Music

NICE: Lex Luger changes music from his kitchen

by Aaron Zorgel

In our annual festive Naughty and Nice feature, AUX compiles the best and worst of the year in music.

It’s 2009. Lexus Arnel Lewis sits at his father’s kitchen table, relentlessly composing beats via Fruity Loops on a Compaq laptop. His routine is simple: he finishes his beats in 20 minutes or less, and sends them to a handful of rappers on Myspace. Jump in the hip-hop Delorean with me, fire up the time circuits, and flash forward to 2011. “Lex Luger” is credited as a producer on over 100 songs this year, many of which are by Waka Flocka Flame, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, the Game, Young Jeezy — basically a laundry list of the biggest rappers in the world. If you’re a musician, or a creative-type by trade, get ready for the depressing part: In 2011, Lex Luger is only 20 years old.

Though he creates within it, Lex Luger didn’t invent “trap music,” a rap subgenre that refers to the “trap,” or the location where drugs are commonly sold. A truly self-made success story, the Virginia-born producer managed to bring trap music to a state of prominence and legitimacy within the larger hip-hop scene, penning instrumentals for hits such as “H.A.M.” (Kanye West & Jay-Z), “Hustle Hard” (Ace Hood), “Round Of Applause” (Waka Flocka Flame feat. Drake), and “That Way” (Wale). There’s no doubt about it — Lex Luger’s beats defined the way hip-hop sounds in 2011. With his onslaught of radio-ready releases, and the easy access to his tools (Fruity Loops retails for less than $300), his style allowed for countless imitators, all flooding the airwaves with the trap sound: dirty beats, orchestral leads, and dramatic (albeit synthetic) soundscapes. Lex’s only challenge remains breaking out of the trap music style that he popularized, and given his productivity, I’m sure he’s working on it. Get ready for Lex to take over the pop production world in 2012.

Return to the Naughty and Nice master list.