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Photo: Zamar Velez

With the tools to produce and release music democratized, whether through affordable programs or the occasional bootleg rip, the future of music truly feels limitless. Enter midwxst, an 18-year-old out of a small town in Indiana, whose vision for music looks beyond the tropes and trappings of hip-hop and hyperpop to deliver something that speaks to him and all the kids like him out there. All this and more takes shape in his latest project, Back in Action.

Back in Action sees midwxst leveraging everything from digicore, hip-hop, hyperpop, and trap to bring to life a project that plays out like a controlled bout of chaos. The result is an eight-track EP that deftly balances a childlike nostalgia, from Beyblade and Pokémon references, with the trials and tribulations of growing up and finding your way through a genreless landscape.  

“A lot of people didn't expect me to go the direction I did when I started working on this project. I tried my hardest to make what in my eyes was ‘good music’ and not allow others to say otherwise. I don't really brag about my achievements that much, but this body of work represents the fun that I'm having, the people I'm surrounded by, and being proud of what I've accomplished so far. This is my victory lap after being absent in the music space for so long, and a message to the people who doubted me most. I'm not going anywhere, we're just getting started,” shares midwxst.

And what fun Back in Action is. Whether it be candidly rapping about his trust issues over a beat that feels like it's ripped straight from the source code of an early Myspace page on "Putting On," featuring BabySantana, or joining forces with Slump6s and ericdoa for the explosive "Slide," midwxst always feels on the top of his game. With Back in Action, midwxst makes more than a triumphant return, he sets up the next chapter in his inevitable takeover.  

Listen to Back in Action below: