Today we’d like to introduce you to MXTRMOM.
Hi MXTRMOM, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Creating has been central to my life ever since I can remember – Born and raised in Southside Houston, Texas (Sunnyside/South Park), I spent a lot of my childhood learning to play songs on the piano by ear, creating “abstract” characters in my sketchbook, and flying through coloring books. R&B, Hip-Hop, Gospel, Country and Zydeco were constants around my people. I loved instrumental tracks and trying to decipher each instrument and its role in a song. My love for chopped and screwed music (thank you DJ Screw) really helped me dial in on that, and I became obsessed with the rhythmic pockets producers and rappers can create that give us the bounce we love.
I moved away from Houston in 2018 to Richmond VA after meeting my spouse (Levi) online. It was during that time that I really explored my identity and sense of self, resonating with my experience as a Black trans person. My art really transformed into storytelling, and I started participating in community markets to share my work with others. In 2020, I randomly made a beat in GarageBand on my iPad. From that moment, I was making beats every single day. I was obsessed with the possibilities – it felt like I’d found the key. I started connecting with other artists and producers online, joining discord groups and sharing my beats on Instagram. In early 2021, I had recently experienced a family loss and I also lost my job. At that low, we adopted a 7-week-old puppy, and with all the responsibility to potty train, care for, and nurture her, I started calling myself mister mom. That’s how MXTRMOM was born; Mx is an honorific that doesn’t indicate gender and also represents the mixing of both music and visual art.
We moved to Atlanta in July of last year (2022) and have felt an overwhelmingly warm welcome from the people we’ve met. Atlanta reminds me a lot of Houston, and East Point has the familiarity of my neighborhood growing up in Sunnyside. I’ve been able to connect with and learn from so many talented people already and know I’ve made the right decision for where I’m headed next.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. In a way, I’d say I’ve been chasing artistic freedom. For me, artistic freedom means not only being able to identify creative barriers in the outer world but also acknowledging what’s inside. I am no stranger to insecurity, and too many times, I’ve ruined my own joy by comparing my work or progress to others. Add on an identity that is understood and appreciated in some contexts but ignored (or worse) in others, and you have the recipe for self-doubt and the voice in your head that tells you to quit. Being in a new place is exciting and stressful because you must rebuild. Of course, there’s the fear that comes with meeting new people and putting yourself out there, but it puts you in a position to re-evaluate how you perceive the value of the work and yourself. You really have to sell yourself in a new place, which puts you in touch with those insecurities you try not to look at. It’s a journey, but it’s one I’ve found myself on before, making it a bit easier this time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My passions stemmed from my need to express myself freely. I knew I was different, even as a kid, but never had the language to know that I was queer and non-binary. All I knew was that I was having an experience that wasn’t like most of my peers and definitely wasn’t like my family’s. Showing up as my authentic self got more difficult, and I struggled to connect with my creativity because of the restrictions around how, where, and when to perform. Retreating into myself, I drifted away from the piano and musical expression but never lost my love for music. Still needing an outlet, I shifted into writing poetry and creating abstract drawings to capture my feelings.
When I reconnected with making music again in 2020, my sound and style were influenced by where I was. In the last few years of my life at that time, I moved from my hometown for the first time, I met people who gave me feedback and new perspectives, and was generally getting an East Coast influence I hadn’t experienced before. I reconnected with my love for soul records and began using samples of songs that reminded me of being a little kid in my Grandfather’s truck sticking in cassette tapes. My music and visuals represent my full self — the places I’ve lived, the people I’ve known, and the mistakes I’ve made — and I appreciate the impact of everything on my journey. Today, I would describe my music as a mesh between the late greats DJ Screw (Houston) and Nujabes (Japan). I moved to Atlanta (East Point) to further explore my creativity; the energy is rich in Atlanta, and it’s already had a huge impact on my sound. I’ve never felt more connected and represented, and it has given me space to breathe and recollect.
Contact Info:
- Website: mxtrmom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mxtrmombeats/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5tvBEdoKBWZKjBRhZVJSZg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/57y1l5JsHnFQmfyMRtbCTm?si=KrteLwq8SfezXFqXTy2Qmg
Image Credits
Personal Image: Talecia Tucker https://www.instagram.com/stolengfsclub/?hl=en Olivmare_Photography (on IG too) for the photos with the black and white plaid shirt. The rest are my own.
