Open Space: Xavier Wulf | Mass Appeal

Xavier Wulf was ahead of his time. As a former member of Raider Klan squad, him and his people laid the groundwork for a lot of artists. "Any new artist that came out since 2013, they followed our blueprint," Wulf says. "That's if they stayed independent." And being independent is key. The Memphis rapper had people checking for him before anyone knew what was going on. Soundcloud even called him to try and figure out how he grew such a large fan base. But it paid off, literally: They started giving him money. "I was the first nigga getting Soundcloud checks," he says. Now every kid is using Soundcloud. He's not even mad at the term Soundcloud rapper. How could he be? "I'm an OG in the shit," is how he sees it. If he was just entering the scene, then it might be a different story, though. He's not sure how he'd feel about the underground from that perspective. But it's progressing, and he says labels are starting to catch onto the whole wave. While he's still fam with the Klan, he's moved on and started his own team, the HollowSquad. He also left behind the alias Ethelwulf, which he saw as a different character, a more wild one. "Xavier is more grown," he explains. "Still crazy, but more collected crazy." The Xavier sound is punk rap, or heavy metal rap; full of references to anime and cars. He even created a mixtape, Project X, around a car he built for drifting. But mainly it's about the energy. It's high energy, head banging, crowd surfing music. "It's what any kids going through anything need to hear in order to help them out of that." And he says fans thank him for helping them through difficult periods frequently: "That makes me feel good." Subscribe to Mass Appeal here: http://goo.gl/LqG3wZ -------------Mass Appeal------------- Website: http://massappeal.com Twitter:   / massappeal   Instagram:   / massappeal   Facebook:   / massappeal   What started as a humble graffiti 'zine in 1996 would soon grow to be one of the most trusted outlets for youth-spawned urban culture. Today, Mass Appeal is a media collective led by authentic voices and inspired minds. We are a platform for radical creatives who are transforming culture.