Releasing yet another banger TODAY with the official music video for “Level Up”.
Berkley’s Rexx Life Raj and his latest project, Father Figure 2: Flourish, manages to uplift and motivate without preaching or veering into cheesy self-help territory. It’s a testament to Raj’s tremendous charisma on the mic, unique spin on the Bay Area sound, and unflappable mentality that Father Figure 2 is such a cohesive, distinct vision. For Raj, that purpose is partially inspired by advice he received from his parents, who offered nuggets of wisdom throughout the project.
Anyone who’s ever used music to power through the end of a workout or motivate themselves to lock in on a tough assignment will find motivational gems on Father Figure 2. “Level Up” is one such track, and the single’s video, premiering below, takes us through Raj’s journey from Berkeley kid to college athlete to bubbling MC.
His spontaneous approach makes his music feel especially singular. While he has some songs more in line with the dominant sound of the Bay Area, he’s also thoroughly comfortable in his own skin. This comes across when he’s discussing the current wave of young trap rappers who have steered much of hip-hop’s narrative this year. Though Raj isn’t necessarily a huge fan (“We need more Kendricks and less Soulja Boys,” he raps on “Ventilation”), he also sees a lot of the criticism as being misdirected.
“I’m not mad at the artist, you can’t be mad at the artist. You need to be mad at the society that’s glorifying and magnifying it. If we didn’t give it attention and put it on platforms, they wouldn’t be doing it,” he says. “You can’t be mad at an impressionable 16- or 17-year-old dude who’s fixated on Instagram and lost in the sauce and then has a manager who says, ‘Yo, get gold teeth, get face tats. You’ll be on.’ I feel like people’s anger and frustration is in the wrong places.”
Going forward, Raj plans to put out a handful more high-concept videos off of Father Figure 2, craft more novella-length Instagram captions (for which he’s coined the hashtag “CaptionGod”), and fine-tune his unique brand of heady, inspiring Bay Area hip-hop.
Rexx Life Raj “Level Up”Official Music Video
Click the photo above to download the broadcast master
A former Division I offensive lineman at Boise State University, Rexx Life Raj is a gentle giant, concerned with deep soul-searching and analyzing how he fits within the world. Raj is a major rising star in the Bay Area scene, racking up over 20 million streams on all platforms and gaining a devoted following on Instagram for his next-level captions. In the past year, he earned glowing press coverage from Billboard, Pigeons & Planes, Pitchfork, Noisey, and XXL, and earned the cover spot on Spotify’s Mellow Bars playlist with his single “Handheld GPS,” which earned over 4 million streams on the service.
Following the release of his debut album Father Figure in 2016, Rexx Life Raj collaborated with the likes of G-Eazy, Mozzy, Nef The Pharaoh (who frequently calls Raj his favorite rapper), Murs,ymtk, Goapele,
With Father Figure 2: Flourish, Rexx Life Raj will hope to realize his commercial ambitions while further establishing his reputation as one of the most original and accomplished artists around.
Rexx Life Raj “Level Up” – Official Music Video
Click the photo above to download the broadcast master
“Father Figure 2: Flourish” is now available on all digital platforms: Apple Music – Spotify – Soundcloud
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