Leveling Up with Midwxst
Since 2020, Midwxst (his real name is Edgar) has been making brutally honest tracks that are sparked with fried, hyperpop beats. Sometimes they're loud, sometimes they're cocky — and at all times, they give the feeling as though you're looking in the mirror with him. Lately, though, he's been trying out a new sound. On his latest debut album, E3, he's simply doing whatever feels right for the song. Throughout its twelve tracks, there are saxophone solos, vocals lent by Ye's Sunday Service choir, and an interlude by his grandparents. But, change or not, he's continued to keep the one thing that's made him resonate with millions of listeners, particularly those who see him as a channel for their emotions: he's still just as honest.
Eventually, Midwxst ended up coming online, though it wasn't for long. He'd reacted to a meme someone posted. ("This looked like sum else crazy.") But this had been enough for the group, one that was full of people who wanted to be like him, who really liked his music — and all around wanted to be in a space for him, even if it was virtual. It would be a few days later before he would come on again, but, like always, they had been fine waiting for him, too. Until then, they had talked for hours, sometimes about school or other rappers they liked, but mostly, it was all about him.
office caught up with Midwxst to talk about coming-of-age albums, his upcoming E3 tour, and AI.
I’ve been hanging out on your Discord server lately, and I have to say –– it’s a really interesting community. You’ve got people talking about you, drawing you, recording music together that’s inspired by you... When you made the server, was it always your intention to have this kind of space?
Not really. I kinda just made it for me and my friends to mess around in, and then it kind of just ended up growing into something bigger. I always wanted to have, like, a hub of people who were interested in what I was interested in, or cared about music to the same extent that I cared about music, and that was one way for me to make that possible without it being this insane, crazy effort. Over time, it’s just been mad people joining –– like it’s almost at 10,000 people. (It’s now at 10,000.) That’s crazy to me.
I read that when you were first starting out, you were in Discord servers recording with other people. Is this server a lot like the ones you were in?
100%. I think it’s an all-around, full-circle moment because it’s like, I used to be in these environments and now I’m able to create this environment to nurture art and creativity, and it’s just so cool to me.
Let’s talk about E3. Obviously, every artist dreams of putting out their debut album, but for you it was a little different. You didn’t just want to make an album; you wanted to make a universe. Tell me a little bit about that universe?
I wanted to make a universe ‘cause all the influences and things I take in –– outside of being an artist, but as an avid listener –– have been experiences and coming-of-age experiences. Like, for example, you look at My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye [Ye], Call Me If You Get Lost by Tyler [the Creator], Utopia by Travis [Scott]…Those are things you can build sonic pallets from. You can envision all of these albums and what they look like, not just off the sonics, but how they’re packaged altogether. So I wanted to try to emulate that intimacy and experience because I feel like it gets overlooked nowadays. A lot of people now are just looking for that hit song or that one song that’ll take the whole record everywhere. But you don’t need to do all of that when you can be well-executed and let your story tell through that. That’s the stuff that I really wanted to speak for itself.
That’s what I wanted people to resonate with and really feel. The best way you can get that is by sitting down and making the whole universe. So you actually wrote lyrics for the first time here? It’s interesting because it’s been said that a lot of rappers don’t actually write anymore. Yeah, I don’t be writing. I mean, I’ll write, like, starters and then after that I’ll freestyle the rest of whatever topic I was thinking of. That’s how I’ve always made music. This is the first time I’ve sat down and been like, ‘Dang, this beat is too pretty to say nonsense over it.’ I gotta make sure I give it justice.
Do you punch in?
I do punch in, but I be punching in in chunks. So it’s like, if I can’t get a line once, then I’ll do the line before it and then that line again to help me get acquainted with it, and then I’ll do that again for the next one and the next one, and we’ll end up building the song from that. But half the time bro, I just be saying shit –– I’m not gonna lie. I’m able to phrase my words well enough, though, so that it works.
Did you make this album in LA?
Yeah.
I saw one of those “Overrated/Underrated” videos you did, and you said LA was overrated. Just curious: how was it making an album in a city that wasn’t really your favorite?
