We’re Based! – How Political Polarization has Snuck its Way into NYC’s Underground Rap Scene

Photo of Xaviersobased via NTS Radio

***

As a conclusion to my first semester at Fordham’s Political Review, I wrote my last fall column about the music scene in New York, specifically the Sexy Drill movement, and its evolution throughout our nation’s growing political divide. This piece was one that struck home for me. As a born and raised New Yorker, I myself have witnessed the difference in the music dominating my friends and I’s playlist over the years, and how this change paralleled the growing political polarization within our nation. 

Following the positive response of my last article, I was given the opportunity to see one of my favorite New York based rappers live at Webster Hall. Xavier Lopez, known more prominently in the underground rap scene as Xaviersobased, is an up and coming recording artist and record producer from the Upper West Side of New York City. He is the founder of the underground rap collective, 1c, also known as One Chance, whose original members consisted of friends the rapper met through the upper-west side skateboarding scene. These teenagers put their own online twist on the newly emerged jerk-style of genre, characterized by its mix of trap, hyperpop as well as distorted 808s. 

Upon my arrival at the concert, I gazed at the stage from the balcony. I was surprised at the audience below me. Looking down, I saw a myriad of different kinds of people, some as young as 14, and some as old as 25. While many attendees looked like your typical alternative male New York City teenagers, I saw students in college memorabilia, young girls in skirts and dresses, as well as older males, who appeared to be just off work. Oftentimes, underground rap is characterized by its harsh, often misogynistic, sexist, and homophobic lyrics. This causes most underground rappers to cultivate audiences of primarily juvenile males, whose views align closely with the lyrical themes.  

What makes Xaviersobased, as well as his audience, so unique, is their diversion from these common underground themes. Xavier has managed to gauge such a diverse audience through his tolerant, rather liberal lyrics. The rapper often alludes to his left-wing political views through his music, with lyrics such as “they took us out our homeland… they told us our faith was evil, that’s why I don’t believe in Jesus” as well as him stating in his song Patchmade, he can’t associate with people if they’re “right-wing,” and is increasingly outspoken about geo-political issues such as the Israel-Palestine conflict on social media. The stage name “Xaviersobased” alone speaks volumes of the artist’s political views. The word based, as used in Gen-Z slang, constitutes approval of an action or event, often associated with politics. The emergence of this phrase is attributed to the 2000’s California based rapper, Lil B, TheBaseGod, and then caught wind among extremist political forums in the early 2010s. Xavier has also been rather decently outspoken regarding his bisexual sexuality on a number of his songs, claiming his attraction for both men and women. 

Being a rapper in the underground often comes with accentuating exaggerated aesthetics, building an enticing mystique behind the artists, and creating a gap of mystery between the artist and the consumer. Xaviersobased, however, has abandoned this over-saturated method of growth, and instead has opted for a persona of tolerance and aloofness. While Xavier has caught flack from the underground community for his sexuality, as well as his political views, it is these things that has allowed him to acquire the uniquely divergent fanbase he now has. With the current political climate, American teenagers feel as though the media they engage with should reflect their own spectrum of beliefs. With the growing political divide within our nation, we are no longer in an era of separating art from its artists. In fact, we are in an era of an artist gaining traction and accolades for using their art to speak out against injustice, and for their respective causes. As time goes on, we as a nation can expect to see this trend of apolitical artists losing fan loyalties, while young, politically engaged artists, such as Xaviersobased, take the limelight. 

***

This article was edited by Samantha Poillucci.