Touring Australia for the first time, Xavier Wulf is an important and original underground artist, paving the way for successful independent music and art careers. Formerly known as Ethelwulf from the legendary Raider Klan and 1/5 of the Legendary Collective SESHOLLOWATERBOYZ. 

Xavier Wulf has a special affinity for wolves. “I love wolves. They’re bad ass,” the rapper says. “You ever see a wolf just chillin? They’re just so cute and so nice. If you see a wolf pissed off, he’ll fuck your life up.” 

Like his namesake, the 25-year-old has a duality that goes back to his native Memphis. Wulf loved local rap like 8Ball & MJG and Three 6 Mafia but as a skater, he was also drawn to Slipknot, Korn and Blink-182. “Rock music played a big part,” he says of his early inspirations. “It’s a rock thing. It’s a metal thing. It’s a punk thing. It played a role in my style.” At 17, Wulf became immersed in hip-hop by hanging out at a friend’s studio. “That’s what made me want to go because I couldn’t smoke in my house.” He randomly jumped on “Paper By the Pound” and realized that rap was something he was good at. He and a friend began recording—ripping Lil B beats off YouTube—and uploading tracks to social media.  

Music became all-encompassing and Wulf ended up getting kicked out of school for failing math and Spanish his senior year. After several stints behind bars for marijuana possession, Wulf declared to change his life. “Look bro. This is bullshit. I changed my name to Ethelwulf and I started turning up on some Memphis shit.” He recorded under the moniker (which translates to “noble wolf”) in 2012, releasing his debut “1st Chapta Of Tha Phonk.” He soon linked with SpaceGhostPurrp and the Raider Klan. Before long, he amassed substantial plays on SoundCloud for tracks like 2013’s “Black Mist” (with Chris Travis) and “Trillnation” with Amber London and 2014’s “Tapes.” He had a knack for Internet rap. A series of mixtapes on DatPiff followed, including 2014’s breakout, SoundCloud Files (over 136k views). “I knew what worked,” he explains. “That shit took off.”

Wulf moved to L.A. and has solidified himself among music and fashion ascendants. He was one of the early artists interviewed on No Jumper and owns a store off Melrose. Soon people Wulf never heard of, like Skepta, began fucking with him. They smoked together three years ago and the Brit remixed Wulf’s “Check It Out” in January 2018 (541k views on YouTube). 

Xavier Wulf wants to take his underground blueprint to the next level. He wants his new project, East Memphis Maniac, to be that catalyst, serving as a breath of fresh air in hip-hop. “I’ve been an underground legend of years. I want to take it to the next level,” he says. “It started off simple. Simple shit made it happen.” Wulf is ready for Australia to hear him howl.