streets of West Oakland below.

And in the midst of people screaming, cars swinging and tires screeching, someone started singing opera. A tenor, to be exact.

“I tried to get his attention,” says Richmond vocalist and musician Khaysie, who was hoping to grab some of IShowSpeed’s limelight. “But there were just a lot of people present.”

He momentarily gave up, driving home to Richmond before tuning back into IShowSpeed’s live stream and realizing the influencer had made another stop, at the Guitar Center in Emeryville.

Again Khaysie pulled up, attempting to showcase his talents. Again he was overlooked. But this time, now after midnight, he joined the fleet of 50-plus cars following IShowSpeed’s tour bus to the South Bay.

In the wee hours of the morning, outside of a robotics company in Palo Alto, Khaysie saw a window of opportunity when IShowSpeed exited his tour bus — and the cameras were pointed in his direction.

“That’s when I sang the classic ‘Ave Maria,’” he says, understating how he dominated the airwaves by belting notes from the opera staple. “And that’s why (IShowSpeed) reacted. He was like, ‘What the hell?!’”

Because IShowSpeed’s following is so massive, that brief glimpse of attention opened doors for the 32-year-old artist, who’s pursued music since he was 10.

In the weeks since, Khaysie has been interviewed on 99.7 NOW FM and La Kaliente 1370 AM, and hosted the dumpling eating contest at this year’s San Francisco Moon Festival.

This coming weekend, Khaysie will perform in San Francisco at the Frida People collective’s fall “Gathering Light” event, an in-person and livestreamed performance with a focus on the healing power of art.

Frida People founder Ana Quiñonez and Oakland journalist Kristal Raheem will co-host the event and lead a discussion about tending to one’s “inner flame.” The evening also features performances by San Francisco rapper and singer Kaly Jay, East Oakland R&B artist Kenyatta and more.

Khaysie is approaching Friday’s show the same way he approaches other gigs; opting for street clothes instead of the expected black suit and tie of an opera singer.

“I want people to think that opera can be performed anywhere,” he says. “You don’t have to look a certain way… When people hear my voice they’re gonna be like, ‘What the heck?'”

Khaysie also plans to give audience members a sample of a hip-hopera he’s been working on. Without going too deep into detail, Khaysie says his work differs from MTV’s 2001 Carmen: A Hip Hopera (with Beyoncé and Mos Def), as well as theatrical treatments of hip-hop like R. Kelly’s Trapped In The Closet saga and the award-winning musical Hamilton.

Instead of a corny remix of The Marriage of Figaro sped up to sound contemporary, Khaysie says he’s creating something that’s “authentically hip-hop” with sincere storytelling and entertaining instrumentation; a piece that conveys the range of emotions he’s seen other opera singers display.

At age 16, Khaysie, who came up with through the Young Musicians Coral Orchestra, got a taste of opera’s power when famed tenor Rodrick Dixon visited UC Berkeley.

In front of the audience, Dixon asked Khaysie to present a piece.

“And when I finished my operatic song,” he recalls, “he asked me, why do I want to sing opera?'” Khaysie replied that the art form allows him to fully express himself and tap into his emotions.

Dixon countered, “So why didn’t you do that?”

Caught off guard, Khaysie stepped back as Dixon took to the stage and gave a short performance of his own. “When I looked into his eyes,” recalls Khaysie, “I could see the raw emotion that he sang in each and every note. His voice was so powerful that it shook my body.”

Khaysie’s tears flowed as Dixon asked if he truly wanted to commit to the craft. “At that point I was sold,” says Khaysie, who went on to obtain a vocal performance degree with a focus on opera from the University of Michigan.

Since graduating nearly 10 years ago, he’s experienced the roller coaster that comes with being an artist of any sort: periodic lulls, followed by reminders of the fire inside. “Each time that I try to run away from music,” he says, “music always found me.”

He’s explored different types of music, composing R&B, soul, reggaeton and dembow songs. He’s also performed on traditional concert stages with West Edge Opera, the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus and the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus at the Palace of Fine Arts.

Working as an a elementary school teacher in Richmond, Khaysie practices mindfulness with his students throughout the day, and attributes his recent success to healing his own inner child and getting reacquainted with his faith in God.

A churchgoer as a kid in the East Bay, he strayed after college but recently found his way back. With that came renewed confidence.

Now, he affirms, “I’m going to use music to serve a bigger purpose, to inspire people and to use my voice for positive impact.”

Khaysie performs as part of Frida People collective’s ‘Gathering Light’ event on Friday, Nov. 22, at KALW (220 Montgomery St., San Francisco). Check here for tickets and more information.