Bro, making the album was the best part of the city, I’ll be so forreal. I’m just not really a big party person and a culture person –– like I’m not overtly outside. And that’s what all my friends or all the people I know in LA do. And it’s like, ya’ll don’t get tired? Ya’ll don’t ever wanna sleep? But at the same time, I also love the city, too –– not even LA, but just Cali. I love being there when it’s not a pain in the ass, if that makes sense. Everytime I’m out there, there seems to be some small thing and it's directly caused by people, and it’s like, I could avoid that by staying here in New York.
Back in 2021, you did an interview with NME to hype up your first tour, and you told them you were excited to perform live because you had songs that “make people want to punch each other in the face.” With E3, where do the songs fall concert-wise?
They were made for that space. I’m touring with a band, so I have a guitarist, a drummer, lights… I haven’t had all of this before. So, it’s something that’s scary, but it’s also exciting. I have a really good setlist, I been rehearsing, eating my veggies, cleansing and getting anything bad out my system. All these songs were made to be played live, and that’s another reason why it’s like –– a lot of people can listen to the music and take away what they want, but until you really feel it… Like, for example, if you just got broken up with and you come to this show, you’re gonna cry. You feel me? Like, that’s what I wanna do: I wanna make someone cry. But then it’s like, don’t forget––I still know how to get turnt.
This tour’s gonna include some special guests. Can you say who they are?
Denzel Curry in LA, Skywater in New York… But I have a bunch of my friends coming, like Caspar Sage, the supporting act, he’s literally one of the most amazing up-and-coming R&B artists that I’ve heard. No glazing –– like, no dickriding, either. It’s me from a completely constructive, music-listener stand point. Like, I get the same energy that Frank had when he first came out, and I ain’t never had that feeling toward somebody in music before. I don’t like revealing too much of who the special guests are, but I like telling people like, “Yo, come to the show. You’ll see what happens.” Every show is different. I might play an unreleased song in Utah, might not in Arkansas. But that’s what you gotta do. You gotta pop out.
Let’s be honest: lately, artist merchandise has gone downhill. Not only is it expensive, but it also sucks. On the other hand, a lot of people (even those that don’t listen to your music) seem to resonate with yours. What were the inspirations behind some of the looks?
With a lot of the designs I put out, I think about if I’d wear this or not. When I made those sweater vests? Those were crazzzy to me ‘cause I always wanted a sweater vest. Seeing people buy them and wear them, too, that was the type of stuff that’s crazy to me. Everything I put out is something I would dress myself in or put on in a day-to-day fashion. I think that’s a perspective a lot of people don’t have. A lot of the time, they just make stuff that they think will sell because the audience listens to them, but it’s just like, "Ehhhh." Imma just make my stuff, Imma just do me.
You tweeted about this a couple days ago, but I wanted to get your take on it here. How do you feel about being turned into an AI?
Yo, no, it’s crazy to me. So my friend sent me a YouTube video, and he was like, “Yo, you on this DC the Don song?” And I was like, “No?” So he sends me the video, and I hear my voice, and they got my nasally-ass tone right, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute? This is a little too accurate.’ So I talked to the guy who ended up making it and he was like, “Yeah! I uploaded your whole discography and isolated some things from your voice to try to get the tone of your voice right, and then the AI made this––” and I was like, “You have so much free time my brother.” But that’s crazy. Like the thing with me, I’ll be like, “Oh, that’s cool. Burn it.” Like, I’ll acknowledge it, but I don’t think AI is something that should exist at all, ‘cause it’s just gonna end up being humanity’s worst decision.
I know you’re on TikTok, so I’m sure you’ve seen videos of, like, Plankton singing “PoundTown” or whatever. What if someone were to post Plankton singing one of your songs? Would you be flattered?
Nah, it would be flattering. I would repost it.
My last question for you: where does the E3 universe go from here?
I feel like right now, it’s a very beautiful time in my life. I have direction and a sense of what’s next, but at the end of the day, I’m not rushing anything. I’m just making sure I have everything lined up. Once this next release starts –– boom, it’s like a domino effect on everything else I’ve been doing. I’m just very excited ‘cause the bar is all the way up here now. I’ve always wanted to constantly keep setting the bar for myself, and it’s really about just working until I’m satisfied with where I’m at again. I think that's the best payoff when you finish a really good song or project, and it’s like a breath of fresh air. It’s like, “Ah, I can rest a little bit.” And then the next thing you know, it’s on to the next.
