Leading the vanguard of the Memphis underground, Xavier Wulf is always on the move. Emerging for the first time since releasing October’s Blood Shore Season 3 mixtape, the Hollow Squad head honcho connects with director DotComNirvan to share the new video for project highlight “First Light.” The tape’s Hitkidd-produced opening track features tense violin loops and hasty percussion, creating a cinematic martial arts vibe which Wulf leverages to deliver his sinister bars: “I ain’t finna play with none of you n****s or your homies/He said he wouldn’t run, found out that was bologna, b****!”

The DotComNirvan-directed video for “First Light” sets a high bar for the pair’s first collaboration. Blending live-action with animation, the video finds live-action Xavier approaching a series of opponents with his katana blade cloaked in smoke-illuminated blood red hues, before transitioning to anime-style combat scenes where Wulf appears as a ninja-like masked assassin, quickly doing away with each of his targets. Evoking cinematic styles of films like V for Vendetta and anime series like Cowboy Bebop, “First Light” continues to push Wulf’s status as a mythical figure in the rap world.

Continuing his fan-favorite mixtape series, Blood Shore Season 3 deposits new listeners and loyal fans into Xavier’s shadowy underworld of souped-up sports cars and stacks of cash. The underground king carries himself like a roguish anti-hero, as he slithers through brooding production by Hitkidd, WhoTheHellIsCarlo, and many others. The new tape is the sequel to 2014’s acclaimed Blood Shore Season 2, home to “Psycho Pass,” which earned renewed attention on TikTok in the past year and earned GOLD certification in October with over 100 million streams on Spotify alone. 

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and deeply steeped in his home city’s musical tradition, Xavier Wulf had a hand in nearly every major underground rap movement in the past decade. Wulf was one of the first rappers to build a following on SoundCloud, helping make the platform the go-to for aspiring rappers and establishing it as a hub of hip-hop innovation. Throughout his career, Wulf has criss-crossed the invisible line between underground and mainstream, racking up hundreds of millions of streams, and playing to sold out crowds across the country. This year, Wulf killed it on his 29-date “The Midnight Club Tour – Dub Edition,” and shut it down with a primetime set at Rolling Loud New York this fall. In late 2021, Wulf collabed with Hollow Squad producer Quintin Lamb for the high-octane GARAGE PUNK EP.

Pushing his sound forward with every release, Xavier Wulf is not even close to finished with his artistic journey. Stay tuned for much more from Xavier Wulf as he gears up for another year of dominance.

Watch “First Light”