It’s hard to categorize Xulalit. She’s a party organizer, artist manager, DJ, vocalist, and general fan of music. She’s involved in the rap scene, the rave world, and pushes audiences and artists to explore new sounds. She’s rapped on Thai grime tracks, spins dance music like dnb and UKG, throws trap metal raves, and pushes for 3cha to be included in the Bangkok party scene. This difficulty in pinning her identity down and her eye toward the future is exactly what makes her so interesting.
Xulalit got her start in music by going festival hopping. Originally she was into indie music and bedroom pop but drifted towards Thai hip hop, working with labels like ZQUAD Records, where they mixed rap with 3cha and EDM, and on HYPE TRAIN during the height of the Show Me The Money era. Her introduction to the club scene came via Never Normal, where she was inspired by their community-oriented approach and was put onto new sounds. “When I first heard DJ Dragon play, it changed me,” she gushes. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is it!'”
She started XuXu Party alongside Posneg, her life and creative partner, as a way to push alternative hip hop: “I knew I had to build a culture around the music we like. Even if we don’t have to have a lot of followers, we can still build a tight-knit community.” She threw her first party at Never Normal, but realized that the dancefloor wasn’t the best place for those first rappers, and pivoted towards more appropriate venues for that style while leaning into more club-friendly rap for recent events.
Last month, XuXu threw a trap metal party at Irie Bangkok featuring a new Thai rapper named BlackArmatus, who she encouraged to combine metal, rave, and rap together into a new project. “He comes from the black metal scene and didn’t know anything about hip hop before this project,” Xulalit says. “If we keep building like that and making those connections, we could have a really good thing.” You can hear her on the intro to his recent cut, “Atom Of Roses ft. $PIRITMAD,” which we included in our last edition of The Rap Up. (She’s also his manager.)
These types of connections are what Xulalit thrives on: “I’m focused on the new generation, on rave culture, and on fast music. My friends from the rap world don’t know I’m also a raver. I want to bring them together.” And she’s excited about the place that Thai rap is in right now. “The teenage rap community is really focused on finding new sounds.” She encourages that drive and actively tries to put people onto new styles. “If we don’t educate the artists and the audience, then how will the community grow?”
Posneg agrees that there are a lot of new opportunities for experimentation right now: “When we first started, old school and trap rappers were acting like we’re not real rap. Like if you mix rap with Thai vocal styles, you’re not a rapper; you’re a singer. Why? Now everyone is proud to be an alternative rapper, they don’t try and please anyone else, they just be themselves.” He just dropped a baile drill remix of “Rockstar,” which is his first release in years, signaling the inspiration that the scene’s new burst of energy has brought him. “A lot is going on right now, people are interested in many different styles. It’s never been like this.”
Xulalit is also pushing a regional movement, working with like-minded artists from across Asia and drawing connections between local scenes. She’s pushing the idea of Asian Dance Music as a genre, tying 3cha with nearby counterparts like Filipino budots and Vietnamese vinahouse. She also frequently works with Dirt Buddha, a Hong Kong DJ who spends half his time in Bangkok, spins dnb, and has a trap metal label. They’ve brought rappers together like local artist BaebiBetti with Filipino-Hong Konger JB. And XuXu also hosted a record-release party for Korean rapper Soju Queen. “This just happening pretty naturally, to be honest,” Xulalit laughs. “I can get along with anybody. I have inviting energy!”
