Hailing from Berkley, California and on track to become one of the Bay Area’s brightest hip-hop stars, Rexx Life Raj is definitely one to watch. During a recent trip to New York City, Rexx stopped by our office to chat inspiration, musical style and the unique camaraderie that exists between Bay Area artists.
You grew-up in Berkley, California. How did your childhood and adolescence impact your current path musically?
Growing up my mom was heavily involved in the church, and my family sang gospel quartets – all of my family sings. The biggest thing that impacted me from my childhood was my parents’ local delivery service. My whole childhood was spent in the back of the car listening to oldies, soul, neo-soul and funk music. I think that all those genres continue to influence my music.
Describe your musical style. What are some of your favorite things you travel with?
I like to consider my style melodic rap. It’s not too commercial, and influenced by neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and Jill Scott. When I travel I always have my iPhone, it’s connected to my hip by this point, and for sure a pair of dope headphones. At this point I travel with my studio set-up, so I’m able to work out of any hotel or Airbnb. I just bust out my computer, my audio interface and microphone and I’m able to record anywhere. That’s really how I recorded a lot of my most recent album, on-the-go and out of random locations. Once you learn and figure out how it works, you can really take it anywhere. It’s definitely a learning process.
