Rapper King Xerxes Talks Childhood, Influences, & More

Emerging rapper King Xerxes is bringing real lyrics back. The Brooklyn rapper made major waves with his recent EP, Hoop Dreams, back in December. The project amassed over a million views, making his most streamed work thus far. Always reaching for the next best thing, Xerxes continues to drop off stellar projects and impress fans alike. These past few months, he dropped off cuts like “Kyrie” and “Made Me Do.”

In our recent interview, we chatted about his childhood, gravitating towards music, and a list of other topics. Peep the full conversation below.

Walk me through your childhood, how would you describe your adolescent years?

I grew up in a single-parent household with three other siblings so you could imagine the challenges that we faced. In spite of it all, there was never a shortage of love, namely tough love. As the youngest of four children with completely different personalities and preferences, I’ve had the opportunity to be exposed to a wide array of music throughout my childhood and adolescent years.

How did you initially gravitate towards picking up the microphone?

It started when I was in the second grade. I wrote a song for fun, one that I thought to be pretty catchy. Before I knew it my sister and some of her friends were repeatedly reciting the song because they had it stuck in their heads. They treated my song as if it had been heard on the radio.

As far as music goes, who are some of your influences?

I view myself as a connoisseur of music since I Iisten to nearly every genre. As an east coast soul, hip hop has always been a big deal to me. Growing up in a Ghanian household, African music has always been just as important to me. As far as hip hop goes, I grew up listening to Biggie, Jay-Z, and Kanye and as I got older, I began to listen to Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, and Nipsey Hussle. My West African influencers were P Square, Castro, and Sarkodie.

What’s a misconception people have about Brooklyn?

That it’s not safe. Regardless of what’s seen in the news, there’s a lot more to Brooklyn than the violence that it’s infamous for. One thing that I will say, is that there is a lot of love in the air and we are big on family and friends out here. I know that some people may not get to experience that but most of us do.

What does your project, Hoop Dreams, mean to you?

When I was in high school, my English teacher had us watch a documentary called hoop dreams for a school assignment. It was the first time I hadn’t skipped school in months and it took us an entire week to finish it. By the second day, I remember a classmate saying “damn you here again,” and another classmate’s responded, “naw he just came to watch hoop dreams.” The documentary was about two talented African American men on their basketball journey and all of the trials and tribulations that they went through.

Hoop Dreams taught me that you could have what it takes to make it and still not make it; you could have all the odds on your side or against you. But I believe you still have to try so that’s what hoops dream means to me, giving something your all and your best shot.

Looking further into your career, what can people expect from you this year?

People can expect more content, more music, and more music videos.

What are some of your short-term and long-term goals in the music industry?

I just have goals. I want to be featured on the freshmen cover someday, I want a grammy, I want to compose movie soundtracks and headline tours. I can’t determine when these things will happen so I can’t give them a timeframe. I could only make them happen.