Rexx Life Raj goes all ‘ dad’ on new album
Rexx Life Raj only had one shot to make an impression on the crowd at ComplexCon. He hurried through his one-song set at the urban culture and streetwear conference in Long Beach. But his hype man, Pharrell Williams, interrupted him.
“You got to slow that down so that, No. 1, they hear your name, ’ cause you nice. Isn’t he nice?” Williams asked the
crowd.
Then he looked back at Raj: “And then tell them the name of that album and when it’s coming, bro.”
Raj initially connected with Williams in February. Over the summer, Williams, the Neptunes producer and co- director of ComplexCon, invited Raj to perform at the event on Nov. 5. That feat alone — plus collaborating with hip- hop hitmaking producer Scott Storch ( Dr. Dre’s “Still Dre,” Beyonce’s “Baby Boy”) — is reason enough for Raj to call 2017 a success.
But with his second studio album “Father Figure 2: Flourish” debuting on Friday, Nov. 17, the 28- year- old Berkeley rapper- singer’s breakthrough year is far from over.
His album’s standout single and opening track, “2Free,” a warm mellow song about blazing one’s own path, landed at No. 6 on the Apple Music Hot Tracks list, generating buzz around his sophomore collection of introspective fusion of alternative hip- hop and R& B.
“One of the main reasons I called it ‘ Father Figure 2’ was because it’s an evolution of me musically but also where I’m at as a person, mentally and spiritually,” he says. “I’ve had a year of time to understand myself, understand music, understand what I want to give the world and how I want to give it.”
Born Faraji Wright, Raj has called himself a “dad” since middle school. His friends used it as a term of endearment, but he later adopted the nickname as he became more prominent in the local hip- hop scene.
Though he has no children of his own ( one exception: his French bulldog, Chapo), Raj’s music acts as a conduit to speak his truths. “To me, a dad is somebody that can give you game and can give you wisdom,” he explains.
Raj also gives his own father, Odis Wright, a Berkeley business owner, due credit on the album for instilling the guiding principles to his successes. For all the clever wordplay, Raj incorporates recordings of his parents to ensure the “Father Figure 2” themes are loud and clear. “They look up to you/ if they didn’t have nothing worth looking at/ especially in your generation/ they wouldn’t look at you,” Odis says at the end of “2Free.”
But don’t mistake Raj’s punch lines for dad jokes. Thematically, Raj subscribes to platitudes of self- realization and staying humble, and yet there’s an undeniable level of quiet swagger and confidence permeating through his rap- singing on “Father Figure 2.”
Influenced by Toronto rapper Drake both in subject matter and tone, Raj’s music homes in on his own path to the top and “addressing the fake people” he met along the way. Listeners tuning in closely can pick up on tendrils of Raj’s life lessons through his rhymes, drawn mainly from personal experiences,
On “2Free,” Raj even plays to his experience on the offensive line for Boise State University’s football team (“I never scored a touchdown playing o- line/ but I’ve been checking these goals off/ I was good on the goal line”).
Though Raj was a natural athlete at Berkeley High School, music was the constant throughout his upbringing. Raj admits there was a point where he felt he was the most nonmusical one, growing up with a maternal side full of singers and multi- instrumentalists. But he soon realized that music allowed him “to express myself in ways that I can’t always ( communicate) with people.”
As Raj’s audience and reach expands, his scope remains in focus. Raj says he’ll continue to do his part in the Bay Area music scene in hopes that new fans will get a taste of the region’s musical versatility. As his ambitions get bigger, Raj’s “father figure” roots keep him grounded.
“I feel like in this time in music ( there) should be more people that the youngins can look up to that are respectable,” he says. “... My goal was always to put out music in the most genuine fashion, and hopefully that inspires people.”