PreauXX

PreauXX calls out fake friendships and inauthenticity in video for poetic track ‘Humble Hustle’ - AFROPUNK

After spending 2014 touring the Southeast in support of his debut album “Die Winning,” Memphis-based artist Preauxx is prepping the release of his follow up project “Forever. I Will.” Slated for a May 13, 2015 release, the new album is a musical representation of Preauxx’s journey from 2010 to 2014, one which people from all walks of life can relate to: a journey through chapters of success and failure, being conflicted by love and working through all of our own personal trials in the midst of the social injustices we all face daily

“‘Forever. I Will’ is about my continuous search for understanding and peace in a world that is jaded by good and evil,” explains Preauxx. “I wanted to bring people into my world giving them stories of what and who I stand for. The new generation innovators and dreamers. From being homeless, to angels walking among us, to making a living…it’s everything in between.” - HipHopSince1987

Local rapper PreauXX (whose real name is Chris Dansby) has been performing in Memphis long enough to see the fruits of his labor pay off. Since arriving on the hip-hop scene in 2010, PreauXX has aligned himself with the local hip-hop collective TRDON and joined the likes of Tori WhoDat and Royal'T as one of the city's hottest hip-hop acts. We caught up with PreauXX to talk about his new album, Forever. I Will, what he thinks about the rise of local hip-hop, and how the "Black Lives Matter" movement has affected his songwriting. — Chris Shaw

Flyer: The new album features almost exclusive production from Alexander Odell and IMAKEMADBEATS. What's your history with them?

PreauXX: We've been working together since 2012, but I met Alexander when I was enrolled at the University of Memphis in 2009. I met IMAKEMADBEATS a year after when he moved down from New York. He was spinning records at a show that featured me and Cities Aviv, and I remember thinking that he was just killing it. I brought them together, and it just immediately clicked.

Was there a collaborative atmosphere in the studio between the two producers, or did they bring pre-made beats in separately?

Everything was collaborative in the studio. The session was very organic, and we came up with every track from scratch. I worked with the producers separately on a couple of the songs, but there are some where all three of us are working together based on conversations or ideas that we had at the time.

What studio were you guys working in?

IMAKEMADBEATS has a place, Dirty Socks Studio out in Bartlett. That place is going to be the new Motown in the next 10 years. If you can imagine a Shaolin temple mixed with a church, that would be Dirty Socks studios. IMAKEMADBEATS created an environment that immediately makes you feel comfortable. Sometimes I can get really anxious and want to immediately start recording, and it's cool to go into a place where you just sit down and talk everything out first.

How would you describe the current state of Memphis hip-hop?

I like where it's going. I've been on this scene since 2010, and I remember when it was just me, Cities Aviv, and Knowledge Nick. There wasn't any media coverage back then. But now in 2015, I'm loving where it's going. The scene is changing, but people are still fighting through the Memphis politics to get the coverage they deserve. That being said, I love where it's at, because I've seen where it was a few years ago, and I'm excited to see where it goes in the future.

Where did the title Forever. I Will come from?

It derived from trying to kill that underdog mantra that I've had. I've always had this underdog look to my career, and I hate the underdog look, because once the underdog accomplishes something, his story is over. Forever. I Will means that I will forever have dreams, but don't look down on me because I'm a titan. I'm going to make you notice everything I'm doing. The album covers everything that I went through in life from 2012 to 2015 — from love to social injustice — just everything that I went through that made me who I am today.

We touched on it a bit earlier, but where does your connection with Cities Aviv come into play with your career? He's on two of the tracks on Forever. I Will, but I feel like it goes deeper than that.

Yeah, man, I really feel like he's my brother. We came up together, and people used to call us the "Memphis Rap Gods." He's just someone I can trust in the music world.

How did the "Black Lives Matter" campaign have an affect on your new album?

I come from a strong black household. I know a lot about where I come from and my heritage, and I'm proud of that. I grew up in an area where there was a lot of segregation, and it's something that sits heavy on my heart. I care about people in general. Everyone deserves a fair chance, and we are too far as a society to be going through the bullshit that went down in the '60s and '70s. Society is changing, and people need to let it go. As a leader in the Memphis music scene, it's my job to talk about things like that.

