FEATURE

XXMISFIT Exclusive Interview with Muzique Magazine

Tinker Talavera

Published on March 24, 2021

XXMISFIT Exclusive Interview with Muzique Magazine

How did you come by your stage name?

What most people won’t know is back when my first song “Bands” came out, I was under the stage name “Lil Byrd” as I was influenced for a while by artist Lil Uzi Vert but just playing around and making music for fun. I never thought that people would like my music enough to turn it into a career so I just jokingly went with that name.

Somewhere around 2018, I found myself alone in the world, as I switched schools, my friends moved out of town, and the other ones were only friends for as long as school was in session, so I was isolated to myself and my style was coined as weird or out of place because of my antisocial and odd behavior as well. I never wanted to go to parties or hang out with friends because I was so determined on my success that I didn’t have time to waste on anything that wasn’t going to get me there.

At that time, one of my main influencers; XXXTENTACION had passed and I felt as if he opened up a way for me to openly express myself through my music. That is when I embraced my lifestyle and gave a tribute to the artist who changed my life around. One of the X’s in my stage name XXMISFIT is recognition to XXXTENTACION and the other stands for the unknown, X, like Project X or a variable X, to account that my life is still a mystery.

When did you discover your love for your craft and what made you realize you wanted to pursue a career in it?

Growing up listening to Travis Scott in school made me see that he lives a wild and dark lifestyle which really caught my attention and made me want to express my life through my music. I found beats on youtube, purchased a microphone and computer, and tried making a hit with it. Dropped the song on SoundCloud which was “Bands” and started racking up streams on it instantly.

This is when it hit me that even though this wasn’t a blowup song, it enabled me to see that I was kind of good at making music and should chase this dream to want to be like Travis. As time passes on, I started to develop my own style and make my own decisions, and change to make my own path. But one thing is for certain, this is my career now and I will do what it takes to achieve the goals that I set for myself and what I want to see to prosper in the industry.

To what or whom do you accredit your sense of style?

In terms of fashion, I have to give my credit to my older brother, (@brooklynsrevival on Instagram). He influenced me to break out and create a style that was different from everybody all the way back in middle school and it has only proven to prosper moving forward in my career. Watching him put these different styles and colors together really kicked it off for me that I should include a unique style into my brand and that’s when I stopped caring about what people thought about what I wear and wore what best describes my status and personality.

As for my music, I was heavily influenced by Travis Scott and Juice WRLD for sure. They had this melodic yet dark nature that not many could reproduce and it only came from their dark experiences in life. Seeing as my life almost matched with theirs in comparison, I found myself locked into those same types of beats and the lyrics only added to my individual personality. Coupling the music with the fashion just gave me my own lane to be who I wanted to be and give my image its own fresh makeover.

On your current project, how did you come up with the concept?

“Misfit’s World” – my first full-length album comes from the idea that the life I live is different from everyone else’s mainly for the fact that I had to go through isolation and depression throughout my starting career. I didn’t have many friends growing up and anyone’s that I did have are gone now and moved on with their lives so my circle is pretty much 6 people that I surround myself with and that’s just in this past year alone, I was down to 3 for the longest.

Misfit’s World is more like a remembrance album, showing how I went from being this lonely kid who was never cool or could never amount to anything, to being this self-made superstar who everyone is starting to understand, know and love. I positioned the album to take you on a journey from start to current while also providing melodic songs to make the experience more enjoyable to the ear. I hope everyone tunes in to listen as it will be an amazing freshman album.

What are some of your greatest challenges, and what is your greatest attribute when it comes to your work ethic?

One big challenge for me was self-doubt. I always have been conservative with myself and my music which has caused me to disapprove of every song that I made. I wouldn’t want to promote my music because of fear of negative feedback and always thought it would never be good enough and I would be like every other rapper. It pained me to see all of my inspirations running laps around me and my music never sounded as professional as them so it would discourage me. Then 555 told me to just be yourself and stop worrying about what the next person has to say about your music, you can’t please everybody even if you tried to go out and make music for yourself.

Those words never hit me so harder and woke me up, I have to do what makes me happy and brings positivity into my dark life. After that point, I started putting my life out there no matter what would happen. You won’t get anywhere in life if you’re being scared to take chances and the worst you can get is a “no” so why not just roll the dice and see what you land on? I locked in and increased my work ethic to start creating consistently and presenting quality works just like the artists I looked up to which boosted my morale because I started to see results that I wanted to which pushes me to achieve more and present more. To my surprise, the people that I thought wouldn’t show love are the ones that are with me until the end and love everything I do. It’s a great feeling once you let go and do something for yourself.

Are you the best at what you do in your opinion?

To be honest, I don’t think I’m the best at what I do because if I was, I wouldn’t have any inspirations to look up to or any goals to keep me pushing. I firmly believe Juice WRLD was one of the best to do what I do which is send a message to the youth and the misfits of the world while using our experiences in life to propel our music. I set my goals and accomplishments to set myself up to take what he did and carry it on to a bigger level and once I do that, then continue to spread that love and positivity for the length of my career.

Do I want to be the best? No, the best comes with a lot of cons like hate, greed, envy, so I’d rather just become what I can and be a better me for myself and for my supporters. Spreading the love and good vibes since I never had that growing up is what I strive for in my music.

What are your plans for the near future?

I am looking to expand my brand and reach as many lives as possible. This is coming through new music videos, more music consistently, and more interviews so people may know more about Misfit and what is leading him to lead these Lost Souls and those who feel displaced in the world, or what I call the Socially Unaccepted. There is a new album in the works at the moment which I want to get out and show everybody who I am through my music and hope that they understand my motives. It should be a fun and wild ride but I am loving every moment of doing what I do.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank, any shout outs?

I want to give a shoutout to my two guys Quan and Von, they been down with me for almost 16 years now and they are the ones who I have to bring up with me for certain. Through all my rise and falls, they have been there to support me and keep me on my path even when it seemed uncertain what the next move was. Big thank you to Kayla, Lauren, and Melina; three ladies that definitely believed in the process and even contributed big time where it counted. They showed me that you need a team to get to where you’re going and even more so, an even bigger support system. Misfit probably would have fallen off if it wasn’t for these 5 individuals, so I want to publicly say thanks guys for being there.

How can fans find you?

You can connect with me solo.to/xxmisfit , where I have all of my socials as well as my music. I take the time to respond to anyone as I can and we can talk about anything if needed. After all, I am here for anyone who feels out of place. It’s the foundation of what XXMISFIT stands for as well as The Socially Unaccepted.

What suggestions do you have for other artist like yourself?

I found that being yourself is one of the best things you can do for your brand. You don’t have to conform to society to “make it” in this industry. Your fans are listening to your music to find out more about you, not who you want to be. If you want to talk about your diamonds, cars, money and all that, I have no problem with that, do what makes you happy but just don’t sound like everyone else when doing it.

One of the reasons most artists don’t achieve what they’re looking for is because they repeat what others already heard and it becomes dull, so add some unique flair to it and make it your own personal experience. I wish nothing but success to every artist out there doing their thing and trying to find their own path.

Instagram: instagram.com/ihateyoumisfit_

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/xxmisfit/1274434436