XV XV is easily one of the hottest young artists in hip hop. More emcee than rapper, more backpacker than trapper…the nerds are now running rap. DOPE MAGAZINE - “Square Root” feature in TEN issue, Summer 2012 XV is just being himself. With a passion for video games, an affinity for porn and a love for hip- hop, the Warner Bros. signee has been making quite the name for himself, but it's been a long road to his discovery. MTV.COM Blog hype and indisputable skills have led to many rappers being snatched up from fly-over towns to bigger stages (Big K.R.I.T., G-Side, etc.), but even still, XV repping Wichita still manages a “huh?” But it’s his universal style that earned him a spot on the ballot for XXL’s 2012 Freshmen list, even though he’s been putting stuff out for a couple years now. The best of that output came in 2011 with his Zero Heroes mixtape, which boasted a fantastic list of producers like Just Blaze and Seven, and tons of credit-boosting guest spots from Pusha-T, Kendrick Lamar, and a head- scratching cameo from Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. How their collaboration—the propulsive, inspirational “The Last Hero”—isn’t tearing up the radio waves is anyone’s guess. AVCLUB.COM (Madison) Wichita, Kansas native, XV is a prime example of shining beyond margins. He is one of the leaders in this new wave of Hip Hop, which has consistently been proving that buzzing artists are no longer confined by their residence in a secondary music market. Moreso than physical restraints, artists are also succeeding in just being themselves. The self-described “square” is from a city best known for introducing the world to the Yellow Brick Road- a fact hardly associated with Rap. He’s completed songs inspired by video games, before bars inspired by corner hugging hustlers. As the 26-year-old emcee gains even more recognition, he offers the refreshing sentiment of only being true to himself. HIPHOPDX.COM Regardless of the fact that XV is coming from a barren Kansas region mostly unknown to hip-hop, his consistency in quality and production rate rivals that of any new era emcee striving to drop more than the annual mixtape and album set. People call it microwave rap when applied to the general Internet emcee, and in most cases, the negative connotation it carries proves correct to those out there that release records weekly, mixtapes monthly, and overall, are building a poor catalogue. XV is the extra letter in the alphabet. OLOGY.COM 25-year-old XV has been making a fast and aggressive foray into the world of hip hop, bringing with him a handy tool set of creativity, smarts, and work ethic to go with his natural feel for the classic and popular hip hop sound. AOL’S SPINNER.COM Whether he’s kicking lyrics or kicking at in the crib, the Kid from Kansas knows how to expand his international reputation…XV is the next budding star. THE SMOKING SECTION With a huge crop of new artists eager to prove they're more than capable of carrying hip-hop's torch into the future, 2009 was the year all the "hip-hop is dead' nonsense finally got put to rest, but none more so than XV. Simply put, everything the man blessed with his mic turned to gold… DJBOOTH.NET “Best New Artist (Unsigned/Independent) of 2009” He’s a kid from south central Kansas with a nice flow and an uncanny ability to reference pop culture in his lyrics while getting everyone to get up and dance. Most rap artists like to act tough and rap about girls, money, and weapons. XV isn’t like that; he likes to rap about video games, and having a good time (and girls)… Once people move away, they tend to forget their hometowns help make who they are. But because of XV, all of those same people that claimed Wichita sucks have a little bit of a newfound respect for their city, and now they are saying something else in regards to Wichita: “Awesome.” KANSAN.COM XV's beat-friendly rap and pop fusion got the crowd going and proved this is an artist you're going to be hearing more from. COLORADO DAILY I’m pretty sure XV is gonna be huge. It’s not just the green backpack gimmick or the set of interests seemingly fine-tuned to the exact demographic that might get him some traction within the blogosphere, or even the top-notch tracks stuffed into his latest mixtape, Zero Heroes. It’s the sheer boundless energy that permeated every aspect of his show last week at The High Noon Saloon. From tip to tail, the meter read 10; the bounce in XV’s step never slowed. And, honestly, it was infectious as hell. