Xaviersobased’s sound is hard to pin down. His influences range from Lil B to Yung Lean to A$AP Mob to freestyle to merengue and denbow. The Dominican rapper out of New York City produces his own beats and has started to build a cult fanbase that is willing to risk life and limb at his live shows. Old heads like me are a bit skeptical about most of his music. We don’t really get it or better yet, I don’t fully get it. However, I’m willing to admit that the kid has a wave going right now.
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He’s been one of the underground’s rising stars for the young generation, and at 22 years old has signed his first record deal with Atlantic. “It definitely feels like we solidified ourselves with that album,” the artist’s DJ and manager Rennessy says during our interview, about major label debut Xavier. Xav is the quintessential “internet rapper,” and has built a strong community on YouTube and across social media platforms where fans defend his honor and provide positive reinforcement.
“The first person in the world to make chemical reactions, so inspirational,” one comment reads under the “Tony Hawk” video he just dropped a couple weeks ago where Xav and his buddies are in the lab cooking up new formulas. Sometimes you have to sit back and let people enjoy things. Everything doesn’t have to be for everybody.
Now, with his debut album out into the world, Xavier is still only concerned with staying original and feeding his fans. “I mean, it’s just swagged out and experimental, and I would say that it’s not for everyone to get,” he tells me when asked how he would describe his sound to a skeptic. And he’s right. Someone’s art is always up to interpretation. You might not like some s—t that someone else loves, but the most important thing is to bring out an emotion, whether good or bad.
Xavier and DJ Rennessy stopped by the Billboard New York office a couple week ago for a great talk about how they built their relationship, Xav’s unique sound, and what he’s focused on now that he’s officially a professional rapper.
Check out our interview with Billboard‘s February Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month (and his DJ) below.
Growing up in the area that you grew up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, how did you develop this sound?
Xaviersobased: Really more so being on the internet, I’m not even, gonna lie. I mean, I definitely take inspiration from New York s—t like A$AP when he was coming out. Growing up and seeing that, knowing it was coming out from Harlem, not too far for me, it was definitely cool to see.
They were criticized a little bit for their sound early on like you. Your s—t is a little internet-y, but you still can hear the NYC in your bars and in some of your references like when you say, “thootie.” But then the production is on some rage rap, Lil B, jerk s—t.
X: You could say that. I definitely take more of my New York influences lyrically wise, rather than the sound.
Yeah, exactly. But it’s all kind of mixed up like a f—king sancocho. You did that on purpose?
X: It’s just how it happened. I just combined everything I f—k with and then it just becomes this whole, like you said, this kind of sancocho situation.
You started out making beats first, right? Who inspired you to produce?
X: Yeah, Lex Luger and Zaytoven.
And you have Zay on this album. I wasn’t expecting that. How was that experience?
X: It was fire. He pulled up on us at the stu with his son because his son does the underground music s—t too.
Like the same type of s—t that you guys are doing?
X: Kind of different. Zay’s son makes more Atlanta-style underground s—t. It was cool, though. He pulled up on us and played us hella beats, and we handpicked the ones we f—ked with. We was talking for a little bit. It was a great experience.
What was that conversation like? Because he’s been in the game for a minute, he’s older too, and he’s seen multiple sounds and worked with Future and all these different types of rappers. What did he say specifically about what you got going on?
X: He was just telling me that he was excited to f—k with what’s new and what’s coming out now. And I respect that a lot coming from him. Because, like you said, he’s just done so much for the game in general.
I read somewhere that your mom’s a DJ. Did she play house parties, clubs, bars?
X: Yeah, back in the ’80s and ’90s. She did everything: bars, clubs, parties.
So, you grew up listening to all different kinds of s—t.
X: Freestyle, house music, rap, R&B, a bunch of bachata, merengue, all that s—t.
Did any of that influence your production style at all?
X: Probably like certain vocal melodies. Things like that.
I think I can also hear the influence in the way your beats are distorted at time. Did she help you make beats or you kind of learned that on your own?
X: I really learned that on my own. I seen her make beats too. She had a moment where she was trying to make beats, but I really picked it up because I seen Lex Luger doing it.
What were you using?
X: FruityLoops, and then I was looking at tutorials on the internet trying to figure it out.
Do you teach her how to make beats now?
X: Nah, she really stuck to DJing, but she’s more on the photography wave right now. She always did both. Videography too.
