Alexander Slang Talks "Ok Xool 2", Making "Daze", How To Connect With Producers & More
Alexander Slang is an artist who you want to keep your eye on in 2020. Having only released a few singles and an EP with Pluggz producer StoopidXool Slang's new wave sound has allowed him to gain a following of fans who are ready to see what he's got in store. You will not regret checking out what he has previously released so far so make sure to go check it out!
Where are you from? What was your upbringing like? What's the music scene like in your area? And who were you listening to growing up?
I am from the Southside of Atlanta, my upbringing was cool, on the music aspect I grew up watching the older kids make music, that's pretty much how I found out about the first software I was using called Mixcraft. The music scene was pretty dope to me; I feel like we had a new sound coming out of Atlanta. I grew up listening to all types of music. I can't pick out a particular artist, but if their music was dope, I was listening.
What made you want to first get into creating music? What was going through your head when you put out your first song? How long have you been making music? And any big influences?
The older kids in my neighborhood had this desktop microphone connected to their computer, and one day I made a song with my buddy. What I was thinking in my head when I was first recording was like wow, this is dope I wonder what people are going to think about this. I've been making music as a solo artist for not too long, learning the ropes, and everything else takes some time if you plan on doing this right. No lie, I looked up to Soldier Boy.
You have a following of close to 3k followers on Instagram and close to 2k followers on Soundcloud, and your songs consistently put up thousands of plays. How did you put yourself in the position you are now?
By releasing music that I like to listen to myself. I also make sure I put out sounds that I love. I'm probably my biggest fan unless somebody can prove otherwise. Working, and never giving up got me here.
Three years ago, you released "What I Want," a song you wrote and produced. Can you run us through making that beat? You're style changed a lot since then? Anything in particular cause that shift?
I was in the studio with my partners waking up from a night off of drugs; the beat was actually made for someone else, but I forgot what happened, and I just ended recording to it. We were cooking all doing different things at once, and it just happened. I haven't gotten my hands on any plugins since my laptop went out so naturally it changed my sound a bit.
Let's talk about your song "Daze" (prod. StoopidXool), which has over 12k plays on SoundCloud. How did you end up hopping on that Xool beat? What's the inspiration behind that song?
It was a beat that stuck out to me, so I was like lets get it, I hopped in-studio asap when I heard it. It's about being focused on anything I do mainly, but if you listen to the verses, I'm telling you a story.
One of my favorite songs of yours is "Snowin" (prod. StoopidXool). How did you and Xool end up linking on this song? What's the story behind the lyrics?
This was one of the very first beats we got to work on when I first heard I already knew it was going to be a banger. Listen carefully, I'm talking about a lifestyle I live. The hook is pretty much me painting pictures of moments in my life. Same with the verses.
It's been about a year since you released a song that you produced. What made you want to get into producing? Are you still focused on producing?
Probably Soulja Boy, I think he did a video of him loading up software and making a beat. I'm good with peeping things like that. Producing is not really my focus anymore, but if my friends are looking for beats and I have some laying around, I'll let them use them.
You have released a lot of singles and a three-song EP with StoopidXool "OK Xool". Any plans of an album or another EP on the way?
Yep, we're working on "OK Xool 2" right now; I know a lot of people are anticipating it.
What's the best way for a new artist to get in touch with talented producers like you did?
It has to be right. I genuinely loved the beats on "OK Xool", and it just happened from there, it was natural. Before I even released it, I was playing it out, making snippets of me playing with money and all that.
What can we expect from Alexander Slang in 2020?
"Ok Xool 2", and King Slang are on the way. More Video for the singles I released last year, I'm over due for those.