From the small town of Penns Grove, N.J., rapper Xavier Blake is planning to make a name for himself through music and poetry. After some small talk and great conversation, X gave the lowdown on his previous mixtape, "World of My Own," as well as the future hopes for his hometown.
What you need to know: Xavier Blake began his musical journey by banging out hits on the drums in the seventh grade. Growing older, he spent his free time listening and studying instrumental music, which led him to freestyling over beats. By the age of 14, Xavier began recording hip-hop songs from just a tablet and posting his new creations on listening hubs like SoundCloud and Facebook for family and friends. His style depicts a range of auto-tuned tracks to his main genre, classic hip-hop. Now a 19-year-old, Xavier Blake plans to attend the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Arizona after graduation to pursue a bachelor's degree in Audio Engineering.
If you have yet to listen to Xavier Blake's "World of My Own," you are definitely sleeping on the wrong one. When I first heard some of his singles, I thought there were some cool beats with catchy choruses until I replayed the mixtape a second time. There is much more behind those curtains. He may be young, but the poetry flows like butter when you listen intently.
When writing the songs for this mixtape, Xavier mentioned the fact that he feels completely out of his element. We get a sense of sincerity in a storytelling manner throughout, which sets him apart from other local artists. Although X appears to be young to most, he is by no means inexperienced. He worked on producing this mixtape himself with the recording help of local musician, Da'Quan Stubbs. He puts his all into the music and presents us with everything he takes pride in by sharing the abundance of creativity in "World of My Own."
Xavier introduces his world with the intro track, "Intro: World of My Own," with DJ Meat5z as the opening host. He talks about a poverty stricken community where many believe the best way out is through music. "We're losing our black men / Can one of them be found / My city is a circus act / A bunch of monkeys and clowns." This line specifically sticks out because he recognizes the damage to the black male population while some of the hometown residents fail to acknowledge what is truly happening.
"White people stand around as we beat each other down / Occasionally join in / Rest in peace Michael Brown / Rest in peace Freddie Gray." This is a stepping stone for music in the Penns Grove community. Why? We more than often see incidents where minorities are killed or harmed by police officers in the media. Then we see incidents where minorities decide to wreck each other for World Star Hip-Hop views without helping to unite the people or even noticing how we are destroying ourselves and do not hear enough about it in our local music. It's great that Xavier points this out.
Switching up the flow a bit, track seven, "Underestimated," X gives us his story on being the "dark horse." This song was written at age 13, but X still feels a connection to it because he finally feels like his plan of success is en route. In other words, Xavier is viewed as the underdog in his hometown and believes that maybe a rebranding of himself will help build a broader audience. For now, he is content with the way he is planning to go, but of course sees much more for himself in the future. He yells, "Oh my god! I made it!" as a victory call for his haters, and you can't help but to celebrate with him throughout the entire track!
Unfortunately for us listeners, X starts to escort us out of his world and back to reality with track nine, "FWM Now," featuring Da'Quan Stubbs, also known as Cockii. He takes us away from the very serious ideals and gives us the banger we've all been waiting for throughout the duration of the entire mixtape. The background sample resembles the typical Jersey club music pattern followed by a head-bobbing kick and bass line. Both Xavier and Cockii pull through with a smooth flow and catchy chorus line grabbing their audience.
The message conveys a story of success. Xavier explains his times of no one eating lunch with him to people really wanting to break bread with him now. Proverbs 29:18 states, "Where there is no vision, the people shall perish," and X is making sure he does the complete opposite. The vision of success isn't blurry at all for Xavier, and the pathway to success is clear as day!
As Xavier Blake evolves into a music mogul, he definitely plans to give back to the Penns Grove community by uniting the people and making it a better place for the youth. X is a reminder for all of us to take care of each other and to strive for nothing but the best. If you are interested in listening to a young artist with positive views on life and community, then you can check out Xavier Blake's mixtape, "World of My Own," and other recent tracks on datpiff.com or soundcloud.com.
In the meantime, be sure to look out for tour dates this summer and his newest project, "10 Squared," coming July 4, 2016!
