Nicole Brice
Apr 5, 2025
Brax isn’t afraid to experiment with new textures and sounds.
One thing I love about music is that no matter how much you think you’ve heard, there is always something new to discover. Hip-hop and rap are fascinating genres that have evolved through many different styles over the years. As time passes, the younger generations continue to find ways to make these genres even more distinctive.
I recently came across a musician named Brax. Brax hails from New Orleans, a city not typically recognized for its hip-hop and rap scenes, yet he has discovered his calling within the underground music community. His stage performances transcend hip-hop and traditional rap; they are pure artistry. He incorporates theatrical elements into each show, even using fake blood as a visual tool to enhance the experience.
When you meet Brax for the first time, his vibrant energy instantly draws you in. He exudes a unique combination of fragility and resilience, coupled with a depth of wisdom. At just 18 years old, he is articulate and insightful, sharing narratives that stem from the pain he has experienced throughout his life. His work is rich in emotion and heart.
Brax isn’t afraid to experiment with different textures and sounds. Each piece he creates is distinct from the last. With a diverse sound that appeals to a broad audience, his goal is to create art that resonates with the masses in a direct and impactful way.
This is his story. Read on below.
MaM: Thank you for joining us today. Your music is genuinely heartfelt and emotional. You can feel the pain in the lyrics.
Brax: Man, yeah, thank you. It’s all based upon life. When I was younger, I went through a lot, and when I was 13, I had a lot of problems with substances. It’s been more of a journalism self-reflection thing than it has been to make a quick buck with music. It’s been a way to express myself.
MaM: Tell us a little more about yourself – your background and age.
Brax: I’m 18 and have been doing live performances as Brax for two years, but I’ve been recording and releasing music for over five years now. I have a lengthy discography, which I think works great for live shows, and it took me a long time to find my sound. Have you looked back at all the older music?
MaM: I have, and I listened to the new single. You've adjusted your sound a bit on that.
Brax: Yeah, I feel like it keeps evolving. I’ve done alternative rock in the past, but it wasn’t the same type of shoegaze type stuff I’m doing now. It’s part of the self-reflection thing, too, because I’ll never feel again how I felt at 15.
MaM: Of course – you change.
Brax: That’s what the whole project of Teenage Delerium is about. I completed three years of high school instead of four, and graduated early because I began performing live shows out of state. I attend college and work currently, but the entire album is about the transition to adulthood, as I took music so seriously. Now, I’m trying to transition into the “real world” while still in college. It’s a lot of work.
MaM: You’re putting in the work the right way. Keep going and you will see the results.
Brax: Yeah, cause you could go viral, and it means nothing. Before I started performing live shows, I had an internet presence with around 8,000 monthly listeners for my music. Still, I wanted to transition away from being an internet-based artist. The New Orleans rap scene is primarily an internet-based scene, with live shows occurring occasionally, but it doesn’t consistently draw large crowds like other scenes. They have one or two shows a year, maybe, that will draw anywhere from 50 to 500 people per show, but unless you have a mainstream artist as the headliner, even those flop sometimes. The NOLA underground is all internet-based, which kind of sucks for the live music version of it.
MaM: Let’s talk about your new song some more. I really dig the sound on this track, and it reminds me of this indie hip-hop artist I encountered in 2023 called tmdistant. He uses the shoegaze sound with hip-hop, and it’s incredible. Will you continue this new direction in your music, or are you just experimenting with it for now?
Brax: It usually happens by accident. I like experimenting as an artist, and even my live performances are not straight rap. We bring in things like doors, and we break furniture, and it becomes more of a performance art. Sometimes I’m even covered in fake blood. It’s super punk and hardcore, and emotional. If I’m feeling rock music at a moment, then I’ll drop one project with that sound. That’s what the A Walk with Sadie EP was. It was a 3-song project. Just something different. A different sound. A different vibe. That’s the type of music I want to make.
MaM: What type of music do you listen to in your everyday life?
Brax: I listen to everything. Artist-wise, it’s Mac Miller and Yung Lean. ASAP Rocky, definitely, but I also like things like Jefferson Airplane, some country, a lot of psychedelic rock. I also like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
MaM: You sound like me. You listen to a little of everything.
Brax: Yeah, I like to be well-versed.
MaM: Same
Brax: Yeah, especially as a rapper, I love working with all the bands because the band scene is so much more established than any rap scene here. I just did an almost sold-out show in Pensacola, and it was me with three other metal bands. It’s about building your scene. It just takes a while, though. As you mentioned earlier, regarding instant validity and building a presence, I’ve been around for two years, technically, on the scene as a live artist. Still, it’s as if in those two years, I have been pushing myself, not just here in Louisiana, but also in other states. It takes a good year to get your toes in the water. I’m building my foundation.
MaM: How would you describe the type of music you make for someone not familiar?
Brax: That’s a good one. One word. Realism.
MaM: I think that fits accurately.
Brax: I love art – Vincent Van Gogh, stuff like that, and honestly, I’ve been feeling like I can understand where he was with his art, and I relate it to Southern Cloud rap or Cloud rap.
MaM: Take us through your songwriting process. Do you produce the music yourself, or do you have someone assist you?
Brax: My beats consist of me crawling YouTube for hours and hours on the pages of producers I know, and so I’ll scroll to find that “needle in a haystack”, ya know? I write everything, and record and mix my vocals from my bedroom.
MaM: That’s incredible. I love that DIY aesthetic. What is the primary theme in your music, do you find?
Brax: Well, because it’s self-journalism, it’s hard to say. It’s just channeling my emotions. Storytelling. Expressing myself and documenting my life through music.
MaM: When you perform live, do you do the vocals live, or do you rap over your vocals? There is a whole movement of “real MCs don’t rap over vocals”, and I wanted to get your perspective on that.
Brax: I feel like my job, at the end of the day, is to be an entertainer, and I use backtracking, but I use it because I scream in my performances. Sometimes I may forget a word here or there, too, and when you’re screaming like the punk bands, you need that music to be in the background. We get crazy with it at the house shows, which I’m sure you’ve seen on YouTube.
MaM: Oh yeah, I have.
Brax: Right, and at the end of the day, you’re an entertainer, and you want it to be the best performance. My aesthetic is to get up, move around, and break shit.
MaM: How has booking been going for this upcoming tour? Have you run into any issues?
Brax: I do all my booking, for the most part, but things haven’t been bad this go-round.
MaM: What would you like to achieve in 2025?
Brax: I want to get into Houston more. That’s the plan, and I’m pushing for that. I also want to keep building my presence around the South. Keep building the Southern Cloud rap scene around the South.
As Brax continues his hustle as an artist and musician, he stands poised to bring his musical story to the masses, and we look forward to watching the journey unfold. Check out his unique brand of Southern rap via all streaming services.
To learn more about Brax:
Website:
Instagram:
Brax (@braxfromdagrave) • Instagram photos and videos
Apple Music:
*All photos by Gary Governale
Questions or comments?
Reach out to us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com.