Has J.Cole & Dreamville Listened To Lexii Alijai?!
– (Prophet Amen Ra/Ms.Briea Chanel (CEO: GirlMuch.com/ & J Cole)
I was sitting here listening to an artist-songwriter I’ve known of, & been connected to for awhile now name, Lexii Alijai. Lexii is an artist-songwriter from Saint Paul, Minnesota that I first heard of like 2 years ago in 2015 from an underground classic-duo collaboration mixtape, she released with an artist named, Shaun Sloane, called, “Same Struggle.Different Story”. You can stream that entire project below:
She reps Lynch Hit Records which is ran by her uncle, E-Z Glacier. Shaun during the release of this joint mixtape was based in California, & affiliated with DJ Mustard’s 10 Summers movement. I felt like S.S.D.S. was an extraordinarily mature body of work, & perspectives released from at the time such young talents.
Now the fact that Shaun, & Lexii publicly showed their bond through their music, & how their personal-romantic relationship fueled a joint project together is again extremely interesting, & a mature dynamic from young talent under the age of 18 at the time.
Lyrically it was also rather surprising how Lexii was able to keep up, & some may even exclaim, that she surpasses her male-counterpart on tracks where they effortlessly blended their sounds together. The story-telling element to the project, & superb production choice had her sounding like a future Roc Mation signee , which brings me to ask this question…”Has J.Cole & Dreamville listened to Lexii Alijai?”
One thing I want to make clear is that Lexii is a very hard worker. After watching her movement, I don’t feel she is waiting. or longing for any celebrity co-sign to take her to the next level. It’s only a matter of time that her talent, & work ethic will lift her to the heights she needs to be.
However, the element of honesty & transparency in her music, & lyrics at times coupled with her conversational type flow, is something I’ve noticed as a stand out trait in her artistry. I wonder how Cole World would feel about her sonic vibe after seeing the “Flip The Script” & “Cold Hearted” “Remix” official videos below?
Lexii has a rich history, & background in the music industry being the grandchild of Roger Troutman of Parliment Funkadelic & Zap & Roger, who made classic funk-electro hits like “Computer Love” & laid vocals on “California Love” by Tupac
They say the story goes Lexii obtained backstage passes to J.Cole’s “What Dreams May Come” tour where she handed J.Cole her demo at the time of remixed songs that weren’t original records. She was hoping for a call back, & never received it which of course possibly wasn’t intentional, but sometimes how things just happen in the music industry when your trying to climb to the top.
Lexii created her first project, “Super Sweet 16’s”- lexii-alijai-super-sweet-16shttp://mixtapemonkey.com/1196/lexii-alijai-super-sweet-16s – Such a mature project in regards to the subject matter & lyrical content for a 16 (sixteen) year old at the time. I’ve heard her address everything from domestic abuse of her mother to ambitions of connecting with J.Cole on “Longway To Letterman”. A lot of quotables, stand out tracks, crazy punchlines, & dope flows on this project.
Lexii isn’t really the most melody based artist, but neither was Cole when he first came out. It’s not until “Work Out” where we really heard Cole experimenting with commercialism & melody on records. The parallels between their initial starts is quite interesting to me. However, it’s clear that Lexii has a great future as a talented artist, & songwriter.
Lexii than collaborated with Rocky Diamonds on an extended EP called, “3 Days” – http://www.datpiff.com/Rocky-Diamonds-Lexii-Alijai-3-Days-The-EP-mixtape.617242.html – which is based off the time frame in which the project was recorded, while simultaneously getting a co-sign from a local popping artist in MN from her market place, which further established her as a upcoming threat to the rap game.
One of the stand out records from this project was, “Timeless” prod. by Ryu. with it’s jazzy filled, & smooth project. The opening verse starts out with once again extreme depth from Lexii, but you can tell now she has a more defined purpose, & presence on the record. It shows extreme growth in her skill level and recording process.
Her flow felt more one with the record, as opposed to attacking the beat like her previous first project tracks. Rockie was also a good switch up, & contrast on the record as well. Lyrically its clear to see however that Lexii Alijai is in a class all on her own.
– Lexii than dropped a mixtape project called, “In The Meantime” which consisted of freestyle remixes over rap instrumentals. This project dropped 3 months after her collaboration project with Rocky Diamonds. You can check out that project here: http://www.datpiff.com/Lexii-Alijai-In-The-Meantime-Remixes-Features-mixtape.641863.html
In October of that same year she released her first LP project called, “Feel-Less” which can be streamed below:
One of my favorite tracks on this record is “No Games”. From the production switch up at the end to the lyrical content. This is Lexii coming into her prime form. She’s an extreme problem everyone! Story telling ability and double time flow is something not even heard of from emcees of this generation, & Lexii has mastered it with ease. Not to mention again, the production on that record in particular is ridiculous! You can clearly tell she has studied artists from the Golden Era of Hip-Hop.
Next Came S.S.D.S. (Same Struggle Different Story) w/ Shaun Sloane which can be seen in this feature located above. Not to long after the release of this project, Atlantic Records recording artist, Kehlani, heard of her through Shaun, & immediately was drawn to her lyrical talent.
– (Prophet Amen Ra-Donnel Perry & Kehlani)
I connected with Lexii via online not to long around that same time frame. Kehlani & Lexii’s friendship grew to where eventually Lexii would be featured on Kehlani’s 2nd mixtape, “YSBH” (You Should Be Here) for the record, “Jealous”, which was Lexii’s first major commercial feature.
I remember hopping on a Facetime call with Lexii & Shaun one time and they were extremely nice. Than we also e-mailed & DM’ed back and forth a few times over the few years we’ve known of each other. I get completely how when your in the position she is in, everyone wants something from you, or could be trying to take advantage of you.
I’m writing this feature, & felt compelled to tell a business partner of mine named, Willie B, about Lexii Alijai, because not only was I moved by her story, but I felt that her talent was to great to go unnoticed. So as an budding A&R, I’m just trying to play my role to bring this great talent to the fore-front of the music industry.
Now some may ask who is Willie B? Willie B. is your favorite producer’s favorite producer! He was at one point apart of the TDE in-house production team, Digi-Phonics, & has created records for Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, Freddy Gibbs, Daylyt, & several others just to name a few. He is now based out of California with his own production house called, ChampionsOnly98.
Willie is one of the most talented, & genuine souls I have encountered in the music industry. Willie is notable for producing various classics in the culture, one of the many from his catalouge is J.Cole’s- “03 Adolescence” from his LP “Forrest Hills Drive”. I hope the stars align one day where Lexii, Willie, Cole, & I could all be in one room. I want this to happen for Lexii the most, & to push the culture forward for the future generation of female emcees.
Fast Forward more towards the present (Late 2015) . Lexii released another project called, “Joseph’s Coat” which can be streamed below:
This project had notable collaborations with artists like, Elle Varner, who also collaborated with J.Cole on her debut single, “Only Wanna Give It To You”. It was rumored online that Joseph is referring to artist, Shaun Sloane, who’s middle name happens to be Joseph as well. Lexii has performed at the Soundset Music festival opening up for notable industry new school acts like, Lil Uzi Vert, PlayBoy Carti, & Rich The Kid.
I also saw a performance in the past where Lexii Alijai connected with dj/personality Yez Julz. Check out some live performance content & dope photo shoots from Lexii below. I’m sure we will be hearing more from this budding superstar soon!
Lexii Alijai Social Media Info:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexiialijai/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LexiiLYNCHHITS
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lexiialijai
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Narlybarbiee
