ONLē Talks with Thraxx King (@thraxx.king) by Jasmine Wilson
Thraxx King wears a vintage army green sleeveless jacket, collar popped, accenting a white graphic tee depicting the sun. It's clear from his carefully chosen accessories, colorful nails, and unique sense of style that he pays very close attention to detail. After just getting done performing for a crowd of around 30 people, his energy is very grounded and thoughtful. With an air of confidence and intentionality, he sits with me and speaks about growing up in the church as a drummer and how that led him to music. Along with hip hop artists like Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kid Cudi, some of his creative inspiration comes from gospel artists Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond. “I’m inspired by anybody that really created their own entity,” He says. He hopes to continue traveling throughout his music career and reach more people in order to give back and spread knowledge to his community. While talking with Thraxx, I got a sense of how seriously he takes his craft and the purpose-filled message he hopes to put out into the world with it.
Who are you?
My name is Thraxx King. People call me Thraxx or TK. My instagram is @thraxx.king
How did you come up with your stage name?
I used to listen to Gucci Mane years ago. He used to always refer to weed as “thrax,” basically meaning potent. Thrax is an adjective for potent, top of the line or exotic. So that's where the name Thraxx came from.
How long have you been doing music and what’s the story behind how you began?
Word, so I grew up in the church. I ended up being a drummer which turned into going to college for audio production. I started playing for bands and experimenting with production. This turned into my artistry. I've been rapping for about 5 years.
And how would you describe your music?
I would describe it as an experience. A mood setter. A perspective through sound. An expression through sound. Vocabulary. Equations.
I like that, and what message are you trying to put out into the world with your music?
I just want to explain the real. I wanna explain what's going on through my perspective and other perspectives. I want to make people feel good and think. I want to make people have the idea or the experience of nothingness. To feel every potential way that they could possibly feel when they listen to my music. Music is a mood. I am interested in tapping into all of that.
What would you say is your main motivation that keeps you going on this journey?
Word. The simple idea that sound is a gift. We were all given gifts, you know? And the idea to respect that while I'm on this plane. Respect the idea that this is your gift. Move in it, and beautiful things will happen in this experience. Take it seriously because this is your assignment.
Where should we go to look for your next project?
Anywhere you listen to music. Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music. Search up Thraxx King. I have a freestyle experience going on called “Doing it for the 99 and 2000s” and you can also find my Moesha performance on Soundcloud. Youtube too.