How does she feel about your music?
X: She loves it, and she loves the fact that I was able to do what I’m doing now off the music. She’s very proud of me.
Your family was always supportive?
X: I wouldn’t say that they were the most supportive, because they wanted me to do something more sturdier.
Like get a job.
X: Exactly. But now that they see it’s going how it’s going, they definitely support it. They with me all the way.
Yeah, you popping right now? You be outside around NYC, and I think there’s a cool thing happening in the city right now. There’s a bunch of different artists with different sounds making noise. You got Fergie Baby and Liim in Harlem, Cash Cobain, Chow Lee with Sexy Drill, Laila!, Ice Spice, Rome Streetz, yourself. I want to get your perspective on what’s happening in New York right now. It reminds me a bit of when Atlanta had all these different artists doing their thing.
X: I feel like a lot of people just got tired of listening to drill all day. Also, like the little Lil Tjay pain music, the A Boogie type of s—t. I feel like those were the main two sounds that New York had for a while. I think people want to branch out and do different s—t.
They’re moving away, or maybe not moving away… more like evolving. You mentioned something about drill in one of your older interviews. Did you ever try to make drill music?
X: I would say two or three songs that’s out right now that are like reminiscent of some drill s—t.
You purposely kind of went away from that?
X: I wouldn’t say purposely. I just did what I wanted to do.
So, what made you want to get a record deal? Because I know the whole industry is weird right now, but I don’t know if there was any other era that’s better for independent artists than right now.
X: That’s a good question. I wouldn’t look at it like we were always opposed to signing, but some situations never made sense, and I feel like this situation makes sense and the way we orchestrated everything, the way it’s set up, it feels right.
Is it a partnership? Do you have your own label with Atlantic?
X: We’re signed with them. We got Surf Gang helping us, too. It’s more of a distribution deal. We own our music.
Okay, yeah, that’s what I’m getting at. I was reading the profile in The Fader and you guys met at a show in a park. What was it about him that made you be like, “Yo, this kid is the future.”?
DJ Rennessy: Yeah, it’s funny, though, because I feel like he really didn’t see it at first. It was really 1:30 telling him and then he ended up checking out the music and it ended up growing on him. Our friend knew already and was like, “Yo, you gotta meet him. I know the moment you link him it’s gonna click.” Man, when I saw him perform, it was nuts, bro. The ground was shaking. That’s how crazy it was. They were in a park, fireworks going off. It’s him and his other motherf—ker from the U.K., and they just rapping their asses off.
X: Was this on a stage or in the middle of a park?
R: In the middle of a park. These kids did like a pop-up thing. Two big ass speakers, a table.
X: On some old-school hip-hop s—t. Like a Dominican speaker party.
R: Yeah, bro, that’s exactly what I was. We just had everybody from New York there. And it was Uptown, some park by Dyckman. It’s funny because I’m looking at him with the way he has the hat on and the way he’s rapping, I’m like, “Who the f—k is this?” Deadasss, that’s all I can say. He was swagging out. It took me a minute to get fond of the music, like three months, bro, for real. I’m over here like, “Am I tweaking?” I couldn’t see it and then it hit for me. I started seeing the videos, I started seeing everything, and from there I was like, “Nah, I gotta f—k with it. This is definitely different.” I started trying to put my friends on and my friends looking at me like, “You sure about this s—t, Ren?
That’s funny because when I was thinking about considering Xav for Rookie of the Month, I was sending it to friends, some young, some old, and they were all like, “Yo, what the f—k is this?” I listened to your tapes, and while I’m not the biggest fan of it, there’s a couple songs where I hear the NYC lingo and you getting a couple lines off. How would you describe your sound to an old head?
X: (Laughs.) How I would describe the sound? It’s funny because I’m never too into describing it.
You’re an artist. You’re just making it.
R: And even if we try to put a label to it because we’ve already been had these conversations when we first started. Motherf—kers are already trying to label it something like jerk or whatever it is, and we’re not even feeling like it’s that type of music. We feel like it’s turnt up, you know? It’s been so hard to really explain that s—t to be honest, I don’t know. It’s definitely hard to really give you like an exact…
This is a major label debut and it sounds a little, I guess, cleaner than your previous stuff. Was that on purpose?
X: Definetly purposeful.
Because you wanted to help people digest it better?
