XV

As hip-hop continues to grow from a fringe culture to a global movement, the young genre has become notably fractured. Distinct subgenres have come to both define and divide the rap soundscape, and artists throughout the industry are scrambling to find the right label, the right sound, and the right style. The hipsters can’t be hard, the thugs can’t be conscious, and there’s almost no tolerance for ambiguity. MCs have been forced to choose between what they should be and what they are—one could say the culture has undergone a bit of an identity crisis. Standing firmly in opposition of rap’s schizophrenia is XV. Born Donavan Johnson, the 24 year old Kansas native has effortlessly purged the imaginary borders that the hip-hop world has drawn. Obsessed with comic books, action figures, web surfing and RPGs, XV isn’t your average thugged out MC or even a skinny-jeaned hipster. Rather, he’s an anomaly—the self-proclaimed “kid with the green backpack” who’s simply loved to make music since he was 15 years old. XV’s on the outside of the game looking in, and this isolation has given him an enlightened perspective, outlined perfectly on his breakthrough mixt... more...