INTERVIEW: Alternative Pop from Kylie XO

Kylie XO is a British-New Zealand rapper and producer who brings a thrilling energy to the hip hop scene, shaking up conventions with her uncompromising style and razor-sharp charisma. From the moment she made her official entrance in 2022 with her debut single “Tranny With Attitude,” Kylie XO has made it clear that she’s here to take over with a sound that fuses hip hop, pop, dance and alternative rap into something entirely her own.

Harnessing her neurodivergence as a creative superpower, Kylie XO turns manic bursts of energy into high-octane tracks that are as self-aware as they are addictive. Her music is all about taking expectations and obliterating them, crafting anthems that drip swagger, confidence, humour and an irrepressible sense of fun.

Now, with her debut EP set to drop later this month, she brings us her latest release with her recent single titled “BOUGIE BITCH.” A track born out of caffeine-fuelled chaos and relentless creative drive, “BOUGIE BITCH” is an impactful look into Kylie XO’s mind at full speed. It’s a high-energy, tongue-in-cheek celebration of excess and confidence, serving up a playful yet commanding sound from start to finish.

Built on thumping beats and cut with infectious hooks, the track kicks down the door and drags listeners onto the dance floor. Inspired by the party rock anthems of the 2010s, Kylie XO channels the over-the-top energy of LMFAO, bringing a bold, rebellious vibe to the style. Her delivery is sharp, her production is crisp and her presence is magnetic, this is an artist who knows exactly what she’s doing and does it with absolute conviction.

Set up by the pulse of bright synth tones and echoing rattle of percussive elements, Kylie’s rapped vocal flows enter, building in intensity as the arrangement jumps with the bouncy of punchy beats and flutter of pitched vocal shots. Gliding with gripping drops and stomping groove, the track develops throughout to lay down an invigorating alternative pop outing that’s fun and original in equal measure.

Putting her steadfast sonic vision and slick vocal performance on full display, “BOUGIE BITCH” sees Kylie XO serve up an epic jam that showcases an artist with bags of creative flair and attitude. With her upcoming debut EP on the horizon, 2025 is set to be an exciting chapter in the compelling artistic story of Kylie XO.

We caught up with Kylie XO to find out more about her musical journey so far, her recent single “BOUGIE BITCH” and what she’s got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Kylie XO below.

What’s your earliest memory of making music?

My earliest memory of making music was probably messing around with the MusicDJ program on my second-hand Sony Ericsson cell phone. I didn’t create anything of any merit, but it was enough to spark my interest. A few years later in 2009 I bought a PSP game called Beaterator. It was a music production game that was a collab between Rockstar Games and Timbaland. Honestly, it blew my mind. The shere possibility was mesmerising to my timid, nerdy little brain. There were so many loops to choose from and you could even make your own. I probably made enough songs for an entire album. That was when I knew that it was more than a hobby and I needed to save up and buy some professional equipment. I’ve been making music ever since. Thanks Timbo!

Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?

This is a difficult one because my earliest influences were people who have now been heavily slated as being bad people. It’s heartbreaking and I feel a lot of shame around it because I was besotted by them. As a shy, neurodivergent kid who felt like they were a reject in this world, their music provided some comfort and validity. It’s strange how music can be used to uplift and inspire, while at the same time it can also be misconstrued to do the opposite. I know now that I loved my perception of their music and not the artists themselves. I tend to keep my influences closer to home nowadays – people I know in person. My friends are my biggest inspiration and their love and support makes me stronger every day.

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

As mentioned earlier, I am neurodivergent and I sometimes struggle with articulating myself. It’s fucking annoying actually. It’s like there is a disconnect between my brain and my mouth. In those moments of social ineptness when I struggle with getting my point across, I like to write my thoughts down and put them into my music. It’s the best way I know how to express myself and something about being a rapper just works for me. It’s having to adhere to a specific rhyme scheme and stick within a clearly defined rhythmic sequence. Suddenly I am able to articulate myself, whereas if I am speaking freely I get stumped on all the possible words available – it’s utter chaos. Maybe we should just all collectively start speaking in verse. Make that the norm. I’d be so down for that!

What is your highlight for 2024?

It’s gotta be wrapping up filming for my new proof-of-concept film “SNATCHED! Episode Zero.” Kylie XO was actually created for the movie and I later adopted her as my new stage persona. Despite her being very much an in-universe character, she is also me. I wrote the script largely around my own personal experience being transgender but with a twist. The story is seen through a sci-fi lense with the addition of aliens and stuff, which obviously aren’t real, or are they? I have an entire series written around the concept and the aim for the proof-of-concept is to get the series commissioned. I don’t just write high-energy intergalactic anthems, I also build worlds! If the SNATCHED! series get picked up, the landscape of television is gonna change forever, I can promise you that.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

If you wake up at 3.03am and find that you are being haunted by an evil spirit, play any one of my songs from my vast discography and it will banish that ghoul back to whence they came from. Either that or the car, really.

How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?

