Artist Spotlight: VXMOB
Hip Hop Boy Bands seem to be the future right now and fresh out the gates are the 5 man team VXMOB. They caught my attention with their track S On My Chest and I’ve pinned them as my ones to watch for 2018. I caught up with the group to get the story behind the VX.
So they say that 3 is the magic number for Rap groups but there is a handful of you. Give the people an introduction to the members of the group.
The mob consists of 4 artists and 1 is a creative director. The artists are VXElls, VXDuse, VXRaff and Raffromdaco. The creative director is VXBlackei.
VXMOB - what is the story behind the name and how you came together as a collective?
At first we had come up with a different name which was axado. We converted the A’s into V's and people liked it but never really understood so we abbreviated the V X type of thing to VX and people will call us VX instead of what it originally was. So we just ran with it and added a meaning behind it which is “disclosed information” till revealed at a later date, the meaning behind VX is. How we came together as a collective? We knew each other from high school, college and just clicked with one another from the get go, vibing, chilling etc making music came naturally.
How would you describe your sound?
Fresh. No box. Versatility is the key to our sound because for each and every individual they have their own sound, flow and together it creates something new and fresh.
What are your musical influences?
I feel like our influences are key. That’s why I feel like no other groups can do what we can do because we have different influences than other people. VXElls has Grime influences through his childhood. VXDuse comes from a Latin home so a lot of melodic influences. VXRaff has a similar backrground with Angolan and Portuguese sounds. Raffromdaco had a mix because he grew up in Scotland. We infuse all of that together on top of what we get from the modern day and just cook up.
So you hit the streets with your debut project “VX Sound$ (Vol 1)” last summer and quickly gathered some heat within the scene. Did you anticipate that much love so early on?
No, honestly we didn’t, because it was our first serious project. Silver Haze has only been out for 11 months and that was our first debut single and we released our project a couple months later. We wanted to let people know the sounds we was sitting on.
What made you release the tape?
Because it was sitting there we was going to release just singles and stuff but in that period of time we worked a lot so we had 3, 4 tracks just ready to go and on top of that 2, 3 other tracks we were working on. So we kind of just put together the ones we felt were ready. We also wanted to release the tape because the reaction we had on Silver Haze.
Would you say the VX Sound$ tape describes the mob sound perfectly?
Na that was a taste. We wanted to give a people taste of what we are capable off. I feel like we have evolved from those time. I feel we have improved.
I know that working in a group you need good chemistry. Is the writing process for your songs a group effort or do you write your verses separately?
Nah, we write the verses separately but come together when we are working on the skeleton of the song. We see what works and what doesn’t, just bouncing off each other.
What is your favourite track you have released so far?
S On My Chest, the way it sounds and we can all say we’ve put down our best verses on the track as well as the way it came together.
You’ve worked with a lot of dope producers. What do you look for when choosing beats for your tracks?
On the percussion side of things, the drums because that’s the kind of thing that makes people head rock. The way the beat slaps, the way the drop comes in. We want a beat that has people head rocking but able to be melodic on it.
Who are some of the artists you are rating in the scene right now?
The UK scene is doing their thing and an artist that comes to mind which we are rating highly is Slowthai.
If you could choose any venue or festival to perform at around the world, what would be your first pick?
Will have to be Rolling Loud, like any big festivals as that’s where the energy is.
What is next for VXMOB?
We have a lot planned but really more shows, more different music video, and venturing into other lanes, we are big on fashion so yeah. Waking up people that are sleeping on us.
Make sure you follow VXMOB on all the socials and catch them shutting down our live show at Old Blue Last on 22nd April alongside Sam Wise, Lady Donli, Jatz Da Kiid & Malik. Tickets available on Dice.FM soon!
Follow VXMOB:
soundcloud.com/vxmob-2224
www.instagram.com/_vxmob
twitter.com/_VXMOB