ihateyouALX makes music like someone who understands that energy can be more than escape. The records move with bounce, color, and personality, but underneath the surface there is always a larger architecture at work: world-building, visual language, team infrastructure, and a belief that creativity should feel free without becoming careless.
That balance is what makes ALX’s work stick. The sound pulls from hip-hop, alternative, dance, and house, but it never feels like genre-hopping for the sake of range. It feels instinctive. Rhythm, emotion, culture, and momentum all move together, shaped by whatever the moment is asking for. A record can be fun without being empty. A hook can feel light and still carry weight. A visual can look spontaneous while still being treated like the final word.
“keep the party lit.” sits right at the center of that tension. On first listen, the title reads like a celebration. In ALX’s hands, it becomes something more grounded: a reminder to keep going, keep the dream alive, and keep moving even when quitting would be easier. The song is catchy by design, but the message is not disposable. It is built on contrast, turning persistence into something you can actually move to.
That same intent extends beyond the music. Through looschnge., ALX is building more than a name attached to releases. The vision reaches into film, production, creative direction, management, and eventually community infrastructure. The goal is not just to make records that work in the moment, but to build a universe with standards, collaborators, and a larger mission behind it.
In this conversation, ALX breaks down the world behind the name, the meaning beneath “keep the party lit.,” the role of Nick Reed and ColdHands in the record’s creation, the importance of visuals, and why rap remains the core no matter how far the sound expands. It is a look at an artist treating fun seriously, without losing the freedom that makes the work feel alive.
In one sentence, what is the ihateyouALX world and what do you want people to feel the first time they step into it?
The ‘ihateyouALX world’ is like a breath of fresh air, colorful, inspiring & creative with ART all over the walls. When you step into my world I want you to feel free, like all of the rules were meant to be broken and that there is no limit to your creativity.
Your bio says your sound blends hip-hop, alternative, dance, and house—what’s the core of that blend for you (rhythm, energy, emotion, or culture)?
the core of that blend would have to be a mix of all of the above for me; rhythm, energy, emotion and culture because it all depends on how I’m feeling in the moment when I start the process of making music. The rhythm and emotion I’m currently feeling, the energy behind that and my knowledge of the culture I’m choosing to channel so I can hit the proper tones and cadences when working on that specific genre whether it be house, alternative, dance or just raw rap, straight hip-hop, bars over gritty or smooth production with some sweet sounding samples and melodies.
What does the name stylization ihateyouALX represent an era, a character, a feeling, a philosophy?
I feel like my name stylization represents a character but also a philosophy in the sense of, don’t take yourself too serious lol I live by that because yes I believe in my skills as a writer, creative, producer and director and I do take myself serious but at the same time it’s healthy to laugh at yourself and even the traumatic experiences sometimes lol
What do you think people misunderstand about you when they hear the name before they hear the music?
that ima negative person because they see “hate” in my name lol
What does “keep the party lit.” actually mean to you beyond the hook—what’s the real message underneath it?
for me the actual meaning is just to keep going. Don’t stop chasing and working hard at whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. “Keeping the party lit” is to keep the dream alive which is great because obviously we can associate “party” with party music but then you listen to the song and it’s everything BUT that lol and also I feel like I’m in a place in my life where I could have given up, so many times I’ve thought about it and every time I do there’s always a sign I get not to and to keep going and since that’s the energy I been living with I decided to channel that into this song and title it that.
Where did the record start: a beat, a lyric, a concept, or a moment in your life?
this record started with me and Nick going through a beat pack we regularly get from our producer that we work with whose in Spain.
What was the intention for the song’s energy—escapism, pressure release, confidence, or something darker masked as fun?
I think my intention was for it to be dialectic in a sense. Heavy contrast. I wanted it to be a vibe, catchy & light hearted but with a serious message behind it. If you wanna blank out and just vibe to the production or the catchiness of the hook and not take it so serious, you can. If you want to explore the deeper meaning to it and really pay attention to the lyrics, you can and you’ll for sure get something out of it even if it’s just perspective. I leave it up to the listener honestly.
There’s a difference between “party music” and music that’s fun but lyrically complex—what were you trying to say on this one that people might miss?
for things not to be so on the nose. Things can be a certain way depending on how you look at them. This can be an introspective song but also something you cheers to. The song isn’t a “party” song per say but you definitely can celebrate to it, put your glass up and make a toast to it as we have before while just celebrating our small wins here and there with the message of keeping your dream alive and to keep going after what you want and not giving up.
