Photography by @dhvnsen
If you have yet to hear of him, you should get familiar with one of the hardest working rappers in this scene – Lil Xelly. It seems as though we get a new single or project from him every single week, this past week being no different. On June 13th we got a surprise release from Lil Xelly for his birthday. The project, Sub Bass & Heartbreaks consists of six short songs, combining for a total of just under 13 minutes. All the production on this project is done by BasedTj. Lil Xelly likes to stick to one producer when it comes to projects, having two others with NoirBrent and hinting at a future collaboration tape with Keyboard Kid.
Xelly and BasedTj make quite the duo. The various flows and cadences used by Lil Xelly on this tape sync perfectly with BasedTj’s beats. There’s a little bit of everything on here from clear and concise verses as well as some use of autotune allowing for a more songful sound. Overall, these tracks are pretty consistent and don’t bounce all over the place like some other tapes we have seen from newer artists, showing Lil Xelly’s ability to deliver the full-package.
The project starts with a bang and finishes strong as well. After sitting with this project for a couple of days, I have realized there is some clear replay value in this project. “Pop Dat” has become a clear favorite of mine. With lyrics like “Stompin’ his noggin ‘cause we do not fight fair” and the echoing outro of “I’m in a nightmare” it was hard not to enjoy this dark yet upbeat track. Some of the other more notable tracks on here include “Beli3ve” and “3NOUGH”. There’s something so catchy about his “XRRRRR” adlib heard on several of the songs.
Check out this crazy collection of songs below and start gearing up for the next project that Xelly drops, with how fast he puts out music, you know it’s coming soon.