Music

If you scroll down Blxst’s discography, you’ll see his name plastered alongside some of the biggest acts in hip-hop, including Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Snoop Dogg and more. Though being a perennial hook-man would quench many artists’ thirst, Blxst has a more insatiable appetite: being a jack of all trades.

“I like to focus on just making the best body of work,” he said ahead of his debut album, I’ll Always Come Find You. “I love albums. So, in songwriting, I practice those things versus a hook. That’s one talent alone, down to the verses, the production, and the space on a song. All of it comes to mind when I’m making a record. I don’t only think, ‘Ok. So the hook is gonna go, so all of it is gonna fall into place.’ Nah, every detail gotta line up, too.”

Released on Friday (July 19), I’ll Always Come Find You is the masterwork Blxst had dreamed of making since childhood, hearing Ye’s Graduation or 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The 20-track entry is a cinematic thriller imbued with love, ambition, and triumph as Blxst navigates through the worlds of Birdie and Big E, fictional characters devised by the singer.

“The characters Birdie and Big E are two versions of myself,” he says. “Birdie is my inner child, and Big E is the wiser version of me, and I’m dead center channeling the energy of my inner child but trying to be this greater version of myself. It’s just a journey, and I want people to be able to reflect and relate to it.”

With assists from Anderson .Paak and Becky G, Blxst takes creative leaps, proving his versatility. Most notably, on the latter, he rubs shoulders with the Latin megastar on “Rewind,” showcasing his ability to skate beyond L.A. lines. “I’m well aware that I’ve developed a sound that people can identify me with, which is my West Coast two-step that people love me for, but I’m also planting those different seeds of things that I’ve been inspired by as an artist,” he says.

Billboard spoke to Blxst about his debut album, I’ll Always Come to Find You, seeking inspiration from 50 and Ye, the importance of Kendrick’s Pop Out concert to L.A., and more.

You’re coming off two great mixtapes. What was the shift for you mentally knowing that you’re entering your debut album at this point of your career?

I would say the shift was channeling that inner child that fell in love with music in the first place and pulling those different inspirations. No Love Lost and Before You Go, I think I did a good job in developing a sound that people can identify me with, but also, it wasn’t everything that I am. I felt like with I’ll Always Come Find You, I was in position to have the resources to really make that dream album, and that dream album is a concept album, in my opinion — just keeping that art alive. 20 piece, skits and all. We got the short film attached to it. There’s so many layers that people can peel back.

That’s the type of fan that I am when I listen to my favorite albums — like [Kendrick Lamar’s] good kid, m.A.A.d city, and still being able to peel different layers back years down the line. That’s what I plan for fans to do with this one.

You grew up a fan of certain concept albums like Graduation or Get Rich or Die Tryin’. What did you take away from those projects when creating I’ll Always Come Find You.

I love how 50 made it bigger than just the music. It kind of remind me of how they do with Disneyland, for example. You got the audio, but you also can see it on ice or you can go meet Mickey Mouse. You can buy his ears. That’s how I wanted to create a world for my album. So we got the audio, which is a soundtrack to the short film and then we got the activation where we’ll bring the characters to life with the tour and all that. 

You mentioned skits earlier on and you have E-40 speaking on a few of them. Talk about the importance of having skits and using them to thread together the story you’re trying to tell.

I think it just heightens the details of what you’re trying to get across the album. It’s mostly about the sonics — they’re here for the songs — but the glue is the skits and that’s what amplifies the story. We put details into that. We scored the skits and everything. 

How selective were you when picking the right features, knowing that this isn’t only your debut album, but a concept release?

It’s kind of crazy because I started off sonically like, “What’s organic?” Who are the artists that rock with me naturally? Before I’d be like, “OK. This artist would fit perfect for this story.” I just tried to see who was rocking with me ’cause it’s tough just reaching out to everybody and banking on them to be a part of a rollout. Everybody on the album, I can genuinely say they’re rocking with me on a personal level or they reached out to me and was a fan of my music. Just breaking it down to the hero’s journey — if you look at the concept of a hero’s journey, it’s always that one person that’ll help you navigate through the journey that you’re about to embark. That’s how I look at each feature. These are different people that I came across on the journey that’s helping me get to that next stage. 

I remember Nipsey told me he started working on Victory Lap in 2014 and the first record he worked on was “Real Big.” For you, knowing that you were actively working on your mixtapes, were you also piecing together your album at the same time?

Mentally, I was because I wanted to complete a sentence. So it’s No Love Lost, Before You Go, I’ll Always Come Find You. So that was always the goal — but musically, that was later down the line.

You have two home run features in Anderson .Paak and Becky G. Did you have to step out of your element to make those features work, especially with the latter? 

