Xavier Clark’s first full-length album, WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS is a transformative journey through loss and loneliness to reach greatness. Released in September this year, the album is a collaborative work with producers Mathaius Young and Will Cherry, featuring artists Krew$, Mathaius, MARIAH MARIAH, Celestiiia and Surf.
Clark, twenty-eight, born in Rock Island, IL., raised in Indy, has been writing music since 2013 and takes inspiration from the storytelling of Rick Ross and Curren$y and the suave sounds of Dom Kennedy and PARTYNEXTDOOR. A nine-track album, WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS, takes the listener through a journey of struggle and suffering to enlightenment and power.
“Sometimes, when you get emotional, you can be all over the place,” Clark says.
“QUICKSAND,” released as a single in July, is a deep-cutting track. A collaboration with Surf from Atlanta, it paints a story of trying to escape a toxic relationship, but repeatedly getting sucked back into it. “QUICKSAND” makes a strong intro into tracks like “I MISS YOU” (feat. Noah Elkins & Krew$) and “RAIN STORMS,” (feat. Z-wells, MARIAH MARIAH) which come from an emotional place and time in Clark’s heart when he was experiencing loss and inspired the creation of this album three years ago. The most stand-out tracks on the album are by far “QUICKSAND,” “30 FOR 30,” and the closing track, “BLACK DENIM.” Clark exerts careful control over his sound and voice; with fresh beats on this album reminiscent of the best of ASTROWORLD and Port of Miami 2, the album is proof that he’s on top of his game.
Like most music artists, Clark takes inspiration from life experience and the music of other artists he enjoys. He listens for storytelling—finding out where an artist was at a given moment. Clark takes inspiration from a vast source of music, venturing outside of rap into alternative hip-hop, R&B, and indie soul artists like Tyler the Creator, Arlo Parks, Indiana-born Omar Apollo, Mk.gee, and Yeek, who are on his frequent rotation.
Clark admits he usually doesn’t like to put his face out there, but is revealing more with this album. He is proud of photographers Pablo Rodriguez and Hunter Paschal, who helped capture his vision; Paschal took the pictures from the cover in the first year Clark was doing the project. Combined with the graphic design work of Bailey Mess, the artwork for the album became something unique to draw listeners in.
Xavier found healing in the process of making this album. When I asked him if he had any advice for others struggling in a place of hardship, he shared:
“Find something to lock into. Find something positive and something that’s going to make you better. Find something that you like and dive into it. Learn from your situations and try to become a better person. I feel like a lot of people like to have the wrong distractions; they jump into things quickly—you didn’t get a chance to really learn from that situation or look at what you might have done wrong. Take that time yourself. That way, you don’t take it into the next situation you might be in. Find something positive that can make you a better person and push you forward.”
Clark is currently in the process of several new projects, including an EP of remixes of the current album with dance and garage beats and giving them a different feel—four remixed tracks and one new track previously unreleased. He is working on finishing up the music video for “BLACK DENIM,” and a new project with Mathaius focused on more melodic vocals and a dynamic sound with alternative beats and eclectic style. With more shows and videos to come, it seems like the smoke has cleared, and the only way left is up for Xavier Clark.