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S THE BADGER HERALD The Wichita, Kansas native has a lot to say and has no problem giving it to the masses. Like many other artists from the 21st century, XV has risen to prominence through the use of the Internet and social media. But unlike a lot of those artists, XV has the music to back it up — and a lot of it. Already 15 mixtapes deep, XV's latest release, Zero Heroes, has been endorsed by nearly everyone and is considered one of the year's best releases and XV's best offering to date. GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY’S THE SIGNAL Two other rappers worth mentioning this summer are XV and Kendrick Lamar. XV's mix-tape "Zero Heroes" is at times deep and introspective. It touches on themes like domestic violence, poverty, and death. Other tracks are lighthearted and just for fun. For highlights try "Pictures on My Wall," "When We're Done" and "Foreign Exchange Student." UCONN’S THE DAILY CAMPUS Hip-hop: The world of the beat, the hook, the rhythm and the rhyme. It’s a world seldom invaded by techno beats, tempo changes and, well, comic book nerds. But nerd-turned-rapper XV defies the standard by singing softly, rapping hard and performing even harder. THE MISSOURIAN’S VOX MAGAZINE POPULAR CULTURE REVIEWS Popular Culture finds XV trekking through personal moments balanced with his sharp similes, here focused on TV and movies…With Popular Culture, XV uses his talents to make an indirect plea to Warner Bros. to give him the attention he deserves. XXL MAGAZINE (XL of XXL) As solid as Popular Culture is, it doesn’t possess the polished depth that Zero Heroes exhibited last year...Still, given the freebies that Vizzy has released, anticipation for his Warner Brothers debut The Kid With The Green Backpack is at an all-time high. Squarians everywhere are throwing their L-7’s up, as you should too. HIPHOPDX.COM XV has put out some decent work in the past but Popular Culture definitely deserves a listen and Vizzy just might wow you. RESPECT-MAG.COM In the likes of Curren$y or Big K.R.I.T., XV sits for me as one of the most dependable new age emcees clocking in the microphone booth, as his product contains an unfaltering pace of quality, and easily wears the album nametag despite being merely a mixtape…Every piece of Vizzy’s music is meant for something, whether it can be decoded or not, and is always alluding to something more; there’s no wasted space on his mixtapes, and while all of Popular Culture may not be exceptional, the content within sacrifices quality for necessity to convey the grand scheme. OLOGY.COM (B+ rating) THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO SXSW REVIEWS If there’s one thing to be said about rapper XV, it’s that he always sounds like he’s having fun…As an MC, XV possesses a combination of charisma, energy, wit and talent for storytelling that prove him an artist that takes his craft to hear. XXLMAG.COM (XL of XXL) ZERO HEROES REVIEWS Vizzy managed to land on the top spot on our Best Mixtapes of 2011 list last year (again), and digging back through the original review for Zero Heroes, I recall comparing XV’s mental evolution and artistic realizations to Marcel Proust’s Remembrances of Things Past, which may seem excessive, and surely pretentious; however, looking at the emotional depth of Zero Heroes, it’s difficult not to address the strength of personal experience that crafted the narrative core of a mixtape that expressed such a heavy panorama of the human condition. Autobiographical and culturally critical as it is, Zero Heroes is an album written with hits, as XV shows us once more that his ability to write near-literary levels of lyricism still manage to reach a pure level of catchiness. The equilibrium of emotional relation and quality of listenabilty is something that’s been long-under-appreciated in XV’s music and Zero Heroes, which I’d nominate as his magnum opus, best conveys the exceptionality of his talent. OLOGY.COM - The Top 50 Albums In Ology History: Nos. 30-21 (Zero Heroes #23), 7/16/12 All types of awesome by the kid from KC THE SMOKING SECTION , “The Top 30 Mixtapes Of 2011” (#17) Zero Heroes’ best songs present a strong case for the Kansas emcee as one to watch. For those that slept, consider ZH the wake-up call XXLMAG.COM, Zero Heroes review (XL of XXL) If you haven’t checked out XV’s Zero Heroes, you’re missing out.