Today we’d like to introduce you to Xander Taylor.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up I was heavily into sports, mainly basketball and football. Where I come from, being great at a sport was the first avenue to take if you wanted to find a “way out” AKA an escape from poverty. But having a saxophonist as a dad, it kept a music element in the background that I didn’t know was developing. From age 12 to about 17, Being a professional basketball player was my first dream so I didn’t have much of a desire to get into music. That dream slowly died as I got older and realized I wasn’t going to make the NBA requirements, which was being tall and playing on a division 1 college team. And that was just a quarter of the battle. But with that music element developing in the background over time; watching my dad play with his band when I was younger to watching a lot of battle rap on youtube and going to school trying to rap like the people i watched. Before I even knew, people saw the interest I had in music. Then, in the summer of 2015 at a Michigan State academic camp, the shift had come. There was a creative writing class that challenged each student to write a rhyme or a song to perform in front of class. That’s when I discovered the fun in being a writer. I wrote rhymes before with my interest in battle rap, but battle rap was more punchline after punchline. Though it was still fun, after a lecture that introduced me to Kendrick Lamar’s “Section 80” album, I found it even more interesting to write things that were meaningful. After I returned home from the academic camp, I went on to listen to Kendrick’s Section 80 album non stop along with his other projects like Overly Dedicated. This made me look at music totally differently. J Cole’s music played a major role in my influence as well, though i heard his albums before, i had to go back and listen to them with the new outlook i had for music. Ever since, with an iPad, PSP and a USB microphone, I have been writing and recording music sharing my thoughts and creative ways in hopes to create a better tomorrow for the future and the people who can relate to me. Still to this day, Kendrick Lamar and J Cole are my biggest inspirations and biggest competition. Fast forward to age 25, I moved out of my mother’s basement back in Michigan to my brother’s couch in an apartment to really give this music dream the maximum effort and challenge myself on the big stage.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is never smooth when you’re chasing something greater than you. The music industry today is so saturated and different. There’s no more artist development nor is there someone that’s going to come along and take you to the next level/sign you just because you’re good at music. You need to come with the full package already set. You need to be already good at selling to ink a deal with a company. This forced me over the years to go beyond music and learn the music business. Which has done good for me, but the downside is you can’t just have fun being just an artist anymore. Now you have to be the artist, the producer, the engineer, all the different managers, the promoter, and a great content creator all until you can get people to fill these roles. This really kills the dream for most artists. But luckily for me, music is something I’ll be doing even without being paid.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Hip Hop artist from Grand Rapids Michigan. Known for my conceptual songs/projects through a retro vibe. I am most proud of my Jukebox project that I released back in 2018. That’s the last time I had a chance to really lock in and just be an artist for once. But I am also proud of myself for sticking to it for all these years and not giving up, even when I felt lost. The thing that sets me apart from others is the fact that I can be my unique self and be transparent with my audience. There’s a lot more faking going on today with social media and the new use of AI.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe taking risks is a part of being successful. You can’t be great if you don’t take any risks. Me pursuing music as a career is a major risk because there’s no guarantee you will be successful and it will absolutely leave you broke in the beginning. I have neglected friends and family for this music dream. I have turned down jobs that could have had me in a secure position today money wise. You have to gamble a lot when you pursue a career in entertainment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://xandertaylor.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__xandertaylor/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLCdukg9PdqBq4W3XT0TuGQ
- Other: https://linktr.ee/__XanderTaylor?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=2d3d9b9f-20f0-4d8b-a3fe-dc2e0c8b2de4