How did the Nick Reed feature come together, and what did you want Nick to add to the record emotionally or sonically?
funny enough, so this beat was actually supposed to be for Nick (whose featured on the song) but we work with a producer from Spain and he gives us a pack of beats every month and this beat was in the pack for us for the month of January. So I have another full length project already finished and at the time I heard the beat initially I wasn’t trying to work on anymore songs but I was floored at what I heard and I’ve BEEN waiting to get a beat like that and I couldn’t help myself. Lyrics and melodies were leaking through my body and I just had to record what I was hearing in my head and so, I did and then called Nick to let him know I picked up the track but that I still wanted him a part of it. There is a version where I did the entire song by myself but I felt like Nick would be able to add something to the song that I couldn’t and when I heard his verse it’s exactly what the song needed. He recorded it in one take and that’s what you hear on the record today.
ColdHands produced it—what does ColdHands understand about your sound that makes the collaboration work?
I feel like ColdHands is just a relentless Producer. Me and him have actually had a relationship for quite some time now, I want to say about maybe three or four years and we’re just now barely making and releasing music together and at first, it wasn’t like he was a bad Producer. I just was in a space where I was working with my other producers on the other projects I have in the vault and nothing he sent at the time quite fit what I was trying to accomplish, but in the meantime of me not working with him allowed him to sharpen his skills and become this Producer that really can do it all. Even when I wasn’t working with him that’s when I connected him and Nick in a group chat so Nick could have a consistent Producer and they started building up their relationship with each other and actually ColdHands was making music on wax with Nick first before it was even me even though I knew ColdHands first and introduced them to each other but through them working with each other I got to see ColdHands elevate his production to where now we finally get to the point where he made the “keep the party lit.” beat and now we’re here.
When you’re building a track that pulls from dance/house energy, what are your non-negotiables in the drum groove and bounce?
my non-negotiables in the bounce when building a house/dance song is no stiffness in the rhythm or boring/sleepy leads or melodies. The soundscape of it has to instantly be a vibe, no matter what the drums are and the drums should give you a natural, instant bounce. My favorite house records are ones that you can groove to, but also smoke too and even though it’s a four to the floor rhythm, you can still chill and vibe. Some of my favorite house artists that I listen to that are reslly good at accomplishing that for me in my opinion is Daft Punk, Rochelle Jordan, Jack Marlow and Kaytranada.
What’s one technical/detail-level choice on “keep the party lit.” you’re most proud of (a switch, a sound, a mix decision, vocal stack, arrangement moment)?
honestly I have to say the intro lol .. before any rapping starts and all you hear is the sample playing while me and Nick’s brother, Josh are laughing, as I’m trying to figure out what I was trying to do with the hook. He was with me during that whole session of me writing the record; writing the hook, verses, figuring out the pockets, freestyling until I found the words until I finally got to a point where I figured out what I wanted to do with the hook and then started expalinging it to him. I didn’t know yet if I wanted to put the hook at the beginning of the song as soon as the beat drops or save it and start with the verse and that’s what you hear me explaining to Josh and the fact that it felt natural cause I just had the mic recording as I was talking and we were laughing, for me, that sets up the record beautifully and coincides with everything that I’ve been telling you about this entire interview with the song, being catchy, fun, lighthearted, but also having a message with a slightly serious undertone to it and also not taking yourself too serious.
You direct your visuals and you’re credited as a director alongside Gage Garza—how do you approach directing differently than being the artist?
I feel like it’s all the same, trying to visually create something that is aesthetically pleasing for people to watch and something that everyone can enjoy as well as keeping the dignity of my artistry and doing what I think is dope and what I want to put out to the world but having the silver lining of stepping into the audience’s shoes and figuring out what it is my supporters need or would like to see in today’s world while being as unique as possible to attract new fans and build on my current fan base.
What’s your creative process for a video: do you write a treatment first, storyboard, pick references, or build from locations/outfits?
honestly it depends sometimes I can just sit with the song and let it play over and over again until something hits my brain, or I start picking at references, it can be an idea that I’ve been holding onto, Gage can spark something or have an idea he’s been holding onto or yes as in this case, the location is what started it all. I’ve been location scouting this spot for 2 years because it’s literally right in front of my job lol so when we were deciding on what location to shoot at for this video we knew we wanted it to be outside. We also knew that we wanted cars but at first we were going to choose a different location maybe the beach and rent some cars to use for the video but then I remembered about this spot in front of my job and was like well since we wanted it outside and we want some cars and we’re not gonna be able to drive with the cars, they’re gonna be stationary anyways, might as well use this spot and it’s free lol it’s definitely someone’s land but nobody ever comes out to the property until it’s time to maintain it after spring is over so we had to be quick about it but we got it done. The red barn scene is also in the same area just around the corner from where the main shots were.