I’ve been making music for fifteen years and I am really proud of my musical journey. It has taken me a great many false starts before I found a sound that felt authentic to me. I think what has been a turning point for me was when I realised that I didn’t have to take my work so seriously. I spent a long time in the beginning writing aggressive, offensive bars because I wanted to appear like I was strong and unafraid. That was at a time when I presented as male and was trying really hard to be the toxic masculine man that my stepdad and my peers seemed to expect of me. The truth is that I was actually not strong and I was very, very afraid. My stepdad introduced me to Hip-Hop. He’d mainly listen to Cypress Hill and Ice Cube. I thought WOAH these guys are fearless, they command respect. I want to be like them. I want to be like them so Dad likes me the way he likes them! Using my autism superpowers, I masked the Hell out of this fake personality. I was the badass High School rapper, or at least that was what I had tried my hardest to be, I think deep down people knew I wasn’t this and they took pity on me. All it took for me to realise I was lying to myself was encountering people who genuinely were strong and unafraid. They beat the shit out of me. Honestly, I was so stubborn it was probably the only way I would have realised that I needed to stop forcing myself to be someone I am not. I was just a quirky, fun-loving kid who wanted to wear cute bows in her hair and dance around in sparkly dresses feeling like a princess – definitely no Ice Cube. So, after many years of soul searching and all that, I started to embrace humour and light-heartedness in my music. I make music that makes people want to get up and dance to because, well, I want to get up and dance!

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

Will.i.am. I love how versatile and innovative he is with his music. Always thinking forward and always aiming to inspire. I have wanted to collaborate with him for the longest time. I remember reading an article about him back in the beginning of his career. He was talking about his idols De La Soul. He was offered a chance to go to one of their show but he turned it down because he wanted his first time seeing them to be as an equal performing alongside them. He manifested it and made it happen when the Black Eyed Peas opened for De La Soul in 2000. I frickin’ love that story so much. I want to do the same, I don’t want to see him live, I want to work with him as an equal.

How did you find making “BOUGIE BITCH”?

I had so much fun. It’s a chaotic song and it perfectly captures my energy. I haven’t actually performed this song live yet. It’s so gonna go off when I do though. Be warned, be ready. BOUGIE BITCH is the perfect representation of who Kylie XO is.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

I’ll be real with you, it’s not that deep. But it’s kinda got a live long, die fast kinda vibe, eh? That is truthful to what I was feeling at the time. It’s a rave song. Party like it’s the end of the world. It’s actually wrote this song with the music video imagined first. So, it’s set in a coffee shop and it involves me walking into the cafe and skipping the long line of impatient people. There are three baristas on shift and they are actually Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane of Australian comedy group Aunty Donna. The head barista (Mark) tells me to move to the back of the line and my response is when the song starts. I rap the first verse like I am talking to the Mark and the other customers. I start to win the customers over and it gets more and more heated with the Mark until the drop happens, at which point I start dancing on the tables alongside the customers who are my back up dancers. There are coffee beans flying around and it becomes a parody of a battlefield with steaming hot milk, cups, coffee beans, cakes, etc. Towards the end I develop this like coffee-fueled supernatural electrical aura on the final drop of the song and the baristas concede and join in with the dancing and we all exalt together. Unfortunately I forgot I was broke AF when I thought of this. I was still able to make the song though!

What can fans expect from your upcoming EP?

Rawness. Realness. The purpose of the EP is to show a more intimate, honest side of Kylie XO like I have been doing in this interview. Aside from all the gimmicky, superficial, fist-pumping, pussy popping anthems I do actually have some substance. I’ve been through hardship, I’ve made so many mistakes and I am constantly learning and trying to better myself. With this EP I wanted to dispel any notion that I am some kind of faultless, larger-than-life, unatainable figure, because I fear that is the image I have created with all my other releases. It comes back to what I was saying about my influences growing up. I thought they were perfect and untouchable, but they were broken and had flaws, just like I do. I don’t want no confused, impressionable kid listening to me and thinking I am a role model to base their life on like I did. I’m just figuring it all out like everyone else.

What’s been your favourate live performace so far?

I loved performing at Surrey Pride last year. I performed my songs “ALIEN WHORE” (the clean version “ALIEN GURL”) and TRANNY WITH ATTITUDE.” The most memorable moment for me was when I performed a speech I had written about T.S. Elliots ‘Old Possom’s Book of Practical Cats.’ As it was a pride event and their were young kids around I wanted offer some hope to them. I applied T.S. Elliot’s ‘The Naming of Cats’ to the experience of finding your identity and your name. So it’s said that cats have three names: the names we are given at birth and have no choice over, the name that we choose for ourselves and proudly tell others, and lastly, the most important, the name that is yours and only yours, the name that no one should know but you, and once you have discovered it you are free any kind of corruption or hurt, because you have found your ineffable name – your identity. Anyway, I must have been saying this with some conviction, because there was a kid looking up at me intensely from the front of the audience. Their eyes were locked on me and I could tell they had been growing through it. They were hanging on my ever word. So I looked them in the eyes and said “I encourage you to find your inner jellicle cat and embrace your name.” It was such an intimate moment and I could tell I had told them what they needed to hear. It fills me with so much pride knowing that I helped that kid in some small way. I don’t know where they are in their life now, but I hope they are thriving and that they have found their name.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?

Well my EP “TRANSMISSION I” drops April 25th so I am preparing for that right now. I looking to book some gigs in and around London. I am really proud of my new music so I can’t wait to perform it to people. I want to make 2025 the year where people get to know who Kylie XO is.

Listen to BOUGIE BITCH below