Blxst is the paradigm for success in L.A’.s mushrooming music scene. The multi-talented balladeer released his acclaimed debut project, No Love Lost, earlier this year, which has subsequently led to a chain reaction of momentum that has catalyzed his career to new heights. Since his inception in music, Blxst has arguably become your favorite rappers go-to fix, penning verses and securing beat placements with some of the music industry’s biggest names. However, when you analyze his unparalleled rise to stardom, relationships are of great importance, or as the Angeleno crooner states, “I think relationships are the biggest thing, that’s what has gotten me in this position right now.”
While growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Blxst had a relatively isolated adolescence. He was alone in the physical sense, but his narrative has always been melody-driven: music consumes his thoughts. In the city of vice and virtue, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and lose yourself, but Blxst’s moral uprightness has never been questioned: he knows exactly who he is. “When I finally got the chance to sit down and really fall in love with the process of creating in general, I feel like it was meant for me,” he explains.
Now, still riding high off the success of September’s release, Blxst has cemented his position amongst LA’s new wave of budding talent. Swaying between crafty innuendos and lithe lyricism has enabled the evocative songster to amass over 30 million combined streams for his debut effort. Naturally, it’s Blxst’s laid-back style that has garnered global appeal: he’s the new kid on the block and everyone wants to be his friend — but the thing is, the artist born Matthew Burdette isn’t motivated by the approval of others, legacy is what drives his ambition.
During our conversation, I had the opportunity to become familiar with Blxst’s ‘why factor’, the motivation behind his relentless grind. At this stage in his adult life, he doesn’t shy away from being vocal about his selfish tendencies — he instead embraces this notion of practicing self-love through creating distance — but at the end of the day, it’s still no love lost.
Random thought here — but bro, there’s no grits on the West Coast!?
Nah, that’s a fact, we kinda look down on grits. I actually like grits. My family from Louisiana though, so yeah, I like grits (laughs).
What exactly does it mean to be an Angeleno?
I just think we have a certain pride. Everyone wants to come out here, and we know that, so we just try to put our stamp on that. It’s (Los Angeles) ours at the end of the day, so for me, it’s everything: that’s my heart, my soul, I’m prideful about that.
At this stage in your life, how do you value relationships?
I think relationships are the biggest thing, that’s what has gotten me in this position right now. You can’t do it alone, that goes for any relationship really. Whether it’s your manager, certain platforms, your team, I just feel like it’s always good to take care of those relationships because you never know what you may need in any scenario.
In a past interview with No Jumper, you briefly touched on tapping into a self-sufficient state and basically learning things on your own. In retrospect, do you feel more equipped now as an artist being that you were self-taught?
Most definitely. It’s crazy because back then, I kept saying I wish I was on, I wish I was this, but that whole time I was building my arsenal and planting my seed. I definitely feel more equipped, I’ve taken the stairs instead of the elevator for sure.
What role did isolation play in your overall development?
I just feel like when you’re bored or by yourself, your mind thinks outside of the normal box. You wanna try something different, you start experimenting with stuff. So for me, I feel like music was always in me. Just being a kid and running around, you’re so distracted with other things. When I finally got the chance to sit down and really fall in love with the process of creating in general, I feel like it was meant for me. It was spilling out of me everyday, it never felt like I was learning, it felt like fun — and that’s why I feel like I adapted to it easily.
I know it’s in your lineage too, because you have relatives that make music as well right?
For sure, my sister and my uncle. My uncle just sent me a verse yesterday, so he’s still pushing. He on TikTok right now, still uploading freestyles (laughs).
With all of this in mind, and considering how interconnected technology has made things: how important is a social media presence for modern day artists trying to make it in the music industry?
It’s a necessary evil. For me, it’s beneficial because I can connect with the world at the snap of a finger and I feel like that’s very dope. It’s the inevitable bro, we’re moving into the future, things are happening — either you adapt to it or get rolled over. That’s why a lot of the influencers today are social media actors, that’s what moves the world.
