A New Type of HXLIDAY

Cover of TheHxliday’s latest EP, Batbxy

TheHxliday is a 19-year-old rapper from Baltimore, Maryland. Recently signed with Motown Records, he released his latest EP, “BatBxy”, on New Year’s. “Batbxy” is a six track piece that reflects his ever-evolving style and he adds, who he was over the past year. 

With musical influences that can extend from Juice Wrld to Marilyn Manson, TheHxlday’s ever-changing style is a reflection of his musical roots. He comes from a musical background and was part of the Maryland State Boys Choir as a youth. Growing up his mother also had a band of her own and he recalls always seeing her playing music and rehearsing. He also remembers how when she would play music she would just have fun with it, an approach which stuck with him and he’s carried into the music he creates today.

“Everything in my music has to do with experience. Everything you hear from me comes from experience. It has to be authentic,” he says, and his latest release, “BatBxy”, further proves this with tracks ranging on a variety of topics such as love, substance abuse, heartache, and loneliness. Though while sometimes topics such as mental health and substance abuse can be challenging to talk about, TheHxliday sees the importance of talking about them through his medium, especially with the younger generation. “[These topics] It’s important to talk about, kids listen to you, and if you’re able to spread the message to the kids it can impact the next generation,” he says. “Like even TikTok, people criticize it but no matter what there are kids that watch it and we as influencers have to talk about those kinds of things and realize certain stuff is bad for you and learn life lessons.” 

He adds how he sets BatBxy apart from his previous releases as he describes these songs as a lot more in-depth on what it is he’s feeling and going through. While his previous releases were all done when he was a young teenager and told the emotions of what he described as “puppy love”. Now at 19, with a bit more time and experience under his belt, he writes even more from a place of experience and his music reflects that. When you listen to his music the lyrics don’t shy from telling the pain of heartbreak, difficulties of mental health, and complexities of love, he even teases once he’s 21 fans might expect some R&B music. “This is like a teaser in a way of what you can see from me this year and what you can expect from me. Like you can get like a pop track and something catchy out of nowhere- I’m trying to show people that I’m not gonna drop something you expect ever. But I’m always gonna try to drop something that makes people feel good in a way, like even with my sad songs its for people to relate and vibe to it, because [the music] its for people to relate to.” 

Answering our questions via Zoom while in sunny Miami, wearing his cool black shades and sipping on a frappuccino, TheHxliday already looks like a rising star. It should be made clear though that no matter what, with TheHxliday his authenticity will never be at stake. It’s no secret that we are currently seeing a rise in hip hop and a constant stream of new artists. Likewise, these days with social media and trends, we often see originality and love of the craft being sacrificed for popularity. While this might be an issue for some artists, it is not an issue for TheHxliday as he’s creating a sound and space of his own. When I asked him if he ever found it challenging to stay true to himself in a time of constant change, he was quick to say no. “I really just do me, like, it’s hard to get me to do a TikTok. People be begging me to do a TikTok but I don’t want to. It’s not that I’m not good at it- I just never really dived in on it, it’s another app still and I’m so used to Instagram and Twitter. I think people should just be themselves, I’m just myself.” And while it’s easy to get lost in following trends, it’s a task he admits he wouldn’t want to bring upon himself because it’s simply too much to keep up with. He sees how when following trends once you fall into them once, “people will come to you for the new ones and when you can’t provide that,” he adds with a shrug, “Then people be mad. You gotta be you and people gotta accept you for that.”

Everything about TheHxliday is true to him and tells his story, even his name, and how he releases his music on the holidays. He spoke to me about how when he was younger when the holidays came around he was always the most festive one amongst his brothers, so much that he was nicknamed Holiday by his family. So at 13 when he was seriously getting into music and making his early tracks, he wanted to incorporate something from his childhood into what he was creating, thus why he carried over his enthusiasm for the holidays and childhood nickname into his music.

TheHxliday adds that another reason why he chose this name was because he wanted something which was going to stand out on its own, “I didn’t want to be a ‘Lil’. I wanted to be THEHXLIDAY,” he says, and to this, he’s been true. It can be said without a doubt that just like his original name, TheHxliday and the music he’s creating is something unique and needs no help standing out on its own. With his name making its way up the tracks, this next generation of hip hop is off to a start like no one is expecting, but everyone should definitely be excited for.

If you’d like to support TheHxliday, check him out on Soundcloud, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.