xaviersobased

Xaviersobased is the recording name of Xavier Lopez, raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is of Dominican descent; his mother worked as a DJ in the 1980s. His brother, known as Nurse, introduced him to skateboarding and artists like Odd Future and ASAP Rocky. At ten, a YouTube algorithm led him to Yung Lean, then to Lil B, Drain Gang and Goth Money Records.

He took his name from Lil B's based rap style. Lopez became part of online collectives Novagang and Jewelxxet, and in 2020, with lockdowns keeping him indoors, turned a Tony Hawk's Underground gaming group into a music crew called 1c34. He and the collective are credited with pioneering the jerk microgenre that spread online in the years that followed.

His records tend toward plugg and cloud rap: thin, bright synth loops and blown-out drums under a delivery that drifts between mumbled melody and half-spoken asides, often sounding like a first take. He releases at a steady clip on SoundCloud and streaming services rather than saving material for album cycles, and much of his audience found him through short clips and reposts rather than press.

His 2022 mixtape Install carried 'Patchmade,' a Kashpaint-produced track that spread as a TikTok sound and was singled out by critics as a jerk anthem. The following year brought praise for tracks like 'Classist' and 'How I Feel 2.' In 2024 he released the single '40' with Evilgiane and Nettspend, a freestyle called 'Special' cut from an On the Radar appearance, and the fifteen-track mixtape Keep It Goin Xav.

In 2025, Lopez signed to Atlantic Records and released the EP Once More, moving from the loose network of collectives that shaped his early work toward a major-label outlet for his prolific pace. His self-titled debut album, Xavier, followed on January 30, 2026.