Houston X | The Dark Fantasy of an American-inspired UK Artist
“An artist that is emblematic of the Rager and its emergence in the last decade; Houston X.”
BY MEGANE AKUNDABO
The hot topic currently at NuPrint Magazine is an artist that is emblematic of the Rager and its emergence in the last decade; Houston X. His creativity and sound are definitely unique to the UK’s music scene, and that same unique sound has led him to be labelled as the answer to Travis Scott. The 21-year-old rapper chopped it up with us, giving us his take on a number of things including THAT comparison, his inspirations and balancing a music career with a Master’s Degree.
What made you decide to take music seriously?
“The fact that it was the only way I could actually express how I felt. I was never really good with just talking. I had so many things going through my mind and I’d never know how to express it. I’m bipolar in a way so I get feels real quick over different things.
People used to judge me for it and they would never understand, so I thought the easiest way for someone to understand is if they just listen to it. Sonically, you always listen to a melody but not just that melody; you’re listening to the feeling of the track. That’s really what got me into it.”
Your sound is different to most UK artists, where do you see it in the UK music scene?
“I don’t like generalising myself as a UK artist to be honest because I feel like I have that international aspect, so I could see myself being the biggest artist in the world, not just in the UK. I’m a guy who likes pressure, I’m a guy who likes experimenting, you can’t even categorise my music in certain genres.
“it was the only way I could actually express myself”
With Apple Music and Spotify, they find it hard to put me in playlists sometimes because they don’t know what genre I am, but I appreciate that because myself and Diego - my producer - we’re experimenting with it. We just take in music because we want to be [mentioned with] the greats. I want to be a legend. That’s exactly where I’m going with it.”
Do you feel that it’s harder for people to appreciate your sound in the UK?
“It’s not that it’s hard, it’s just people in general. People don’t necessarily want to support their own friends because they’re doing better. People don’t want to see me do something different to whatever the norm is because it’s something new, like “why are you venturing into American territory? You’re in the UK”. Well, it actually doesn’t matter, it’s trivial.
Music is art and if you appreciate art then you’d appreciate my music no matter what country you’re from. Like cool, I live in the UK, I’m about the UK, and I’m making my music in the UK, but it’s just one of those ones where if I can’t then I can’t…someone else is going to accept me somewhere else. That’s the way I look at it, but in this instance, I’m definitely trying to take over the UK because I feel like that’s something on the agenda”.
“I want to be a legend. That’s where I’m going with it.”
You’ve been compared to Travis Scott, do you think that might become a problem later when you start getting more recognition?
“That’s always going to happen. No great person has never been compared. Travis Scott once was compared to A$AP [Rocky], and A$AP was compared to Travis. I might be up for the same thing now on a smaller scale but at the end of the day people are going to know who I am when it’s time for me to fully establish myself as Houston X. Travis Scott is wavey, I’m happy they’re comparing me to him. That’s my idol, so for them to compare me to him, I love it.”
Your songs like The Forest and Mayfair are quite dark. What inspired them?
“Mayfair is my life. That was [about] me and my ex. It was a crazy love story where I had to kidnap her in a way and then deliver her back. I was in London at the time, so I called it Mayfair. The whole story of what happened anyway was dark. With The Forest, it wasn’t even my ex but me and my girlfriend right now.
We weren’t together when I did the track, but we were going through ups and downs like trying to meet up. She lived in Austria and I lived here so it was always just games. I metaphorically killed her in the forest, and I hid all my secrets there; she is a secret I don’t want anyone to know. [The] forest is a hidden place. It’s dark, so what’s more eerie and sinister than a forest?”
“it’s something new, like “why are you venturing into American territory? You’re in the UK”.
So, would you say most of your songs are from personal experiences?
“If it’s not [drawn from] a personal experience, then how is someone who is going through a situation similar to mine going to overcome it? I’m expressing my feelings, so you don’t necessarily have to. With the visuals as well, I wanted it to be dark. To be honest, I’m more of a dark fantasy guy, it’s weird but that’s just who I am.
With the vibe of the track obviously you have to fit it in with the vibe of the video, and I always write my videos with my script. So everything is written by me, everything is directed by me in a way because like I said I want to make sure you experience everything that I’m feeling or what I want you to feel.”
How do you balance everything?
“God. I give it all to God. That’s literally all I can say. I have a sound mind; I have the ability and I believe that whatever I put my mind to I can do it. There’s no stopping me. There are people going to a meeting at 2AM, then going to the studio for six hours and then going to another press meeting. What makes me not able to go to Uni, study and have different backup plans? I’m young, so I have energy and I’m going to do whatever I’ve got to do while I’ve got the energy.”
In terms of music, what’s next for you?
“I have a project coming out at the start of next year called ‘In Search of Paradise’ (ISOP). It’s going to be crazy, like no song sounds the same and that’s how I’ve always been. It’s always been me and Diego. Everything has to be done properly. Sometimes I’m not going to be there when he’s mixing a track, so we’ll Skype each other and we’ll talk about things to continue the creative process and that’s exactly what we did for that project.
There was an actual album that I had out last year, and I had to take it down. Songs were crazy. No one actually knows what these songs are anymore, but people know about this tape. I’m going to add some new stuff, change little things and probably take away some songs as well, because as I’m growing my music is growing.”
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
“I want to have my headline show, at least 1,500 people. I also want to do Wireless maybe in two years and I want to make music with the Americans – and move out there at some point. That’s definitely where I could see myself going because that’s my sound, that’s me.”