November 21, 2017

“People need to be more conscious of what they put out into the world, because that shit goes a long way.”

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Rap’s resident dad Rexx Life Raj hasn’t taken the typical trajectory as many of his peers in music. A former offensive line standout for Boise State University, Raj has since flipped his communications degree into a flourishing career in the music industry. His effortless flow, filled with witty wordplay and knowledge bombs, gives him one of the smoothest deliveries in the game. Raj would later describe his songs as a “stream of consciousness” during our conversation backstage at the Rolling Loud in Raj’s Bay Area stomping grounds.

Today marks the release of Raj’s sophomore album, Father Figure 2: Flourish. It’s predecessor was one of the more impressive and immersive debuts in recent memory. With today’s release, Raj aims to build on his already impressive body of work with a 15-track effort featuring guest verses from Russ and G-Eazy, while production was handled by a select few but frequent collaborators.

Over the course of our conversation, Raj would touch on a myriad of issues; perhaps none more important than his powerful feeling of social responsibility when it comes to his lyrics and portrayal. Raj is rap’s premiere purveyor of wisdom, so press play on his new tape below and get to scrolling through his answers. You might just learn something.

 

I know you’re the caption god, but you’re getting bigger. Ever consider signing off your social media to someone else?

I would never do such a thing. What’s crazy is that I’ve been ghost writing captions on the low for people. So if you see one of the homies with an extended caption, that’s me.

I need that.

Tap me in. My rates are low right now.

Talk to me about your current gig at Boise State, I heard they have you emceeing games out there?

Yeah, they got me DJ’ing all the home games. I’m not even going to front like I’m a real DJ, but I play music I like and try to get the crowd and players hyped. It’s crazy fun.

Do you look at music and football similarly in terms of how much you expect yourself to grow in each year?

Not necessarily, but there’s a lot of good things that my time playing football taught me that has helped me making music. The number one thing is that work ethic.

You name drop the “Adderall” more than any other rapper in the game right now, is that something you also picked up at Boise State?

The thing about Adderall is that I couldn’t do it in college, because we all got tested on the team. I think during finals of my senior year is when I first started fucking with it, because football season was over and we were no longer getting tested.

It just put me on a different wave. How I describe it, is you know how you have that voice in your head telling you not to do whatever? For me, it always silences that negative part of my thinking and helps me focus on being the most productive me possible. It lets me create without overthinking, I feel like I’m just in a flow state the whole time.

My whole thing too with it is, you know if I’m going to “promote” a drug by putting it in my songs, I should at least make it some shit that’s going to make you productive. So I don’t feel bad or anything. I’m not telling niggas to do Xans like half these artists.

How’d the “Rexx Life” moniker come about?

Back in high school, it was just a thing we’d say among the homies that just meant you were on some freaky shit. So now, we’ve got this dope creative coalition with hella people. From artists to producers, videographers, everything. There’s probably ten of us.

Talk to me about your love of goats?

Goats are just a metaphor for what I am or what I aspire to eventually be. The GOAT. That’s a funny ass question. Shoutout Goats.

How did this musical journey start for you?

I grew up around hella music. My mom’s side of the family was heavy into church and they sang a lot. They had the Marshall family quartet over at this Baptist church nearby.

Honestly, I still don’t really think I can sing just because I’ve seen how incredible some of my family is. They can really sing. I’m assisted by pitch correction and all that kinda shit, but they’re just pure singers.

My pops was pretty musical too. He played the bass and was super into Jimi Hendrix and that whole wave. Every Saturday he was slappin hella Bob Marley and shit. I was just always around it.

Let’s talk about Father Figure 2, how do you think the sound has progressed since your debut album?

Evolution is the key. This album is really an evolution of me both sonically and as a human. I’ve grown and learned so much in the time between these projects. To me that’s what a father figure is, somebody who gives you the wisdom and game for life.

That’s what I feel like a lot of people in the rap game are lacking. There are a lot of dudes who’ve been around for a long time, but really lack substance. I try to give people something they can grow from. The biggest thing people tell me is when they listen to my shit they feel like I’m trying to figure it out too. And that’s real, because we’re all just searching for something and not knowing what it is.