How do you want your visuals to “complete” the song—what should the video add that the audio can’t?
for me the video is always the final word. We’ve already added the feeling to the song with the cover art, now we need to amplify that feeling when putting it into music video form and to me, it’s very important because my goal with any of our visuals is that once you see the video you never get that image or scene(s) out of your head when you come back to listen to the song and it’s ingrained into your brain so you can actually picture the video as your listening.
You have a full creative team credited (styling/wardrobe, photo, film photo, cinematography/edit/color). How do you choose collaborators—and what makes someone a perfect fit for the ihateyouALX universe?
usually I start with my people first so when it comes to getting my videos shot, colored and edited, Gage & Malik will always be the first I call upon and then from there we collectively decide who to collaborate with if the project calls for it. We also have a photographer, Jenny Duran, who is one of our newest additions to our team and now our designated photographer who does amazing work so she’ll always be on set with us getting our photos as well. I also have a manager now, Milli, who is also someone I trust creatively and anything I do I always want to make sure he is involved as much as possible.—and someone that would be a perfect fit for my universe is just someone who works hard, is respectful, does what they need to do to without being babysat and is open minded. The creativity and ideas will be there especially being around us 24/7 so what I’m most interested in is good habits.
What are the most important rules for using your imagery (credits, tags, do-not-use items)—what are you protecting about the brand?
quality control. I want to make sure that everything that comes out under “looschnge.” or “ihateyouALX” is at the highest standard of quality from the music, to artwork, visuals, interviews, how we carry ourselves, our presentation as artists and as a production company. Everything has to be on 10.
You’re listed as the owner of looschnge and managed by 4MG—how do those pieces fit together? Are you building a label, a creative studio, a collective, or something else?
so looschnge. was started by me and my pops and is now owned and ran by me and my cousin Gage, which we still always try to have my pops involved as much as possible and his schedule allows but that is our production company. 4MG is Milli’s management company which just manages me as an artist but he does help out with looschnge. whether it be helping us get work, clients, opportunities, etc. and so far the relationship has been fruitful and things have been operating like a well oiled machine. I believe Milli brings us a drive and a veteran presence that provides an experience amongst the team that we’ve never had before and it’s nice to have.
What do you want looschnge to represent in the culture over the next 1–2 years—what’s the bigger mission beyond releases?
I want us to represent the next generation of multitalented, minority creatives running the music and film industry. I want us to hold the same weight as an A24.—the bigger mission for me, for my company is ‘looschnge. Foundation’. I eventually want to work towards building a facility in my hometown that gives kids, teens and altogether adolescent creatives a space to play sports, make music and be creative in any way they need and to be supported in it. I want to help build up the next generation of young creatives and give them the access resources they need to succeed in their creative outlets like art, painting, music, tv and fil, etc. if that’s what they genuinely love to do.
You’ve got KTPL. (EP) slated for June (date TBD). What’s the concept of KTPL. as a project—how is it expanding the world from “keep the party lit.”, and what do you want listeners to understand about you when the EP lands?
so for me, I think I’ve finally decided what date, I’m looking to drop on June 23rd which is my birthday and it’s my 30th birthday at that, perfect timing I guess lol gotta bring in the big 3-0 the right way and this just feels right and feels like the “me” thing to do.—as far as concept goes, there really is none with this one, just something light and easy to listen to before we get to the ACTUAL concept project which will be my 2nd ever full length project and I’m looking at dropping that around October maybe but yea, KTPL. is a project fully produced by the same producer ‘ColdHands’ from Spain besides “empty glass.” which is produced by me and it’s just a bunch of cohesive, sample & soulful heavy hip-hop records that come with a lot of bars, shit that I’ve been feeling in the moment and wanting to get off my chest but not so lyrical/miracle more so just relatable and an easy listen even though it is a rap focused EP. The full length project I’m coming out with later is going to be packed with a bunch of different styles and genres of music like the house/dance type of records that I love to make so I just wanted to take this opportunity with ColdHands to make a small project focused on feel good, classic, soulful, back to the basics, hip-hop records that are fun, easy to listen to and something I think people just fans of rap would enjoy.—I would like my listeners to understand that aside from making all types of different music I love to rap. At the core of everything rap is where it all started for me and that’s where my heart always is and will be no matter what and forever my favorite style of music to make.