Anderson .Paak, I don’t really feel like that was too far of a step, maybe because of the fan that I am of him and just studying his catalog, being a super fan of Malibu. I literally have a tattoo on my neck of a bird because of his lyric, “A bird with a word came to me/ A sweetness of a honeycomb tree.” I’m a huge fan of him.

Does he know that?

I don’t think I’ve had a chance to tell him yet. [Laughs.] But I just think of me being a fan, I know the direction that he goes in with music. I know he loves live instruments and it was perfect combination. He’s from Cali at the end of the day, so it wasn’t too far.

I will say with Becky G — I knew it was gonna throw people off, but being from L.A., we blend with the Latin community like bread and butter. It was only a matter of time before I merged into that lane and I think we should do more of that just being where I’m from, but also just hip-hop. It started with Black and Brown anyway. So these moments need to be amplified. 

You mentioned in the past how Ty Dolla $ign is a sensei to you. What are some things you’ve taken away from his artistry? 

The limitlessness. He’s multi-dimensional. He’s from where he’s from. He always takes LA whereever he goes, but you can’t put that man in a box at all. I just like how he leads by example moreso than anything. When everybody was going left, he always went right. It was always unpredictable, but it wasn’t a reach. It was a perfect blend and he kept it soulful, too. Anytime he “crossed over,” it was still that soul and tone of voice that still related to what you love him for. 

On “Long Way Home,” you speak about losing LA heroes like Nipsey and Drakeo The Ruler. You were part of the Pop Out last month. Do you feel like the Pop Out was a step in the right direction in terms of preserving and protect LA artists?

Hell yeah. [Kendrick] relit a certain flame that LA needed. It’s a certain light and pride that we uphold that I feel like we’re back on that bullsh-t again. Luckily, I was able to have an album in motion around this time to be able to pop out and continue that energy, but even being from LA and seeing what’s going on right now, the collaborative spirit is at an all-time high. It’s inspiring to see what one artist can do and it took somebody like Kendrick who’s at the top of their game to pull up young artists and say, “Y’all might not ever seen these faces before,” but they need some light too and we’re keeping that energy alive.

You were on “Die Hard” from Kendrick’s Mr. Morale era, and he’s clearly on a different type of time now. How would you compare Kendrick then and now?

Man, that’s another unpredictable guy. As soon as you think he’s going left, he’s gonna go right. That’s what I love about him as an artist. 

He’s a Gemini, man.

He’s crazy and bipolar. [Laughs.]

You and Amanda Reifer teamed up again after appearing on “Die Hard” together. What made you guys reunite on this album?

We were Grammy-nominated. I wanted to keep that energy going. So I wanted to set the tone early and I got in with Amanda. This was actually our first time meeting each other like beyond the success of the “Die Hard” record. We got in and Sounwave executive produced this entire album. He did the “Die Hard” record, too. It was a good combination, man, and I’m glad we started the album like this. The title alone, “Long Way Home” just embodies my whole mental state in approaching the music industry. 

You also brought the legendary Fatman Scoop back on this album. What made you decide to have him along for the ride?

For my album, I wanted some kind of nostalgic piece. I always go back to my childhood when I try to pull inspiration and my sister was a huge Missy Elliott, Ciara fan and them moments that made you dance. Hearing him hype up the song, there’s a certain element that we don’t really have today. There’s a few people that do it like Mustard and Khaled, I just wanted to keep that element alive and bring it back on a nostalgic level from the source. 

How do you feel you’ve grown as a songwriter since the release of No Love Lost on this album? 

No Love Lost to now? I think just naturally experiencing life. I still go through real life experiences. I’m a father of two boys. I come home to my family and I chill with them every Sunday, so I also like to express their stories for the ones who don’t write music. I think also being a listener moreso than anything kind of adds to that because I don’t really like talking a lot. I like to put it in the music and express myself in a artform. I think naturally over time that helped me progress my pen and how I narrate my story.

How was your Coachella experience and how did that help raise your confidence level as a performer?

Man, that’s one of the biggest stages that I’ve ever been on. So many legends that touched that stage, I didn’t wanna just jump on the stage with no regular, degular show. That’s why we added the theme of foreshadowing an album. We brought The Grand National that’s gonna play a part of the album on stage, and even down to the outfits, the storyline, the graphics, everything was all consistent and cohesive. The fans are gonna be able to peel the layers later down the line, but it was an honor. I take everything serious, because it’s an opportunity at the end of the day. I don’t have to. I get to. That’s how I approach everything. 

How elevated is the tour going to be knowing the storyline behind this album?

Man, my team is going to have to talk me down because I been dreaming big! I’m thinking, like, how can we make it a play on stage? Bring the characters from the short film on the tour, where they can pop out and give a monologue. 

Who’s gonna play Birdie?

Man, I’m Birdie. 

Oh you’re gonna try to do double duty. Say less.

Right. [Laughs.] But we’re still experimenting and throwing ideas out there right now, but it’s definitely gonna be an alignment of the album.