After picking up music during covid lockdowns, the rapper and singer midwxst has released a torrent of singles, alongside his debut album E3. Rising alongside the post-pandemic era of internet-centric music, the Indiana native has made a name for himself as a genre bender. Currently in the midst of an extensive tour, Off Record caught up with midwxst after a recent show at Houston’s Bayou Music Center.
ORB: So I know this is only your second or third date with Polyphia, but I know you’re in the midst of your own tour. How’s that been going? How’s the tour? How’s road life?
M: It’s been really fun. It’s been really good. I’ve been able to just have a lot of time to spend with my family, with my friends, with my dad. Been having good conversations, my bandmates and I are getting really close. Some of my bandmates went to college with me and they were my homies, so it’s cool to see us both exist in this realm.
And it’s just been so cool to see people showing so much love in each city. People caring about every single detail and every single lyric of the songs, I feel like you don’t really see that a lot with a lot of crowds, especially intimate crowds, but it’s really cool to see intimacy be a setting in my shows.
ORB: After working with some really big-name artists like Denzel Curry and Babytron, do you have any dream collabs that you want to make a reality?
M: I really would want to work with Frank Ocean, But that’s one of the most rare features.
I feel like Tyler too, we could make some cool things, cool music.
ORB: In a similar vein, what’s been your favorite collaboration that you’ve been able to do thus far?
M: My favorite collab, just because of how I love performing it, I would say my song with skaiwater, clair. It’s a Jersey song, so the 808 punch so loud live it’s such a nice feeling. I really rock with it. Either that or okay, with brakence.
ORB: You released your debut album, E3, earlier this year. How did you develop that character, and as you did, what changed and developed with it? What’s his main role on the album?
M: I was sitting down in one of my classes in high school and I had already had a plan for E3 being an album way before I started actually working on it, so it was an idea that I started when I was just getting into music.
And then on top of that it was a way for me to just sort of morph my two worlds. I’m really into English and literature. I used to be in spelling bees, and I was really obsessed with words and word play. I really wanted to fixate and work on those things. So then I go to E3, and hear all these very meaningful lyrics saying things in a certain way that catch your ear really well, it hits your ears sonically really well.
It’s really the story of just somebody who loves incorrectly, who goes through all the things that are love, like the arguments you have, the care you have for that person, the disagreements you have.
ORB: Following up on that, what was the writing and recording process like?
M: The recording process was definitely different this time around because I was actually sitting down and writing and coming up with compositions with Sophie, with Drew, with everybody who really pivotally worked on the album and bouncing off of other people. I’ve never really done that. I’ve always been a one-man band and I’ve always just gotten my beats from my friends and the right people. Then I’ve recorded myself or made sure I get mixed a certain way. I’ve always had a really specific ear for things.
It was really cool to be able to have that type of feeling in the room because it kind of reminded me of documentaries about Tyler making Wolf and the rare photos you get from the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sessions, people only wearing corporate outfits only wearing black and white suits and ties.
That’s what it felt like. It felt empowering, too. It was just super cool to bring so many creative and like-minded people into the same space and it definitely reflected really well on the record.
ORB: Switching gears, a little bit, what have you been listening to lately?
M: Kind of just a mix of everything. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve been tapped into. Just kind of bouncing around because it just keeps the palette fresh, keeps your ear fresh.
ORB: Do you pull elements from those different things to incorporate?
M: I pull elements and get inspired from songs and records that I can see really make an impact on me or I can really feel. Ones that I can really relate to on a personal level like Rodeo by Travis Scott, that soundscape is so unique and so grimy and dark.
But then also you go back and listen to Yeezus, you hear a lot of the same sounds that Travis implemented on that project. And then you think about how Travis is one of Kanye’s protégés it just gets deeper and deeper.
ORB: Since you’ve started this career and you’ve been making music and doing shows, what would you say is the most pinch yourself moment that you’ve experienced.
M: That’s really hard. There’s been a lot. Probably when I met Tyler for the first time, before I was heavy on my music.
I asked him for advice, and he told me to just be my biggest cheerleader and believe in myself.
That still resonates with me to this day. So I’d definitely say that was a wild moment that definitely drives me and keeps me going.
ORB: And then lastly, I know you’re out on this tour right now, your album just came out, but are you looking ahead? What do you have planned for the future?
M: I got a lot of complementary sounds coming out, like a lot of things in a similar landscape, but also very different.
And I’m really excited for this. I just don’t want to say too much. It’s going to be going to be nice to go back to some old shit, some cool shit.
Midwxst wraps up his tour on 11/22 with a hometown show in Indianapolis.
I'm a Houston-based concert and automotive photographer. I've been a music fan my whole life, and previously was the director for Coog Radio, the University of Houston's student radio station. I listen to a bit of everything, from blues to rock to EDM, but predominantly metal. Some favorites include Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. When I'm not behind the camera, you can catch me skating, going to car events, and buying too many coffee table books.
