Daily Inspiration: Meet Rex Novi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rex Novi.

Hi Rex, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m from Memphis which is a really musical city. My grandmother was a blues guitarist, and my family were big on playing music for every occasion. Cleaning the house, to and from school, parties, cookouts, etc. I listened to blues with my Dad, soul with my Mom, and hip hop with my sister. I found rock and more experimental music as I got older, but the one I gravitated to the most was hip hop. There’s home videos of me singing nursery rhymes at 3, Bone Thugs n Harmony at 4, and Coolio at 5. I always hoped my Grandmother would tech me to play the guitar, but she passed before she was able to. I ended up joining the band and playing drums.

I moved to Atlanta in 2004 in 7th grade and was the new kid for the first time in my life. I made some friends bonding over video games and in band, but it wasn’t until I met my local school rapper that I began to shift my focus to pursuing music. My buddy had a home studio set up, was working on producing artists from around the country, and had his music featured in blogs online, he basically had a career in the industry in middle school. He taught me the basics, writing, counting bars, recording, and producing. Once I got my first job in high school all my entire income went into buying gear and making music in my bedroom. I would write lyrics constantly during school hours and record them when I got home.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been relatively smooth, but not straight, it’s been ridiculously winding road. I landed multiple internships during and after college. I worked at a recording studio, GPB which is a PBS network, and at T-Pain’s studio. The latter made me feel as close to having “made it” as I thought I ever would. I studied audio engineering in college, and was pursuing a career in helping others make music. I would continue to write my own, and I was even a drummer in an indie band. Each opportunity fell through for varying reasons, and it felt like nothing was meant to be. I ended up changing career fields, joining the army, and later the fire department. My friends were all musicians, and I would help record and mix their music in my free time, even creating a music collective called Fresh and Local. I felt music went from a hobby, to my entire life, back to a hobby. But I never stopped creating, and after a roughly 10 year hiatus I got back into performing at open mics, dropped my first EP as a solo artist, and eventually released my debut album.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I put a lot of emphasis on lyrics and content. I think the route that I took and all of my side quests have given me a lot of life experience to tap into when making music. I also have a vast and varied range of influences that allows me to experiment with but still stay hip hop at my core. I consider myself an introvert, and I’ve been told multiple times that my personality does not match the intensity of my music. I did not set out to be as political or satirical as I am, but as I have gotten older, it has become a part of me and inevitably my music.

I think the thing that sets me apart is not just my love for music, but the craft of making music. I spent all of my formative years in the studio. Whether they were home studios with the microphone in the closet, television studios, movie sets, or million dollar facilities. The thing I love the most was watching an idea take shape. I have a personal philosophy of doing whatever I feel a song requires. If that’s an opera singer, an orchestra, bag pipes, or what have you, I try to make the best version of a song I can. I try to squeeze an idea for everything it has and pour my all into making cohesive projects.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My mom was my first supporter. She stayed up late helping me study music theory and reading music. She was supportive in me going to college for audio engineering, and even pushed me to quit my job and pour all my energy into music. Fresh and local, we were a collective of artists and creatives that put on events around Atlanta. We really wanted to be a support system for Independent artists and help each other succeed any way we could. The organization has been in hibernation for a while, but all the members are still my closest friends. We’ve watched each other start families and new ventures, but we still collaborate and push each other artistically. We have plans for Fresh and Local 2.0, and I’m excited to see where it goes. My biggest supporter now is my wife who knows how important music is to me, and stands beside me in persuing my dreams along side building our lives together. She’s also a creative and runs Sugarberry Trail her graphic design company. She also helps me with cover art and creative directing. I’m not sure if would have given music a second chance if not for her.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rexnovi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rexnovi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RexNovi