Written By: Oliver Heffron
At a sold-out Brooklyn Bowl In Nashville, BLXST performed for an audience that sang back his every word. In the saturated streaming era, especially within the vast landscape of Los Angeles R&B/Hip-Hop, it can be challenging to make a name for yourself and damn near impossible to get the type of recognition that sings back to you on stage at every stop in the country.
Former Nuance Cover Artist BLXST is the exception, not the rule. Since featuring in Nuance's Spring 2021 Issue, the LA crooner/producer has soared into the musical stratosphere, becoming the undisputed new R&B voice for the rising generation of West Coast Hip-Hop while gaining a loyal national following and stacking up accolades. BLXST was named to the 2021 XXL Freshman List, nominated for "Best New Artist of the Year'' at the 2022 XXL Awards and "Best New Male R&B/Pop Artist" at the 2022 BET Awards, and received an RIAA Platinum Plaque for his hit track "Chosen (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)"–all the while surpassing 1 billion streams.
Released in April via Red Bull Records/Evgle LLC, Before You Go sees BLXST capitalizing on the growing buzz with a parallel progression in his music, featuring standout solo tracks like "About You" and "Every Good Girl" while displaying his collaborative skills with tracks like "Couldn't Wait for It (feat. Rick Ross)" and "Sometimes (feat. Zacari)."
Following the album's rollout, BLXST came through with his most important feature to date, delivering a pitch-perfect and lyrically salient chorus on "Die Hard" from Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers –a track that exemplifies his ability to anchor a massive hit and bridge West Coast hip-hop into a new age. The demand for a BLXST feature was soon on the rise, with him stealing the show on Chris Brown's "Show It," featuring with Kehlani on "Solid" from Burna Boy's Love, Damini, and teaming up with Kalan Fr.Fr on their hit-single "No Stoppin."
Despite the dizzying personal success, BLXST remains focused on his music, and his Before You Go World Tour reflects that sentiment in the musicality of his performance. With the Nashville crowd in the palm of his hand, he emphasized the music over himself and shared the stage graciously with a guitarist and vocalist, both of whom added new layers to the songs in the live setting, even stepping off-stage at one point to let his guitarist serenade the crowd with a solo. As an artist and producer, it's clear that BLXST's live performances retain the care and attention that his studio tracks and music videos receive. Despite the crowd being able to sing the songs for him, he didn't take a beat off and gave the crowd his all, displaying the passion and focus that will make BLXST not just an exciting artist going forward but an influential mainstay.