Billboard Hot 100 hits and Coachella sets were never part of BigXtha­Plug’s plans for himself. Growing up in Dallas, the 26-year-old with the deep, bellowing voice had gridiron dreams of playing in the NFL — and even at his Billboard photo shoot, he throws a football around and speaks of his success in the game’s terms.

BigX compares his industry journey to that of former quarterback Cam Newton, who starred at a junior college before becoming a Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn University and, eventually, an NFL MVP. “I basically just pulled a Cam Newton,” he states. “Instead of going through all the steps, I just went crazy at that [junior college] and could’ve damn near went to the league.”

This digital cover story is part of Billboard’s Genre Now package, highlighting the artists pushing their musical genres forward — and even creating their own new ones.

To rap fans, BigX’s story — his path from drug dealer to artist — isn’t foreign. “Pops” — the 6-foot-7 man with a massive frame just like BigX’s, who’s with his son in Los Angeles today — “had a trap house, and in the middle of that spot was a round wooden table and a mic,” BigX recalls of his first time in front of a microphone. “[Pops] was like, ‘Y’all n—s can’t rap. My son got more than y’all got.’ I was scoring on ’em, and I guess it was sounding good. He was like, ‘You good. You need to rap for real.’ ”

Four years ago, BigX signed with UnitedMasters, which he still calls the “best thing I could’ve did.” He credits his first manager — an uncle who essentially ran off after BigX paid him $20,000 upfront — for steering him toward maintaining his independence with the distributor.

BigX has stood out among hip-hop’s melodic-leaning mainstream with his soulful production and booming chopped-and-screwed flows that have drawn comparisons to The Notorious B.I.G. — and the past 12 months have been particularly crucial in his ascent. He earned his first Hot 100 entry in December 2023 when the groovy “Mmhmm” reached No. 63. In October, he opened up about his insecurities, pain and triumphs on his second album, Take Care, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200.

“I feel like for the past decade it’s been a lot of mumble rap. People not talking about nothing,” he says. “I’m talking about something. A lot of the older people who love music, that’s what they grew up on — actual substance. Here’s this young dude that sound old, but he on these young-old beats. I literally mixed everything up so everybody could love it.”

BigX’s in-house producer, Tony Coles, adds, “He has this sort of Martin Luther King Jr. element to him where it’s [a] preacher almost and his voice is very powerful, and you got the badass production behind it.”

Next up, BigX — who Shaboozey tapped for a feature on his 2024 album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going — will connect with his Texas roots for a country mixtape slated to arrive in 2025 and feature a star-studded guest lineup including Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Post Malone. “Post Malone, Luke Combs, all those guys,” BigX says. “They claim I’m their favorite rapper.”

This story appears in the Jan. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.