“I am not phony; I am real,” states rapper XO M.O.B. “My lyrics will come across as real to you,” he continues. ”I don’t want you to move to the rhythm of the beats I use; I want you to listen to me.” Born Antoine Donnell Donson, in Dallas, TX, this dead-serious rapper started rapping at the tender age of 11, and hasn’t ever looked back. Not only has he taken on the moniker XO, but he’s also inhabited it. “Sometimes I forget Antoine is my name,” he admits.
Primarily inspired by the influential music of both Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and the late Tupac Shakur, XO turned to hip-hop as an escape from his harsh environment. His parents moved from Texas to St. Louis, which landed him attending school on the north side of that city on North Garrison Avenue, which XO describes as “a rough neighborhood plagued by poverty, violence and drugs.” In his hometown, it was not unusual for XO to witness drug dealing and those sad yellow tape visual reminders of committed crimes. While his mother is an upstanding citizen, working as both a hairdresser and in the childcare field, his father worked for the post office after getting out of the Navy before becoming a drug dealer himself and making more money doing that than the post office could ever pay.
Although still a young man, XO’s music, which he describes as “upbeat, energetic and fun, but harsh in terms of his language and lyrical topics,” has already caught the ears of other high profile artists. He collaborated with Soulja Boy in 2007 on a track titled “Pistol Play,” and worked with Crime Mob’s Lil Jay and Rich Kid Shawty in 2011. With a style similar to Lil Scrappy, Ludacris and Twista, XO is quickly making a name for himself. In fact, he already has three mixtapes under his belt, which are readily available on www.livemixtapes.com, www.datpiff.com, as well as his official website, xomusik.com.
XO’s ultimate goal, as he puts it is “to be somebody.” He’s not out to just look cool on MTV or BET. “I don’t have to be on TV or on the radio,” he says. “I just want to be heard enough to make a difference.” This is one man that fully intends to eventually rise above his difficult surroundings. “I want to help others,” he says. “I don’t want the girls or anything. I just want to take my experiences and share them with the world.”
The artist is as much an observer of human nature, as he is a teller of his own stories. “I can take what I see, what’s going on or someone else’s pain, and put it into a story,” he explains. These stories may not always paint pretty pictures. Then again, XO’s surroundings aren’t exactly what you would term prime vacation spots. Nevertheless, despite how harsh his words may come across, XO always has the best of intentions. “I am someone who will do positive things for the community,” he vows. “I am not just negative because my lyrics may come across that way. That’s just how the streets and my circumstances in my life made me.”
XO was dealt a bad hand of cards when his family landed in North County St. Louis. Nobody asks to be brought up roughly. However, life is about what you make of what you have, more so than merely what you begin with. “I’m the voice of the streets and I am being authentic about it,” he summarizes. “I am who you hear. I rap from my heart. I am real. I am working hard and putting my heart and money in this game to advance.”
