Bay Area rapper Rexx Life Raj dropped one of the most powerful and emotionally stirring hip-hop albums of the year in The Blue Hour. While it presents Raj as the dexterous, creative lyricist that he is, the album largely deals with the trials and tribulations of Raj’s last few years amid the death of both of his parents, who he cared for in their final days. The album is triumphant in Raj’s perseverance at every turn, and he made an appearance on the Sway’s Universe radio show on SiriusXM this week to talk about it and spit one of the most memorable freestyles you’ll hear this year.
Raj gets deep with Sway and co-host Heather B, talking about his loss, the music that came from it, and questioning his faith in the process. The show took multiple callers who talked about their similar experiences with losing loved ones and dealing with cancer as a family. It’s clear that Sway has an affinity for Raj, as he calls The Blue Hour “one of the most important albums to come out of the Bay in a recent while.” He also lauds it for its honesty. Then Sway drops a beat out of nowhere and puts Raj on the spot for a freestyle — although he also calls him a “singer,” which the rapper must’ve taken personally [insert Jordan meme].
had to slide up to @RealSway and rhyme some words. peep the whole interview asap. easily one of my favorites. pic.twitter.com/XCklixnNOL
— solange stan account (@RexxLifeRaj) August 15, 2022
The clip above follows the first two minutes of Rexx Life Raj’s flow and presents the moment where he just snapped, rapping: “N****s try to make this sh*t seem hard when it really ain’t / I watched my Momma take her last few breaths, this sh*t is cake / What’s hard when you still got my brother locked in a cage? / A real first diagnosis is cancer in final stage.”
Raj tipped a cap to his days as an offensive lineman for the Boise State Broncos as well, name-checking former QB (and now Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore. And then might’ve been the first dude to ever slip in Packers tackle David Bakhtiari’s name in a freestyle: “I pray for positivity and optimism / To turn life lessons into gems that I can drop on n****s / Still giving credit to the ones who never did it hardly / ‘Cause do you get an Aaron Rogers without Bakhtiari?”
Sway flies out of his seat when it ends and you probably will too. Watch the snippet of the freestyle above and check out Rexx Life Raj’s full appearance on Sway’s Universe below.