Dallas rapperBigXThaPlughas a presence that stands out on a crowded midtown Manhattan street.
He landed earlier that day and says hes considering flying back home to Texas that very night.
Besides, hes trying to get back to his seven-month-old daughter, and son, Amar.
Daniel Prakopcyk*
I aint seen my kids in almost a week and a half right now, he laments.
And [theyre] the only reason Im doing it.
Its still polarizing for artists to admit that rap is mostly a hustle to them.
Purists are often dismayed at the notion that someone would rap purely as a moneymaking endeavor.
But if the music is good, the motivations shouldnt matter.
For the 26-year-old, rap is a job.
AndTake Careindicates hes damn good at it.
From there on, I been grown, he says.
Once I touched that street, it was just different, he says.
Theres a bunch of ways you’ve got the option to make some bread.
He befriended some local kids who lived near him on the 600 block of Ferris Meadow Ridge Street.
Everybody cares for one another, everybody embraced one another, he says about his friends.
They kind of made me a part of their family, and it just went from there.
He says the Twin Cities were too cold for him to enjoy.
From Minnesota, BigX made his way to Austin, living with a then-girlfriend.
He eventually ran into legal trouble and was sentenced to four months in jail.
His absence gave him a new outlook on life.
You would think me having a son wouldve made it click, but it didnt, he admits.
I still was on some me shit.
It took for me to see that I couldnt be there for my son.
Let BigX talk long enough, and everything eventually circles back to his kids.
I could just look at her and stare at her and be good.
For him, having a daughter has made him consider a womans perspective in a new way.
I wasnt trying to be no fucking rapper, he scoffs.
I was just like, Fuck this rap shit.
But his desire to provide for his kid the right way led him to pick the pen back up.
I was like, Nah, Im not finna do that, he recalls.
Then [Hunter] was like, Bro, itd be so hard.
I was like, What am I supposed to say?
Bitch, Im from Texas?
He was like, Yeah, exactly.
A week or so later, he did a voice-over for aBig 12 conference promotional video.
He tells me he sat down with his team and ideated three predominant themes for the album.
[Theres] a lot of people begging, people I dont even know.
A lot of people poke the bear.
The third theme is a focus growth and success.
Yeah, we got cars.
But its [discussed in] a more mature way, he explains.
Were not bragging about it.
We just speaking on it.
Its there, but I care more about taking care of my people and my kids.
Along with music, he filmed a few commercials and was also reached out to for a movie.
He colorfully reminds me that these days, hes down to dowhateverit takes for a bag.
OnlyFans could hit me right now, he jokes (I think).
Let this rap shit not be working.
Im slanging that motherfucker, you hear me?
