“I ain’t heard one bad Blxst song,” the California-native proclaims on his song “Pressure” — a statement that feels more like fact than hyperbole. The rapper/singer/producer (whose name is pronounced “blast”) has been stacking up hits since he combined his production skills and pen game. Hailing from the streets of Los Angeles, Blxst is set to heat up Indio when he hits the stage at Rolling Stone and Meta’s Creator House during the first weekend of Coachella.
His set follows the SXSW edition of the Creator House in March, which saw performances from emerging singer/songwriters Tone Stith and Destiny Rogers in Austin, Texas. Check out our primer below to get more familiar with Blxst before he hits the Creator House stage on April 16th:
How’d Blxst get his start?
Blxst paints a vivid portrait of California love with every note. With roots in South Central and the Inland Empire, Blxst — born Matthew Burdette — engineered his hip-hop dreams after being exposed to the sounds of A Tribe Called Quest and 50 Cent through his family’s musical tastes. He then joined a friend’s rap collective, TIU Muzic, in 2014. Citing Pharrell Williams, Ryan Leslie, and Kanye West as his influences, Blxst started to slap his producer tag on tracks for various local acts like Kalan.FrFr and J Hitta. The latter scored a remix for “Do Yo Gudda” with West Coast MVPs Kendrick Lamar, YG, and Problem.
After linking up with Nipsey Hussle protégé Bino Rideaux for the 2019 Sixtape (and later, its 2021 sequel, Sixtape 2), Blxst saw his career take off after the release of his 2020 debut, No Love Lost, where he layers nostalgic R&B beats with smooth vocals, clever lines and two-step-worthy tales of love, loss, and loyalty. From couples therapy to the cookout, the bop-heavy EP puts audiences in the mood for whatever Blxst has on the menu, and anticipation for his forthcoming follow-up is at an all-time high after a string of recent releases, including “Sometimes” and “About You.”
Which songs should you add to your playlist on the drive up to Indio?
- “Chosen” – His biggest record to date, the catch ditty co-starring Ty Dolla $sign and Tyga earned Blxst his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart.
- “Overrated” – A standout track on No Love Lost, Blxst flexes his producer muscle by putting his twist on Donnell Jones’ 1999 classic “This Luv.”
- “Gang Slide” – An infectious interlude that underscores Blxst’s knack for wordplay.
- “Hurt” – His 2019 single that shows off his penchant for channeling pain into melodic gold.
- “Be Alone” – Another NLL staple that boasts an addictive Aaliyah sample.
What about the resume?
- Blxst has been getting busy on the charts. NLL peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.
- In 2021, Blxst was named Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month in August
- In that same year, he earned a spot in XXL’s coveted Freshman Class, an annual list known for spotlighting hip-hop artists en route to stardom.
- The multi-hyphenate creator has also been making waves on his socials. In 2021, Blxst added over 250K Instagram followers (source: CrowdTangle), and to date, “Chosen” has been the theme music to more than 100K Reels across the platform.
- Blxst proudly reps the West on every song, and the depth of his hometown love is evident in his credits. In a short span, he’s appeared on a slew of tracks with fellow Cali natives like Zacari, Blueface, 1takejay, Mozzy, Dom Kennedy, Buddy, the late Drakeo the Ruler, and hip hop hall of famer Snoop Dogg.
If you can’t make it out to Coachella for Blxst’s performance, be sure to tune into Meta and Rolling Stone’s Reels series, Behind the Creator. The social series—which recently launched with episodes featuring Destiny Rogers at SXSW—will give fans a behind-the-scenes look as Blxst prepares to hit the Creator House stage.