With trepidation, Paper Koi’s G-Mentality was able to interview a fascinating rapper by the name of, TaixChi (if you were not sure, the “x” is silent– strictly for name distinction). Hailing from the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, we were able to get a feel of who he is all while weigh in on his creations. The interview took an intriguing turn into his views on music and was warmly received with the rapper explaining that he wants to continue the magic of moving his audiences with his music. The interview radiates a wonderful aura of playfulness, fluidity, and a sense of rich familiarity.

The year is starting off pretty eventful! We finally got that orange n*gga out the office—

T: yeah, we ate that.

We seen racists infest the Capitol, ew! And COVID is still outside stressing us out!

T: and the cold too, the cold is stressful as fuck. That shit hurt!

We just hope our Paper Koi Supporters at home stay safe and sound. Let us take a deep breath and forget about what’s happening outside and just enjoy some peace, clarity, and some positive insight. Lets breathe *breathes*

Alright! 

Welcome to Paper Koi! 

I’m your host G-Mentality! Today we will be enjoying a confabulation with Rapper, TaiXChi! Just to get it flowing, let’s do a quick game of, “Finish the Sentence”! I’m just gonna start off a sentence and you have to finish off, okay?

T: Okay!

I feel naked without my…

T: …Beard

I’d rather die than…

T: …Be exposed.

My greatest strength is…

T: …Creating flows.

I can’t stand when mfs…

T: …are condescending.

Alright, so let’s get into the interview! Where is TaiXChi from?

T: TaiXChi is from Springfield, Massachusetts. Born and raised, near Knox Street— you know the vibes. 

Period.

T: It’s a small city, it’s pretty ghetto—

Don’t say it like that! 

T: …but you know I built my character from Springfield, I guess. My character in solitude. I guess ‘cause there’s not a lot of people like me in Springfield. Not to— there’s not a lot of people to gravitate towards and they’ll understand what I’m saying.

I understand, small city syndrome. I get it.

T: Exactly, so that’s basically my spin on Springfield, where I’m from. 

Okay, so can you explain the meaning behind your name? When people hear your name, they might think of a ancient martial art— what made you think of “TaiXChi”?

T: Basically my first name is “Tai”, like legally. It means strength, it means sun, and it means child or something like that. My mom picked it out, she found it in some Chinese book. I like that name, it’s so short– straight to the point– and its gender neutral too. It’s not too masculine, it’s not too feminine— I kind of like the balance of duality that came with that. Then “chi”, you know meditation, the prana, and the flow. I just like asian aesthetics. Oh, and the “x” it’s ‘cause a lot of niggas named “Tai Chi”, that shit does not go well with search engines type shit. The “x” also means the two personalities of me, I have “Tai”—me— and “Chi” when I really wanna tap into shit. 

When did you realize, “I can really do this” ?

T: I was always shy, I was shy for a hot minute. I was always insecure to sing out loud in front of class and in front of my friends. I had to wait until my mom left the house for me to sing. I just always kept to myself. 

The way I felt that.

T: I knew I sounded type good though, so I used to sing into my voice memos and sing to YouTube beats around the age of eighteen. So I told myself, “when I graduate high school, I kind of want to take this a little more serious”. I got my own home stu [studio], I invested into that. Then I was like, “Nah, let me rap…” cause I always liked rapping. My friends are rappers, we all got together and I would sing, but I was like “nah, I’m rapping, my verse is ‘bout to eat! And my shit is ‘bout to eat ya’ll niggas!” It was like a friendly comp [competition] but I had to show myself. Then I started writing and really pushing the pen, then niggas was like, “oh shit, you’re really— Tai, you rap? That was dope! That’s a bar!” and I’m like, “yeah!”

[Watch more on the in the video above or on YouTube.com]

Follow TaiXChi on the following:

Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Soundcloud