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If future generations wonder why hip-hop became what it became, they should look no further than Xaviersobased, the 21 year old native of the Upper West Side. Xavier dropped two albums in 2024 to much acclaim and fanfare ā including a Best New Music at Pitchfork ā and became a sui generis rapper of Gen Z. Theyāll be talk about Nettspend being the future: Xavier, however, has been able to develop a signature style that is indebted to previous generations and still utterly modern and fresh.
Itās not just the hyperpop, the jerk, the trap, crashing into the cloud rap with Xavier, itās the vignette songwriting on āPediatricianā, where he recalls a time where he was watching noggin in the waiting room while looking at his spongebop wallet. āI had bands on me back then, I have bands on me right nowā, he says, singing with a boyish nasal. On āYou See Meā, he floats, over a Rainbow Road-like beat, saying āI didnāt speed down that strip.ā Somehow, itās both laconic and intense, perfect for the kids of Gen Z, who are growing up with worse resources but more knowledge of self than ever before.
The kid is laconic and understands stardom ā I saw him do two songs at a warehouse in Soho and was shocked at how sober and focused he was. In 2025, Xavier will be leading the way.
Related Recs
The breakout star of todayās hyper-online, borderline avant-garde underground rap scene, 17-year-old Gunner Shepardsonābetter known as Nettspendāis, depending on who you ask, a visionary, a harbinger of hip hopās end, moderately interesting, or maybe just the most swagged-out teenager on the planet. Your opinion likely hinges on the year you graduated high schoolāor where you were on the night of December 18, 2023, when a mob of skaters and balaclava-clad SoundCloud rap devotees descended upon an industrial metal detector outside the Mercury Lounge after waiting four hours for Nettspend, xaviersobased, Yhapojj, and Phreshboyswag to make an appearance. For me, the answer somewhere lies in the reuploaded video for Nothing Like Uuu: a mesmerizing hyperpop-rap hybrid that somehow distills the essence of a month at Market Hotel into just two minutes.Ā Itās a whirlwind of gratuitous fog machine smoke, mumbled Chief-Keef-Jr-isms about wanting to "get geeked all night," swirling synths straight out of a Doss DJ set, and, at the center of it all, Nettspendāthe inexplicable teenager with black Xās on their hands, completely at home in the chaos.Ā
Dec 30, 2024
My last rec reminded me of this song.
Truly one of our funniest songs, made by a group of kids between 10 and 13 years old over a decade ago, and it still goes hard.
I wonder what became of these young artists.
I'm hungry where them Cheetos at
They stay biting like where them mosquito at
I'm on point like an elbow
Hands red like Elmo
My mama said 'have you had enough?'
I look and I said 'no ma'am'
I go ham in the grocery store
Orange Fanta and Takis
Riding around with my allowance
So nobody can stop me
All the kids wanna be him
Go crazy when they see him
My mom hit the ATM
'Cause she know I need them
Nov 4, 2024
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if you arenāt already aware (??!) rxk nephew has been described as the most prolific rapper of our time, the post-trump era lil b, unhinged, chaotic etcetc basically heās a genius. but also, he's a really lovely guy! a couple months ago, he reached out to me on twitter because a few of my tweets resonated with him, which i always appreciate but especially from an artist i respect. last weekend, i found out he was playing a show in brooklyn so i asked him for some list spots and he immediately got me in contact with his manager (who was also great). on the night of the show, his manager texted saying the whole crew was pulling up at lucien for dinner while my friends and i were enjoying drinks at a table outside. i truly believe everything happens for a reason, so that synchronicity only affirmed that the show was going to be incredible ā and it was. honestly the most fun ive ever had at a show, the sound was crisp, the setlist was perfect, and neph and i took really cute pics together after. im really looking forward to his new releases and the next time heās in new york.
Jun 30, 2022
Top Recs from @jayson
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I'm often accused of being an "old soul", a categorization I vehemently dislike because it pretends as if my taste is because of nostalgia, as opposed to what is actually cool and compelling. (If something cool comes out now, I enjoy it, but we're in a down period when it comes to culture). But, something old about me, is that I do not care at all about TikTok ending, if does happen. If Elon takes it over from the Chinese, you might as well leave anyway, but I'm just worried at why this is a huge deal for people. It's just an app. Another one will be made. TikTok is not culture, it directly flattens culture into these ten second clips that take music, movies --- things that you need to process --- into something that is now consumed by everyone at a rapid pace, not allowing for the nuances, the style, the aesthetics to sit with us.
I have never watched something on TikTok and thought that this is something in that pushing American culture to deeper heights. I am sorry. Now I am sure they're good stuff on the app, but it's not really a necessity. Whenever I hear the words "it's blowing up on TikTok", my mind immediately growls.
I understood why X becoming overrun with Elon bots and right wingers is a big deal; X actually created things, made careers, made American life, and American events available to be seen by everyone. However, TikTok is a corrupt fantasy, chopping at the wires that make physical connection important.
Read a book! Go to the movies! Go to the restaurant of a cuisine that is unheralded, go to a baseball game. Who cares about TikTok?
Jan 14, 2025
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There's something quite startling about Martin Scorsese's 1980's period compared to the rest of his decades as one of America's greatest filmmakers. In the 80's, he was weird, strange, and making weirdly manic films that feel more New York than even some of his movies about the mob. They're movies about characters who aren't glamarous people that they want to be, but rather, are losers who can't seem to correctly fucntion in normal society. They're non-violent sociopaths. I saw The King of Comedy at Metrograph recently, and it's exhilarating, hilarious, manic, and scary. With Jerry Lewis, Bobby De Niro and Sandra Bernhard, Scorsese was able to create a world where incels who are bad at comedy are wishing for fame. Sound familiar?
This is a great movie. In 1983, it was a box office flop. But in 2025, it is magical in how it's telling the future. A future of scam artists who don't want to work to get there, and don't want to sit in their mediocrity: they want to steal to get their fifteen seconds. Go watch this masterpiece.
Jan 28, 2025
It's a perfect movie. It's almost too perfect. The fashion, the look on Cate's face when Theresa (Rooney Mara) is walking to her at the end, the line reading of "ask me things, please"; the fact that men are the joke throughout the movie.
It makes me wonder about representation and the limits of it because of how womanly and queer this movie is, despite the fact that it never feels like a movie made for women. It's just a great movie.
Feb 13, 2025