Can you talk about the politically charged song "Benjamin" that appears on your new album?

I named it "Benjamin" because that's Trayvon Martin's middle name, and I wrote it from his perspective, as if he were speaking from the grave. I've never written a song like that before, and my vocal tone was all over the place because I wanted you to feel the panic and the emotion of not being able to speak for yourself when someone is having a trial about your life.

Do you think your music is becoming more political as a result of the cases of Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray and the incidents in Ferguson?

My music will always have a political context to it, but I don't want to just be boxed in as a political rapper. I'm always going to be active in letting people know where I stand, but I can't really help if someone is going to label me something.

What's next for you? How quickly are you going to get back into the studio?

Man, I'm in the studio every day. I'm always writing, always cultivating, always crafting. Right now, my mind is focusing on getting Forever. I Will out there and playing some shows to promote it, but I'll always make time for the studio. For me, the studio is like a basketball player going to practice. It's my job to be in the studio. - Memphis Flyer (Chris Shaw)

Underground hip-hop artists Lvkah Lvciano, PreauXX and Russ P were among the participants at the recent GRAMMY GPS: A Road Map For Today's Music Pro hosted by The Recording Academy Memphis Chapter. During the event, Lvciano, PreauXX and Russ P participated in an exclusive interview with GRAMMY.com, discussing the importance of management and professional development seminars in smaller markets, among other topics.

"Every student needs a teacher," said PreauXX. "[The panelists] are just trying to teach us and put us ahead of the curve."

A New Orleans native, PreauXX (pronounced "pro") is an underground artist in Memphis. Mixing hip-hop and alternative sounds, his latest project is Mockingbird Mondays EP, an eight-song collection released in May.



- Grammy.com

On Friday, Nov. 13th, PreauXX (pronounced "Pro”) performed for roughly 50 students, faculty, and Memphians at Elvis’ original Memphis home. This was part of the Mike Curb Institute’s An Evening at Elvis’ concert series. Each month or so, they host local and national artists to interview and perform in front of an intimate crowd primarily composed of students. All this happens in one of the coolest venues in Memphis.

After the success of “Heartbreak Hotel,” Elvis Presley bought the house on Audubon Drive in 1956, living there with his parents more than a year before moving to Graceland. The house itself is amazing. The walls are covered in photos of Elvis at the time of his ownership of the house, and you can even see where he wrote his name on the wall. Unlike museums such as Graceland, nothing at this house was off limits.

John Bass, Director of the Mike Curb Institute, began the show by acquainting us with the house and the program at large. Finally, he introduced us to PreauXX and the two interviewers, Ashley Dill ’17 and Dr. Charles Hughes. PreauXX, who grew up in Memphis, dropped out of U of M to pursue a career in rap only a few years ago. He cited Kanye West as his initial inspiration, with Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper as new influences.

Once the music started, it was easy to see why. His lyrics were just as poignant and catchy as Chances the Rapper’s, and he sampled “Money Trees” on his song “Whatevers.” The first half of the performance the crowd remained seated, unsure what to do as PreauXX dominated the stage. Soon, however, he encouraged us to stand up, and the party really started. He had us jumping up and down and embracing the music that is truly Memphis.

After the show, refreshments were served and PreauXX mingled throughout the crowd. The entire night was amazing, and a must-do for any Rhodes student. Keep an eye out for the PreauXX episode of the Evening at Elvis’ web series (filmed and produced in part by Rhodes students!), as well as the next edition of An Evening at Elvis’. - Sam Clark

On bended knee, Memphis rapper Chris “PreauXX” Dansby clutches a microphone during a rehearsal session at Memphis Slim Collaboratory in Soulsville. His head is bowed, but the moment is far from silent. The room rattles to a steady, booming track called “Benjamin” from his upcoming album, “Forever. I Will,” to be released today.

