xaviersobased - install (2022)

Styles: Jerk, Plugg, Cloud Rap, Experimental Rap | US

Xaviersobased caught my eye in early 2024, since then he's easily become my favorite rapper of the decade. Only gaining significant popularity in 2022 after this tape released, he has already cemented himself as an important figure in the underground and someone who I believe will get cited as an influence by new rappers by the end of the decade. 

The intro is such an immediate flashbang sonically, with the dark synths and xavier's frantic, freestyled rapping. I especially like how in the last 20 seconds the song starts to feel more 'compressed' as his rapping speeds up and the beat gets more distorted. There's a few styles presented on this album, with this track showing off the more Dark Plugg-oriented, manic approach. 

After that, a is a much more cloudy and laidback cut, as the production is much more stuttery and light sounding. Xavier also showcases another type of vocal style here, with it again sounding freestyled but much more carefree and ethereal. As the hi-hats and snares fall over each other overlapping, so do Xavier's layers of rapping.

The variety is one of the elements that makes this tape so addicting and relistenable despite not having much traditional 'substance' or being particularly emotional. Besides the production, Xavier's energy or lack thereof elevates the mood to a special experience. Satanic has one of the most memorable flows of the album, with a simple but really fun rhyme-scheme. 

„Boy, I hop up in the V and boy, this shit is automatic 

Disappear like a magician, nigga, I ain't doing hat tricks 

I go coo' with the glick, nigga, I be going manic 

Nigga, yeah, I'm blowing up, nigga, volcanic 

My bitch, yeah, she Hispanic and she say that I'm gigantic 

Hell yeah, bitch, I'm smoking flower, nigga, yeah, I smoke botanic 

Hell yeah, bitch, yeah, it's organic 

Up it on him, he gon' panic 

Yeah, these niggas fiending to be different, so thеy turn Satanic 

They gon' sink just like Titanic 

Water splash, ocеanic, uh 

Sorry, baby, if I'm not romantic, uh 

Pass the choppa, nigga, 

I be moving frantic 

Yeah, the way I'm going up, you'd think I was aerodynamic“  

With these three tracks, you basically have the formula of the tape and every track is an example or a mix of one of these styles. I describe it at the start of this review as 'Jerk, Plugg, Cloud Rap' but what makes Install such a landmark release is that it encompasses so many styles of the underground up to that point along with the newer sound of Jerk combined with relevant Plugg subgenres (e.g. Dark Plugg). I'm inclined to describe it as Internet Rap before everything else as it is truly music that couldn't exist before this decade and generation. 

Enough shows off another trait of this albums production, which is how a lot of the production sound primarily composed of stock plugins in FL Studio or Audacity. This could sound like a bad thing, but in reality this album sounding almost sterile at times clashes with the compositions themselves and the rapping which leads to a very unique sound that I can barely even find on his other projects, let alone other rappers' music. The mixing helps too as it makes his vocals pop out more among the beats and they're more chaotic due to it too. Because of how short the songs mostly are on this, they don't have much changes throughout but the way this flows makes the album have a sort of breakneck speed to it. Songs sometimes cut in and out, stop and begin again. 

Another unusual thing I love about the production is how stilted the production is, namely the bass. It's usually very deep so it contrast well with the pianos and synths and it all comes together to give a very distinct rhythm to a lot of the songs, making it flow very smoothly. Another unique attribute of this tape is the contrast in a lot of it, whether it be the beats and vocals or the elements of the beats themselves. Despite this contrast, they also complement each other greatly. Xavier's sometimes off-beat vocals wobble over these stock plugin soundscapes with roaring bass and glass synths. The few features, especially st47ic on pro and con help break up the pace, though the Polo Perks one doesn't really fit its song. It's a well-sequenced release, managing to fit 16 songs in a bit less than half an                                                          hour, ending with the main hit. 

Patchmade is the Genesis of the current underground, the 2020s equivalent to Lil B's 2010 classic I'm God. Kashpaint, a now semi-forgotten producer provides a messy, dreamy Jerk beat while Xavier drops some of his most iconic bars as he states his self-fulfilling prophecy,

„Hoppin' on my type beats, you my offspring“

So based.

10/10

See Also: st47ic, Zayguapkid, phreshboyswag, tenkay, 1c34

Listen Here: Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud

- kreyzi

stillbeaches' rating: 7.5