Who Is Blxst? 5 Things You Didn’t Know About The Best New Hip Hop Artist Nominee
The BET Hip Hop Awards has done a stellar job of picking future stars in the “Best New Hip Hop Artist” category.
From Drake in 2009 and 2Chainz in 2012 to Cardi B in 2017, when an artist is selected in the coveted category, more times than not they go on to make a significant contribution to the culture.
This year’s BET Hip Hop Awards’ “Best New Hip Hop”category is stacked. Coi Leray has had a huge debut year with “No More Parties” being a club favorite. The same goes for Memphis street rapper Pooh Shiesty, whose “Back In Blood” still gets spins. North Carolina crooner Morray got cosigns from J. Cole for “Quicksand”, Don Toliver has a case with his Kali Uchis assisted “Drugs N Hella Melodies” and who can forget Yung Bleu’s infectious “You’re Mines Now” featuring Drake.
While all are stellar artists with strong cases, a wild card, not enough people are talking about is Blxst.
Born Matthew Burdette, you may have heard of the 25-year-old’s single “Overrated”, heard him on Nas’ “Brunch on Sunday’s” or possibly his Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga assisted “Chosen”, but there’s so much more that goes into who this West coast melodic newcomer is.
As he goes up against a competitive field this Oct. 5, at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards, here are some facts about him.
He Produces
Before Blxst was known for his hooks and weaving intricately between singing and rapping, he was primarily a producer.
He worked with West coast heavyweights, Kendrick Lamar and YG on their track "Do You Gudda (Remix)" by Hitta J3, also featuring Problem, in 2014.
He also produced Kalan.FrFr's "Right Wit It" and several beats on Bino Rideaux’s Sorry for the Wait.
Started His Own Label
Further proving his industry savvy, Blxst founded his own record label, Evgle, in 2018, where he released six singles, including "Can I," a collaboration with Eric Bellinger.
Also under Evgle, he released the single "Hurt," which became his breakout single, racking up millions of streams.
The same year Blxsrt entered into an exclusive partnership with Red Bull Records for the 2020 release of his debut EP No Love Lost, which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard.
You won’t find many other entries making deals like him out the gate.
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Wanted To Be A Pro Skater
Concerned with the gang violence of South Central L.A, Blxst’s mom moved him to the suburbs of Southern California’s Inland Empire to live with his dad.
Away from the stress, crime and social conditionings of the hood, Blxst was allowed to grow into himself, even falling in love with skateboarding.
“I was skateboarding for about two to three years, very heavy,” he says in an XXL magazine interview. “Then I broke my ankle. I stopped skateboarding real fast."
Co-wrote Jack Harlow’s "Yikes" on the SCOOB! movie,
Jack Harlow’s “Yikes” record on the SCOOB! soundtrack was undoubtedly one of the best parts of both the film and the entire release. Well, Blxst has writing creds.
Next time you think of “Yikes” make sure you give him some love.
Inspired By The East Coast
While he may have a sound comparable to the late Nate Dogg and Compton phenom Roddy Rich, the south L.A. native is actually inspired by the sounds of the east.
It just so happened that his grandfather used to play A Tribe Called Quest’s, “Bonita Applebum”, which started Blxst’slove of rap music.
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