Personally, what would you say is the hardest part about being a father and a musician?
Man, time management. Just being able to manage that (time) is a challenge for me. Of course you want to be able to spend time with your family, but at the same time you gotta create a foundation for your family to even spend time with them. It’s just going back and forth with that, but I’m learning, we’re all learning and I’m developing a certain balance. I think I got a good system now, but we’ll see how it goes.
In terms of creative insight, do you think chaos creates concepts – almost like creative ammunition in a sense?
Absolutely, I was just talking about that with my people this morning. It’s crazy how like the more stuff you go through, the better your content is. The person that has gone through the most crucial things has the best story to tell. It’s always good to have that edge on you so that you can stay hungry, stay motivated, and keep that fuel to your fire.
It’s harder for me to have a regular conversation than it is to write music. Crazy as that sounds, I feel more free to express myself when I’m recording. I feel like that’s why I really rock with the art the way that I do.
Is there anyone in the industry that you look to for advice? If so, who is it and what’s the best advice they’ve given you?
Not really. Mainly, when I get advice, it’s my close friends, someone from my team, or my mom. As far as advice, nah, I don’t really have any mentors like that.
I feel like that idle time that I had as a child really instilled that self-sufficiency in me. I’m used to not reaching out to people, I’m used to figuring it out myself. I’m learning to ask for advice, that’s a tool I’m using now, learning to use my resources and reach out to people.
Now it makes sense. I see why you didn’t have any features on your debut EP, because you’re self-sufficient, you don’t need anyone else (laughs).
Nah, that’s a fact. It wasn’t intentional to not have any features, it’s just how I operate. When I get features or when someone is willing to work with me, that’s the icing on the cake. Tyga, he reached out to me and I sent him that song. Ty’s (Ty Dolla $ign) verse was already on it and he did it off the strength. It’s crazy how everybody was gravitating towards the original No Love Lost project — that’s pretty much how I got those features.
Let me unwrap this right quick. So, you’re telling me that in the midst of the rollout for No Love Lost, that’s what secured the features for your deluxe release — they weren’t pre-selected or you didn’t have those verses in the cut?
Exactly, which is crazy. Don’t get me wrong, you have your plan, but I’ve just been rolling with the punches and it’s been working for me. I don’t overthink it and it’s a blessing bro, I don’t know what else to say about it. The fact that I got features off of putting out this project is just dope, shits fire.
Have you ever thought about calling it quits, like things were happening fast enough?
Absolutely, it was definitely tons of self-doubt, especially around the time I was having my son. I was in transition and I thought about quitting, but then again it’s like nah, I owe this to myself. I’ve never really had the opportunity to put 100% into it, so that’s what I did, I went into tunnel vision and put 1000% into myself. I stopped sending beats, I stopped doing features with other people, and I just honed in and the results came out. So, I’m glad I took the route I did. My son was able to give me that new version of my ‘why factor’, which is why I went beast-mode.
Conceptually, is there any significance behind the title of your recent effort, No Love Lost?
Yeah, most definitely. For me, I always say it’s just another saying for ‘no hard feelings.’ I feel like we miss out on selfishness a lot, like it’s bad to be selfish. But, at the same time, you are you, you don’t have to explain to nobody what you owe to yourself. That’s something that I realized when I had my son: I owe this to myself, I owe this to my son, and I’ma just going to go for it. The ones around you, they don’t always understand that mentality, but it’s no love lost. I still got love for y’all, it ain’t like I won’t do for y’all or double back, but I gotta complete this mission that I set for myself.
What does Blxst fear most?
I fear not becoming the man I want my son to see. I fear failing my son, that’s my number one priority right now. That fear is what keeps me motivated.
How will you know that the mission has been accomplished, with making sure you’re the man your son needs to see?
I just want him to know that I didn’t sell out, I bet on myself. Win, lose or draw, I believed in myself and that’s all that matters. I feel like that’s what true happiness is, accepting whatever is meant for you.
