with 2

Nobody combines serrated rap and goofy hi-jinks like Xaviersobased. In “Pediatrician,” Xavier flashes back to his kiddie days watching Noggin at the doc’s office, wearing KidRobot clothing and a SpongeBob wallet in hand, while producer mag blasts some Satan-with-IBS low-end in the “terror bass” style. The surreal combo of cute youthful references and aggro intensity is bizarrely addictive. Adorned with just enough pretty keys and airy cymbals, it throws you into a blissed trance. While January’s Keep It Goin Xav felt like a triumphant celebration of the scene surrounding his collective 1c34, with 2 goes solo and injects this kind of dazed-yet-hyper rap with a new level of screwy psychedelia.

Xavier teased with 2 so many times that it started to feel like it would never arrive. When the tape finally dropped last week, it was because someone leaked it. So Xavier just put it out himself, even though it wasn’t properly mixed yet. But this kind of crazed, barely-finished release moment is perfect for his music anyway, since it often has the feverish rawness of disheveled snippets.

If 2021’s With felt like a demolition zone of abrasive distortion, this sequel is more like a laboratory gone mad. The woozy freakiness remains, but the spiky edge has been softened. Cavernous drums echo over lost-in-reverie synth keys and vocals laced with so much delay Xavier floats through the tracks like a benevolent phantom. His wispy flow on “You See Me” coils upward like he’s slowly ascending a spiral staircase into the clouds. Yet even at its dreamiest, shards of sadness poke through. “linda.mp3” feels like mourning and moonwalking at the same time. Warm rays of synth drape Xavier as he pleads with another artist to quit drinking lean.

While the tape delivers a sizable supply of hypnotic delights, there’s not much in the way of wild surprises. nyli and xion’s twitchy-twinkly beat for highlight “what zit tooya” already appeared in a Nettspend and phreshboyswag song, and straightforward tracks like “jaded” and “Softer” sound like they could’ve been on any xaviersobased tape in the last few years. Xavier’s at his best when leaning into unstable, erratic confrontations, as on “Aight,” whose bassline brawls with the synths like Greek Gods defending Mt. Olympus. The track was produced by cranes and anarchy, a talented Florida teen who offers a glimpse of the next generation beyond Xavier: cosmically unhinged and glitch-wracked stuff that takes distorted rap as a starting point.

Despite a lowkey surge in popularity since Keep It Goin Xav, he’s still disgorging tapes that feel like DIY community zines, packed with madcap thumbnails and an all-star roster of niche producers. Nothing is out of bounds: chitchat about studying in the “1c library,” sounds of mouse clicks, or heaven-high gurgles. Violent threats and moments of emo vulnerability collide with cover art of a scowling purple fish from SpongeBob named “Mr. What Zit Tooya.” As other new-generation SoundCloud upstarts dilute their sound for wider audiences, it’s sweet to watch someone who doesn’t give a fuck. Even if it doesn’t hit all the time, the vision is thrilling.