Everybody’s got goals and not knowing how to get there stops a lot of people so I just wanted to put people on to my journey and whatever wisdom I can provide.

Something we need to leave in 2017?

We need to stop condoning negative shit. You’ve got all these people who are at the top of the game, and their message to the masses is based in negativity, fear, and anger. We’ve got to stop supporting that, because I used to be the guy that was mad at those rappers. I’d say stuff like “He ain’t talking about shit” or “ He ain’t real” because that’s a place that I come from, a place of truth.

What you have to understand though, is it’s not them. They have all these people supporting them. People are allowing that and promoting that, so I think people need to be more conscious of what you put out into the world, what you support and what you need to pay attention to, because that shit goes a long way.

I feel like that goes into what you were saying earlier about giving people wisdom so they can grow.

Right. And for me at this point, I’m trying to put the candy in the medicine you feel me? Because you can’t be too preachy or whatever. I just try to spit my take, not really preach but just drop some gems every now and then and let people take it how they want to take it.

When are you at your most creative?

I’m a night owl for sure. I just like doing music alone. I don’t like going to studio sessions with hella niggas around and shit. It’s distracting.

Most of my music that’s released is stuff that I’ve recorded in my studio out in Berkeley where I just have a microphone on a desk, and I mix and engineer everything to the best of my ability. Once I think it’s almost ready, I’ll send it to someone else to polish it up a little bit.

I’m just always in that studio alone spending time trying to figure out myself. That’s what my music is too. It’s like a diary for me almost. A lot of interviewers ask me “What were you thinking when you made Handheld GPS?” or “What were you thinking when you made Running Man?” and the thing is, I really wasn’t thinking.  I didn’t make those songs to make hits, I made them because that’s just how I feeling at the time. A few of my tracks are very specific, but for the most part it’s just me working through my own thoughts and I think that’s why people fuck with me most. It’s something everyone can relate to.

Again, you’ve got the long-awaited Father Figure 2 coming out. Tell us what we can look forward to on there?

Oh man, I’m excited. I got a couple of features on there with Russ, G-Eazy and I got another dope artist called Iman Europe who I think is really slept on. Incredible producers too, Mikos Da Gawd, JULiA LEWiS, Kyle Betty who produced Shit N’ Floss, Ian Mckee too, he produced and mixed that whole thing. He helps me a lot creatively. Like I said, I’m just trying to give people the wisdom with this one.

Is understanding and being involved with the production aspect of your album important to you?

Yeah, the more I grow the more I understand how important that is. I used to be the guy that, just send me a beat and then I’ll hop on it and it is what it is. Now though, I’ve got all these resources and guys that are super raw. Like Drew Banga is super dope at playing bass, why am I not using live bass? Kyle’s really incredible at sampling, Mikos is great at the keys, JULiA LEWiS is really good with synths. So my whole thing now is I’ll do a track and then bring it to one of them and ask what do you hear on this, what can you add. Trying to learn however I can.

Shit, I’ve got to ask now that you’ve brought up the live bass, any plans to add some live instrumentation to your sets?

Yeah, eventually that’s the goal. Right now I’m probably not there, but we might start incorporating some drumming and maybe guitar at first, then go from there. Eventually, I’d love to do that though. Even Curren$y today with his band was incredible because even if you don’t know his music that live element just makes you really feel it. I think it adds a lot.

While live instrumentation is clearly a goal for Raj’s future, he hasn’t lost sight of the moment. His music, as he touched on, is almost a diary of his own inner monologue, often with conflicting thoughts and emotions. This is not only what makes Raj so universally relatable, but also is at the core of his acute self-awareness. Despite the numbers and accolades, Raj’s journey into music is one of self-actualization. His incredible work ethic has translated off the field and behind the microphone. The sophomore album is often an intimidating moment for artists as they seek to stay true to themselves and previous release while also trying to expand their sound. Raj, however, is making music for personal growth rather than commercial success. Raj isn’t running out of life lessons anytime soon either, the father figure rap desperately needs but doesn’t deserve is quickly making other artists take note, and not just of his captions.

All photos by Milo Lee


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