The posture is rare in PreauXX’s performance style. The typically bouncy New Orleans transplant has very few still moments in his set, often using all edges of stages around town.

However, he and his TRDON crew are fine-tuning what has been one of the more solemn selections in his recent set list.

“When I wrote ‘Benjamin’, I wrote it from Trayvon Martin’s perspective,” Dansby said in an interview after the performance. “Like a ghost. When I perform it, my voice is so drawled and thrown. I feel like a victim. Like you killed me before I had a chance to succeed.”

PreauXX (pronounced “pro”) engages his peers sitting in on his rehearsal who offer feedback on how he conveyed the sensitive material in the song. “I always imagined you performing this with a hoodie on — whether it’s a TRDON hoodie, a solid-black hoodie, whatever,” says Alexander Odell, the track’s producer.

Each performance of “Benjamin” begins with PreauXX reciting a list of names that include Mike Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice. Assisted by TRDON’s DJ Space Age, each name is punctuated by audible gunshots through the speakers. In an intimate public performance at Memphis Slim’s less than a week after the Charleston church shooting, PreauXX amended the list to acknowledge the nine slain members of Emanuel AME.

With a pending state investigation into the death of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart in police custody in Memphis exactly a week before his album release, PreauXX declined to comment on whether he felt it would be appropriate to update his musical monument.

“I feel like this is another observation of why I should keep speaking about what’s going on,” he offered instead. “This stuff is real.”

The remainder of PreauXX’s 14-track album is characterized by production from Odell and IMAKEMADBEATS, who handle all but one track. The front end of the record coaxes the casual rap fan’s ear with radio-ready, melodic songs reminiscent of a ticked-off vintage Kid Cudi. A brave playlist, “Forever I Will” features a litany of songs that star PreauXX as a soap box preacher with a superb guest appearance by local singer Marco A. and two songs featuring Memphis-native experimental rapper Cities Aviv. By the album’s end, Dansby’s down-to-earth storytelling criticizes without feeling too preachy. — Jared Boyd - Commercial Appeal (Jared Boyd)

Twenty-year-old emerging rapper Chris "Preauxx" Dansby grew up in New Orleans, moving to Memphis at age 10, where he ended up graduating from Bolton High School.

New Orleans, via the No Limit and Cash Money crews, and Memphis, via the Three 6 Mafia family, both boast distinctive hardcore rap sounds that thrived during Dansby's formative years. But Dansby, who appeared on a Live From Memphis "60 Seconds" video last year clad in a Tribe Called Quest T-shirt, says his favorite rappers were Jay-Z and Kanye West.

This interest in hip-hop history and penchant to find influence via records and media rather than from physical environment connects Preauxx (who celebrates the release of his second mixtape, Love Jones, at the Hi-Tone Café this weekend) to an emerging new generation of somewhat like-minded but still diverse local rappers who includes promising artists such as Skewby, Cities Aviv, Taktix, Royal' T, and Knowledge Nick.

In fact, Preauxx recently collaborated with Cities Aviv and Royal' T on a one-off song, "Fame x Money."

"We've done so many shows together," Preauxx says of the collaboration. "We just decided to go to the studio and make a song together.

"Different is good," Preauxx says of his connection to local artists. "I found my own lane. I feel like Memphis is welcoming to different styles."

Currently a junior marketing major at the University of Memphis, Preauxx says he always wanted to get involved in music — not just hip-hop — and was influenced to write by the poetic talents of an older sister.

"I used to write poems in class to try to get the girls," Preauxx says. "But I loved hip-hop so much, that I started writing to a beat."

Preauxx got serious about recording and performing and trying to find his niche in the local scene when he started college and draws on his penchant for romantic themes on Love Jones.

"Love Jones is a mixtape about my trials and tribulations in life and love," he says. "I didn't want to do a mixtape that was a hip-hop vibe, a lot of nod your head stuff. I know I can do that."

