Over the past decade or so, Brooklyn has several legendary acts such as Biggie and JAY-Z. On his way to heir the throne is the rapidly-paced New York rapper, King Xerxes. Eager to take over for his borough, King Xerxes garnered a whopping three million streams on his debut EP, Hoop Dreams. Boasting stand out cuts like “Kyrie,” King Xerses shows that he has what it takes to eat at the same table sharks sit.

In a recent interview, we talk about Xerxes’ plans for success within the industry, his deepest songs, and more. Learn all about King Xerxes, read the complete interview below.

Substream: As a child, who were some of your musical influences?

King Xerxes: I pretty much listen to nearly every genre but I grew up listening to Biggie, Jay-Z, and Kanye and Lil Wayne.

Since making music, what has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?

I have learned that the network of the people you know is very important.

What is your plan for success within the music industry? How do you plan on breaching the mainstream?

I’ve put my thousand hours in multiple times so I’ve had plenty of time to learn that hard work, perseverance, and refusing to take no for an answer will get the job done.

With artists alike being on quarantine, how are you staying sane and making sure your music gets pushed?

This is something that a lot of people didn’t see coming, myself included. I’m staying sane by making sure that I work on my game plan for the future. So when the opportunity comes to get things back into motion, I’ll be ready.

Looking back on your catalog, what point in your life were you at creating some of your old music? Does your new music reflect on your current situation?

When I first began making music I didn’t have any listener. Now I have a fanbase of listeners and I’m still making the same music. I’m doing the same things that I’ve been doing when no one was listening.

Talk to me about some of your deeper records, what was the hardest song you’ve put out thus far?

I would say “Believe In Me” is hard because it’s a deep song. It’s about having someone believe in you, your craft, and your existence, I know what it feels like to have people lose faith in you so I wanted to make a song for the people that have or will feel that way.

Are you currently working with artists or producers? Do you look forward to working with anyone this year?

I look forward to working with new people but I’m currently not working with anyone. I wanted to give my listeners a chance to get to know me first before I added any other elements to my sound.

When you think in terms of an end goal, where do you want your music to take you over the years?

I want to travel the world through my music, physically, digitally, sonically and every way possible.