Dallas, TX · hip hop · southern hip hop

BigXthaPlug

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Dallas rapper with a booming, unhurried baritone over soul-sampled Texas production — heavyweight presence that made him one of the South's fastest risers.

BigXthaPlug was born Xavier Landum in Dallas in 1998 and grew up around instability; his mother once fired a gun at a would-be robber while he watched as a small child. Both parents played him a wide range of music, from the Isley Brothers and UGK to Drake and Lil Wayne.

He struggled through school, skipping classes and fighting, and found an outlet in football that drew interest from Division 1 scouts. After enrolling at Crown College in Minnesota he was expelled for selling marijuana on campus, ending his football ambitions and leading him toward robbing drug dealers, which brought a jail sentence for aggravated robbery.

In solitary confinement he began writing his first raps on a jail-issued medical form. After release he paid for studio time with money earned from street hustling and recorded his debut mixtape, Bacc from the Dead, before a probation violation sent him back to jail.

His voice is the centre of his appeal, a deep, deliberate baritone delivered slightly behind the beat, paired with Texas trap drums and soul or gospel samples that give the records a weight suited to the delivery.

His debut album, Amar, named after his son, arrived in 2023 with the Gold-certified single "Texas". He founded the label 600 Entertainment that year, signing Ro$ama and Yung Hood, then reached the Billboard Hot 100 with "Mmhmm" after a remix featuring Finesse2tymes. He has since drawn interest from outside hip hop, including collaborations with country artists.

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