Preauxx's engaging charisma comes through on the video for the Love Jones song "Going In For the Night," directed by fellow U of M student Steven Simpson, which depicts Preauxx lugging his backpack around the U of M campus on a sunny autumn day. It was also on display at a hip-hop show at the Young Avenue Deli last month, where Preauxx welcomed MC Dutchess onstage to give himself a female focus for one of his romantic songs.

If Preauxx's style stands in contrast to regional expectations, there is one area where his Louisiana upbringing is apparent: his chosen moniker.

"I started out as 'Pro,'" he says, "but that just seemed so bland. And around that time the [New Orleans] Saints won the Super Bowl, and I saw fans holding signs that said 'Geaux Saints.' I thought that was cool, so I decided to spice up my name a little bit."

Preauxx will be joined at his mixtape-release show by DJ Homework (aka Josh Metzger), who is helping him produce and release Love Jones via Homework's newish Westham label. Homework introduced the label last year with "Pushin' Buttons," a terrific Internet single featuring Cities Aviv and Taktix along with singer Ify. He's also been working with Taktix on a debut album.

Also on the bill for the show, which is Sunday, February 27th, at the Hi-Tone Café, are new local rapper Tres, scene stalwart Jason Da Hater, and DJ Redeye Jedi. Admission is $5, which also gets you a physical copy of the Love Jones mixtape. Doors open at 9 p.m. - Commercial Appeal

To say an artist is genre defying is often an overused cliché, but there are few better ways to describe 22-year-old Memphian, Preauxx. His primary influence of Hip Hop goes without saying, as his aural delivery is rapping. In a Hip Hop world split between the rap and underground purists, Preauxx is quite comfortable being himself, and using his influences from both sides of that fence. For his first mixtape release, Preauxx incorporated styles including grass roots hip hop, indie pop rock, and even some crunk. His second mixtape, Love Jones, was officially released February 2011 via a party at Memphis’s own Hi-tone café in Memphis.

The very first single Preauxx was ever featured on was premiered on the front page of ITunes France. He has worked with the Teach for America program talking with High School students about pursuing college degrees while staying focused on a college education. He has been front-page news for the University of Memphis daily paper read by over 30,000 students daily, the Commercial Appeal, and the Memphis Flyer. Preauxx has also been noted to be associated with IMAKEMADBEATS in his music endeavors. His accomplishments at such a young age are impressive; though to see him perform live is the real treat. On stage presence and animation of this caliber is all but lost. You don’t listen to Preauxx, you feel him.

His third project “When Caged Birds Sings”, will be released summer 2012 and is spearheaded by a promo series "Mockingbird Mondays" which new music will be released from Preauxx every Monday until WCBS is released. The first promo “Don’t be upset”, (produced by WEB of The M.A.C.H.I.N.E) was premiered Sunday on K97 FM Memphis via DJ 007 Independence Day Radio. - Grime Beats

NEW ORLEANS BORN, MEMPHIS RAISED HIP-HOP ARTIST PREAUXX IS GAINING BUZZ WITH HIS MUSIC DUE TO LAST YEARS MIX-TAPE “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” SCORING BIG WITH CRITICS AND FANS OF HIS MUSIC. STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS WERE ALREADY AWARE ABOUT THE “BACK PACK RAPPER” BUT THANKS TO THE MEMPHIS FLYER, MEMPHIS WILL KNOW ABOUT THE GIFTED RAPPER. HIS NEW MIX-TAPE “LOVE JONES” WILL BE RELEASED FRIDAY THE 25TH!

#WHERECANYOUSEEPREAUX?? SUNDAY FEB. 27TH PREAUXX WILL BE HEADLINING WITH WESTHAM RECORDS, AT THE HI TONES DOORS OPEN @9PM $5 ADMISSIONS!… MAKE SURE U COP THE MEMPHIS FLYER SUPPORT!! - The Kush 901

Just got this rowdy track sent our way from up and coming rap artist Preauxx. He hails from Memphis Tennessee and is only 22 years old. He got his start at the University of Memphis and is Puttin’ Work. Coincidentally that is the title of his newest track off his new album When The Caged Bird Sings. Preauxx definitely has that southern rap sound and goes HAM on this one. New music will be released from Preauxx every Monday until WCBS drops. Check it out and download here! - The Eargasm

