Name: Tyler XP Andrews aka Xperience
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, rapper
Current release: The Unusuals have two new singles out: "Sweet Potatoes," featuring Wordsworth, and “Finna Be,” featuring Fatal Lucciauno. Another one, "Pressure," as well as a full-length The Unusuals studio album are immanent.
Recommendations: As far as music goes, I would suggest listening to any full album by Bilal, he's a genius.
And of course, a book I would suggest (because I'm a weirdo) is Behold The Pale Horse by William Cooper.

If you enjoyed this interview with XP of The Unusuals and would like to keep up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Depends on the song. I usually see exactly what the artist is saying.

The best writers can put a movie in your head. One of the things I've been trying to get better at is conveying imagery. Saying how I feel works sometimes, but I need to be able to turn that emotion into a vivid picture.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

I'm a technical head. I love when a writer plays with the formula. Not just rhyming, but scheming, double meanings, metaphors. To me that's what takes music to the next level.

Production is huge as well. The painting can be fire, but if the canvas is fire, then you have a masterpiece.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

My first steps were literally just rhyming the biggest and weirdest words I could think of. I've always had am extensive vocabulary, so it was fun!

The gains came when I actually started telling the stories of my life, and being able to get out the emotions in a way that was pleasing to people's ear.

Also, like I stated earlier, figuring out how to apply better imagery was something that came with experience.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Life was different for me back then. All I listened to was gangsta shit and RnB lol. The RnB back then was actually about love. The rap I was listening to was mostly Twista, Sauve House, 8ball and MJG, No limit.

It wasn't till I moved to the west coast that I got more into Hieroglyphics, Brotha Lynch, Wu Tang, Atmosphere. Things like that. That move really changed the way I would come to understand my own creative process.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

My only relationship is with my voice and a microphone. I used to play the drums when I was younger, but now I rely on producers.

I've recorded myself on the last 3 projects I worked on, but have by no means mastered protocols. But I got the basics down.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I always want to create music, but usually after I create a project, I force myself to take a break and rest for about a year. During that time, I listen to what's happening in the industry, social media, movies etc.

I try not to get influenced too much by what's happening on the radio. But, in the last couple of years, I've definitely drawn from the battle rap world. I think that's where the most innovation is coming from when it comes to writing.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?

I would say I'm way more confident in my music than I am in real life. I'm pretty shy when it comes to talking to women, but in my music the words seem to come so easier. I'm also able to express anger more than I would in real life.

I approach music with the idea that this is a chance to say how I really feel. Many different emotions, in many different ways.

If music is a language, what can we communicate with it? How do you deal with misunderstandings?

The main thing we should be communicating is Love, and the want to be understood. What is Iove if not understanding?

I don't expect to be understood all the time and by everyone. But I suspect, the better the song, the easier it us to understand the artist.

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness and how do you still draw surprises from tools, approaches and musical forms you may be very familiar with?  

I'm constantly trying to do something I've never done before. Sure, there is a formula, but I try to open it up. Sometimes, I don't have a concept, I just go.

That's where the excitement is. Not knowing what you're going to end up with in the end.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I hear music all around me, at all times. I hear beats in everything.

I used to play the drums, so I hear  rhythm everywhere. Not to mention the millions of songs playing in my head at all times.

Life is definitely a musical for me.

There seems to be an increasing trend to capture music in algorithms, and data. But already at the time of Plato, arithmetic, geometry, and music were considered closely connected. How do you see that connection yourself? What aspects of music do you feel can be captured through numbers, and which can not?

The way I rhyme is sometimes completely mathematical. It exists inside the 4/4, and the 16 bar verse. This is my playground.

I've done things where the fist 8 bars mirror the last 8 bars. Then the 2nd verse mirrors that entire first verse. Inside of each bar is an equation I've formulated, waiting to be solved by other mathematicians.

It reminds me of the movie A Beautiful Mind.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I believe the person in my music is who I aspire to be. For the most part, I'm trying to encourage people. In the process, I end up encouraging myself as well.

Hiphop is supposed to be a warning. Like, “Look what I went through. Don't go down that road because there could be a negative outcome.” On the other hand, it should offer solutions, or alternatives for people who might be going through what you've gone through.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

Being surrounded by music every second sounds like a lot to me haha.

Besides, the silence, the “rest”, is what makes a beat fire sometimes.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I might compare it to making tea, since I don't drink coffee.

In Asian culture, the idea of making tea is a deep process. There's more to it than what's on the surface. Many different flavors, grace, patience, all go into making tea. I try to apply this to my music.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Just more originality. That's what inspires me to experiment and be myself.