Artistic Evolution: RUZLXN's Journey
"I think it’s very important to play with art. Just have fun with it.”
This is the personal philosophy of RUZLXN, an Oklahoma-based rapper with a fun, fiery, and fanatical sound that is impossible to ignore.
Though the rapper began his roots in the early SoundCloud scene, his newest EP, *Gritted Teeth*, captures a more cohesive, poppier tone, complete with bass-boosted drums and resonant, dreamy vocals. RUZLXN explains the EP’s namesake:
“I have big issues clenching my teeth. I clench a lot because of stress… Gritted teeth is just a feeling. Like you clench your teeth when you’re in angst, or you clench your teeth when you’re pissed off or upset. It’s holding emotions. And that [Gritted Teeth] is like a release.”
The album explores both the outer conflicts between the haves and have-nots in, “Burn Your Local Politician” and the inner, more vulnerable struggle in songs like “Fall into Pieces.” Here, Ruzlxn is at his loudest and softest, experimental and catchy, in one short cathartic burst.
Back in 2017, Ruzlxn (Ruzlan; off stage) started small; he was freestyling with his classroom friends and making beats for anyone who would listen. It wasn’t until later, when his old friend and fellow artist DeadPhntm, introduced him to the underground rap scene.
“I only knew a few artists doing that shit, like Nascar Aloe, like the bigger ones, but he [DeadPhntm] showed me some other artists that were doing hard shit… I didn’t know there was an entire underground scene of smaller artists.”
Exposure was slow but deliberate. In 2019, Ruzlxn had 25,000 listens on SoundCloud under the alter ego “Anarcho Fuckhead," inspired both by the raw energy of his music and his newfound interest in anarchist ideology. Music collectives were started but fizzled out, and in 2020, RUZLXN started to feel the pressure of performing alternative music in places like Oklahoma.
“It felt like an uphill battle, just being here in Oklahoma. But my perspective on all of that has recently shifted. I think that also just comes with maturity and just doing shit. It almost felt like this adversity [with] Oklahomans not wanting to hear new shit.”
In 2022, RUZLXN stumbled upon the Toxic by XXX: Free Verse Challenge, an open rally for rappers to submit their verses for a newly released XXXTentacion song. He decided to enter despite his low expectations.
“I didn’t think I was going to win because I’m always in this ‘zero expectation’ mindset. I’m a bit of a pessimist. But I was like, ‘I can’t not try. Like the least I could do was try, just give it a shot anyway. I was like, ‘I’m not going to win this, but I’ll just throw it out.’”
He won 1st place.
In the weeks to come, RUZLXN was rewarded with respect from neighboring artists, a huge bump in exposure, and $20,000, which he saved and reinvested into his music.
Much of RUZLXN’s newest music works as a cathartic release from the immobilizing temptations of self-doubt, creative block, and fighting the demons from within. He allegorizes his process by imagining pushing a boulder up a hill.
“Like the hardest part is first moving it, but once you get that momentum, it’s alright.”
Since his EP, RUZLXN has been focusing on the small, everyday aspects of living that one needs to improve: eating right, regular sleep, exercising, as even Anarcho fuckheads need to do.