To say an artist is genre defying is often an overused cliché, but there are few better ways to describe 21-year-old Memphian, Preauxx. His primary influence of Hip Hop goes without saying, as his aural delivery is rapping. In a Hip Hop world split between the rap and underground purists, Preauxx is quite comfortable being himself, and using his influences from both sides of that fence. For his first mixtape release, Preauxx has incorporated styles including grass roots hip hop, indie pop rock, and even some crunk. His second mixtape, Love Jones, was officially released February 2011 via a party at Memphis’s own Hi-tone café in Memphis. His third project “When Caged Birds Sings”, will be released summer 2012 through TRDON. The first single “Don’t be upset”, (produced by WEB of The M.A.C.H.I.N.E) will be world premiered May 20 on k97 Memphis via DJ 007's Independence Day Radio show. The single will be release May 21 along with visuals for Mocking Bird Mondays, a series of music released every Monday until the WCBS is released.

The very first single Preauxx was ever featured on was premiered on the front page of ITunes France. He has worked with the Teach for America program talking with High School students about pursuing college degrees while staying focused on a college education. He has been front-page news for the University of Memphis daily paper read by over 30,000 students daily, the Commercial Appeal, and the Memphis Flyer. Preauxx has also been noted to be associated with IMAKEMADBEATS in his music endeavors. His accomplishments at such a young age are impressive; though to see him perform live is the real treat. On stage presence and animation of this caliber is all but lost. You don’t listen to Preauxx, you feel him. - Ill Material

IMAKEMADBEATS sent over this dope joint he co-produced with Alexander Odell called “Monday Morning” by Memphis emcee Preauxx. The track is a part of Preauxx’s Mockingbird Mondays series and will also be featured on his album When The Caged Bird Sings due out later this summer. - Kevinnottingham.com

On first listen, if a song makes you get that scrunched up – something stinks – squinty eyes – head shakin face… and its uncontrollable, you might have a banger on your hands.
For the second installment of his Mockingbird Mondays series, Preauxx releases “Puttin’ Work” on which we hear him pick up the pace a little from his previous work. He flexes all over this new track from producer Alexander O’dell. Preauxx is one the of the most talented up-and-coming MC’s in Memphis. Expect the New Orleans native to drop his new album, When Caged Birds Sing, soon on his Bandcamp.
S’not a mixtape. - Loudersoft

As I detailed in this week’s Memphis Flyer cover story, Unapologetic is getting ready to transform Memphis with the Orange Mound Tower project. Right now, three of the Bluff City-based record label’s heavy hitters want to transform your earholes with the jam of the summer. “Slide” is the latest single by PreauXX (a frequent flyer on Music Video Monday) featuring a smooth guest verse by A Weirdo From Memphis. Produced and mixed by newly inaugurated Unapologetic president Kid Maestro and mastered by IMAKEMADBEATS, “Slide” is a sly groove for cruising in the whip.

“A ‘slide’ can be multiple things,” says PreauXX. “It can be a special person, it could be you visiting someone, and it could even be just hanging out. But ultimately, it feels good.”

The video is co-directed by PreauXX and Unapologetic visual leader 35Miles. It features the talents of Kierra Monique, Isadorabriony, Raphel Baker, Chris Craig, and R.U.D.Y. Drop what you’re doing and dig this earworm. - Chris McCoy

The sound and power of Southern music is always shifting as time goes on, and when it comes to local hip-hop, it’s never been more exciting! Hip-hop artist PreauXX is one of the hottest Memphis rappers out right now, contributing to the big shift that is causing the local music scene to evolve seemingly day by day. With the recent release of his third studio album, PreauXX is serving prolific hip-hop and pop candances in a brand new way. The album, which was released on February 4th, is already gaining momentum throughout the city of Memphis and beyond. If you love hip-hop, good vibes, and the satisfaction of supporting the next hot artist, PreauXX and his new album are the way to go! - We Are Memphis Music