X: Not even to help people digest it better, but more about the performance aspect of it because I’ll play a lot of the old s—t, and it sounds like s—t on the speakers, so I really wanted to make something that sounds better when I perform it.
Do you think it’s because you’ve gotten better as a producer, or the equipment is better? Why do you think that’s the case?
X: Working with Moustafa. He helped mix and master most of the album, so shout out to Moustafa. He be working with all the homies. Me and him locked in on this project.
So, your other stuff wasn’t really mixed and mastered too tight?
X: I would make the s—t and let it go.
That’s a good segue because I wanted to ask what’s your process like? Do you make a beat first? Do you have a melody in your head?
X: It depends. I was saying this recently too. I forgot where I had said it, but you know the song “Tony Hawk”? That one, for example, that beat I had on in the car and started driving around, listening to the beat all day, freestyling in my head. So, when I got back to the crib, I got on that beat, and I just ripped that s—t like real quick. But then there’ll be days where probably I make a beat first, or I’ll probably have a couple bars written from the other day. It varies, it’s different.
You make everything yourself in the crib?
X: Yeah, sometimes in the studio.
How about rap wise? What are your influences there?
X: I would say a lot of Chief Keef, SadBoys, Drain Gang, Goth Money. Who else? Slayworld, Surf Gang, a lot of underground really.
How do you stay original?
X: That’s a hard question, and that’s something I’ve been trying to be more conscious about. I did this before, let me change this, or I normally do this, let me so something else, you know what I mean? Just things like that.
Yeah, because that’s one thing that kind of stuck out to me when it comes to your music versus some other rappers in your space. lt just feels a little bit more organic, a little bit more original.
R: Just hearing all the music and how he’s always done everything before, it finally felt like a good product of work to — not, say, transition, but like, “Yo, I could do this too.”
Do you feel that you’re a professional rapper now? Did you already feel like that before signing your deal?
X: It doesn’t really feel like some professional s—t. But it’s like, at this point, yeah, it’s what I’m doing.
Like, you arrived.
R: Yeah, the cleanliness. And it wasn’t even cleanliness to the point where it’s like super professional, it’s still his sound as well, too. We don’t want to lose the essence of that s—t, you know?
I mean, once you start climbing, that gets harder and harder. You see that with every rapper in f—king history, right? We’re having an honest conversation. I feel like I need to be drinking an energy drink while playing Fortnite when I’m listening to your music — and it’s funny that you were playing Fortnite in your Fader profile. I try play it when I’m smoking. I’m like, “Yo, a lot of this s—t is too geeked up.” You feel me?
X: I do feel like there is those songs that we got a song or two that you could just chill and smoke to, especially on the album that just came out.
Yeah, yeah. Like I said, I didn’t go into thinking I was gonna hate it. but I liked it better than I thought I would. It’s more laid-back than some of your other stuff. But for the most part, I feel like I gotta be running or driving fast when I listen to your s—t.
X: Yo, it’s funny you said that, because when we be in the car with the homies and that s—t would come on, and they would start speeding. I be like, “Yoooo!” (Laughs.)
I want to see you perform live, because the shows always look wild, and sometimes your opinion changes when you see an artist perform live. I’m assuming you’re going on tour soon?
X: We’re about to announce the album tour. We got the second leg of the Riverside Tour coming up.
Is there anything else you want to add? Are you gonna come out with another tape?
X: About to drop some more videos.
Are you planning on doing a park jam again or do you think you’re too big to do that now?
X: It would be smooth, but we probably need a permit or something now.
I like that, because people will say that this isn’t hip-hop or isn’t that real s—t, but that’s the essence of it, having fun. Do you feel like some people listen to your music ironically?
X: Oh yeah, for sure, and there’s definitely people that try to force themselves to listen to it because other n—as f—k with it, they trying to be cool.
What projects and what songs should people start with?
X: That’s a hard question to answer because every fan be having a different answer to that. Like if you go on Twitter right now to ask the fans, you’ll see mad different projects. I got one from back in the day called Store. I really like that one, but that one I wouldn’t recommend to the average listener, you feel me? I would probably recommend Keep It Goin Xav.
R: What tape is “Sidia” on?
X: You’re talking about Install. That’s a good tape, too.
R: He’s talking his s—t on there, bro. It’s very experimental with the sound, but the lyrics definitely kind of stand out a little bit.
