Justin Boldt is an 18-year-old attending Communications High School in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Justin has a variety of hobbies, including looking at atlases, looking at real estate, and participating in the drama club at school, but his favorite past-time is creating raps under his rapper name “Tommy River.” Justin began writing raps in his sophomore year history class with his debut single, a song about the battle of Saratoga. With the help of his peers, Justin created a music video for the song and played it in front of his class. Later on he remarked that people loved what he had to say, and it made him realize he could rap without the content having to be historical. With the start of his rap career, Justin realized he needed an alternative name for his songs to be released under. After spending some time in the town of Toms River, New Jersey, Justin decided his love for the town should be represented in his rapper name: Tommy River. Justin’s love for rap was really shown his senior year of high school, when he released his first mixtape: All But A Distant Memory. The mixtape’s most popular song, Brick Is A Beach Town, currently has 206 plays on Soundcloud. The mixtape’s second most popular song, Pop Tarts, comes at a close second with 148 plays. All But A Distant Memory has a total of seven tracks in which Tommy River displays his true passion for rap music. He remarked that he made the mixtape, and didn’t worry about what others would think of him, to “just to do it.” Justin/Tommy encourages everyone to pursue whatever makes them happy just so they’ll be able to say they accomplished something they’re proud of later on. Justin recently released his second mixtape titled The Wave Tape, and plans on continuing to rap as Tommy River in the future for fun.
About the Filmmaker
Submitted by Abi Karl
Abi Karl is a 16-year-old filmmaker based in Monmouth County, New Jersey. She has had a passion for filmmaking since she was 11 years old and created a video showing the destruction Super Storm Sandy left on her town. After the video was shown to numerous people in the area, Abi recognized the way people reacted to her film and connected with it emotionally. It was this realization that made her decide film was what she wanted to pursue – and the ultimate goal for all of her work would be to make the audience feel something. Abi is constantly working on new projects and taking on challenges that will better prepare herself for a future in film. She’s had multiple films recognized by festivals and organizations, including her most successful short “Voicemail,” which has been accepted into festivals across the country and received numerous awards. Abi is also currently interning as a Production Assistant on set for upcoming feature film “Low Tide.” Abi is always thinking of ideas for new films, and will never stop working towards her goal of becoming a successful member of the film industry.
Filmmaker’s Website: https://abkarl.wixsite.com/abikarl