Shno Xavier is an American rapper & record producer, from the Bay Area. Shno’s melodic complexity and smooth lyrical flow delivery capture both genius within a realm between contemporary hip hop and alternative indie pop rap. His versatility complements his “lo-fi like” production which he exercises both on fast and slow tempos. Clearly drawing influence from like artists such as A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator, DAVE, Baby Keem & Vince Staples. Shno embodies the “think outside the box” style alongside cocky yet interpersonal content that’s similar to his alternative creative counterparts. Of course, there is a hint of what makes Bay Area hip hop so prominent within his music, alongside his Canadian influence where he was living when he first started releasing music solo (Vancouver, BC). But with a progressive style that can’t be exactly pinpointed, Shno is definitely on a wave to be in the next class of innovators.
When explaining his music process, Shno says, “When I make music it’s super fluid. I love making fresh ideas on the spot. It’s a luxury having a studio in my bedroom cause I can record something right then and there rather than waiting to get studio time. I usually have thoughts running through my head all day. I try to find melodies that fit my mood pretty well to write. I think I identify with everything which is super complex to people; but, my overall mold I guess you can say is very interpersonal alternative contemporary music. I don’t know, we listen to everybody right I’m just a vessel and an artist out here tryna make y’all feel something.”
Shno has been making music for for 8-10 years. As an early adopter to the music scene, Shno dabbled in music at a super young age. In the beginning he never took it seriously, as he was a huge sports buff. Eventually, he ended up moving to Canada and started pushing his creative boundaries.
When asked what were some on the goals he wants to achieve this year, Shno responded by saying; “I want to improve on my mixing and mastering skills. I just need to be a lil more of a nerd when it comes to plugins and all that. I feel like the more I can do musically the easier it is to either communicate the vision to someone or execute it in the proper way. I just wanna continue to learn everything I can, from learning instruments to new languages I’m tryna soak up game anywhere.”
Shno has a number of inspiration took keep creating music. He added, ” “I’m a vessel [ of my environment]. I’m inspired by everybody in every form of art. I love applying principles from people outside of music and bring it back to how I can use it in this field.” Shno added that that there are a list of artists he plans on collaborating with in the future. “I love the element of surprise so definitely something left field or unexpected. Would love to work with Will Paquin, Toro y Moi, Cosmo Pyke, Remi Wolf, Clairo hella people man I’m a blank canvas.”