Exclusive: Snoop Dogg ‘Afterlife’ produced by spooky Hip Hop producer LX Xander
Snoop Dogg can never be charged with being unadventurous when it comes to his music. From the second he stepped into the world of Hip Hop, i.e., way back to his door to door sales days with the Voltron Crew (Ref: This D.J. by Warren G), he opened new dimensions in music with his content, timbre, and delivery…Snoop continues this legacy by partnering with the most impactful producers across the globe today. Snoop Dogg’s impending release of Afterlife, produced by the UK’s undeniable ruler of “Spooky Hip Hop” tracks, LX Xander is proof.
There is a reemerging skill set in the production world called NOT OVER PRODUCING…sometimes less is more and in an exclusive interview with The Hype Magazine, LX Xander talks about his philosophy on making music.
Here’s the official line on LX Xander and his new collab with Snoop Dogg
LX Xander (Photo: Label Submitted)
Emerging spooky producer LX Xander is releasing a new single entitled ‘Afterlife’, featuring hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg upcoming UK singer Archer Delta and international rappers King Jack (New Zealand) and HighRise (US)—‘Afterlife’ aptly drops around Halloween on 27 October. The proclaimed ‘spooky’ producer has been busy behind the scenes for a while, having recently produced tracks with the acclaimed artist Future, Minnesota’s Yaydo and singer/rapper combo Hyde. Having already been featured in The Source & RESPECT Magazine and a previous featured interviewed by The Hype Magazine, LX’s dark sound is now starting to get major press coverage and receive recognition from the upper echelons of the music industry.
LX Xander recently released the track, ‘The Red Room’ featuring dark hip-hop poster boy Hopsin, which has received over 200,000 Spotify streams in one month. The new single, ‘Afterlife’ (co-produced by AudioHeartBeat & Steidel) will be released via Universal Records’ imprint Red Label Records (run by ex-Sony producer & established rapper D. Lynch). ‘Afterlife’ is mastered by Sentury Status, whose credits include Tech N9ne, Vinnie Paz, Wiz Khalifa and more.
About the track LX Xander says, “Afterlife is about the dark side of love & sex. I think the UK market, in particular, has seen mostly Snoop’s playful & poppy side (California Girls…), so it’s dope to be putting out a track that shows just how dark he can get. I tried to keep the production subtle and haunting and just left plenty of space for the artists to do their thing. I work with HighRise a lot already and he really brought an edge to this track, nicely juxtaposed by New Zealand’s King Jack, whose verse is much more radio-friendly and commercial. Archer Delta is an artist I’ve worked with on the low for many years, so it’s very fulfilling to be able to put him on a track with an artist as huge and reputable as Snoop. I think the song will probably have a mixed response, as it’s definitely not what most people expect to hear when they see ‘Snoop Dogg’ on a track… but everybody has a dark side.”
LX Xander feat. Snoop Dogg and Archer Delta Afterlife (Artwork)
Overall Rating 5/5 – The sonics on this joint Afterlife is undeniably chilling and LX Xander, as my personal comparative research has revealed to me, is THE master at pulling out sounds that will give you chills! I love the sonic interplay on this joint with Snoop’s vocal nuances, those of incredible vocalist Archer Delta and the sound sets LX Xander and team created for this piece…masterful. Fluff aside, this joint IS Hip Hop, the storyline is tight, lyrical content is on point and the delivery is perfect from all parties ~ JD
Even though LX Xander maintains a mysterious image, he has a swiftly growing social media empire, with other producers being influenced by his work and creating ‘LX Xander Type Beats’ and posting them on YouTube. LX is carving out his own personal and very spooky niche. His upcoming production credits list includes tracks featuring Royce Da 5’9, Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane and Wiz Khalifa.
The Hype Magazine got this super talented producer to weigh in on this new release with Snoop Dogg AND his take on creating music with artists who possess signature voices.
LX Xander (Photo: label submitted)
Tell us about your current project, producing for Snoop’s foray into the dark side!
I loved working on this record – not only does it have one of the all-time Hip Hop greats (Snoop) on it, but it also features some of the most talented and unique upcoming artists that I work with. King Jack is from New Zealand, HighRise is from Iowa (I work with HighRise a LOT, I also produced his single ‘The Red Room’ feat. Hopsin) and Archer Delta is from here in the UK and they’re all really great artists in their own right. That’s one of the things I like so much about this track, it’s such a mixed bag of styles and ideas tied together with dark themes. I also brought in a couple of co-producers on this to help me out with some stuff – Steidel is a pretty experimental producer and he helped to bring that extra ambiance and depth to the song, then AudioHeartBeat added in some awesome melodic elements. So it’s been a huge team effort overall and I’m very proud to have been the lead producer on it. It’s released through Red Label Records.
Snoop has a signature voice like Vincent Price, unmistakable…how did you craft the Sonics for this joint?
He sure does – and for that reason, I chose not to do too much to his vocals, at least by my standards. Vocal production is a big creative process for me, I can get lost in it for hours, trying out different effects and EQs, I really enjoy it. Sometimes I have to dial it back and let the artist’s natural vocal prowess come through relatively untouched – but there is a LOT of processing that I do even to a vocal that sounds ‘dry’! It’s never a case of just leaving it how it was recorded, even when you want something to sound SUPER natural.
Dark tracks with consistent depth take a huge commitment to a feeling…Where does that come from for you?
I want people to know that it’s okay to feel and think dark things and that it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. I always say that I can’t trust someone who pretends not to have a dark side… because they’re not being honest with themselves, and if they can’t be honest with themselves, how can I expect them to be honest with me? Also, don’t get me wrong – I LOVE pop music. A lot of my influences come from pop; Michael Jackson, Prince, Justin Timberlake amongst many, many others – but, for example, I’d much rather listen to MJ’s ‘Dangerous’ than listen to ‘Off The Wall’ because it just seems more real, to me. Dark music is more real, I feel. It’s important to know yourself and part of knowing yourself is understanding your demons.
What’s on your horizon to finish 2017 and make 2018 amazing?
I actually have a lot of HUGE stuff going on, some of which I can’t really talk too much about just yet. I’ve been working closely with Grammy-nominated producer Shawn Campbell (who’s worked with Missy Elliot, Jay Z, Cody Simpson & Joe Budden amongst many others), producing records for my own little squad of artists like HighRise, Yaydo & Hyde, working with producer & engineer Sentury Status on my own music software – a VST called Spooker (I did all the sound design myself) and promoting recent releases ‘The Red Room’ ft. Hopsin and ‘Insurgents’ ft. Future (both released through Red Label Records).
The Hype Magazine wants to know: What’s been your CRAZIEST “Where they do that at?! Or “WTF?!” moment thus far in your career?
I’ve been threatened a few times – I had one guy say he was going to ‘hack my head off’. That was pretty surreal, haha. Seeing as I do most of my business online, I get a LOT of really weird messages, most of which I just ignore – several people have invited me to join the Illuminati via Facebook messenger. If only it were that easy to join…
Get to know the next up huge name in music production LX Xander
Official Website: www.lxxander.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarklordofhiphop
YouTube: www.youtube.com/lxxanderthegr8
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lxxander_thegr8
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lxxander_thegr8
TweetAbout the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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