Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Franceschi.
Julian, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been rapping since elementary school. I used to write rhymes in my journal, then go to school and rap them for my homeboys. They’d tell me, “Yeah, that’s hard,” and that encouragement made me want to keep going.
By middle school, I started recording my music. At the time, I went by Hunter X2, and I was dropping music pretty consistently. When I got to high school, I dropped the X2 and continued developing as an artist.
I’ve always been really experimental with my music because I’ve always listened to a lot of different genres and artists. Some of my biggest influences are Chris Brown, Tyler, The Creator, Childish Gambino, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott, but I’m also heavily inspired by artists like Playboi Carti, Gunna, and Young Thug. I like taking different sounds and putting them together to create something that feels like me.
When I turned 19, I decided I really wanted to take my music career seriously. I had already been making music for years, but that was when I told myself, “I’m really going to lock in and see where this can take me.”
Now I’m almost 100 songs deep into my catalog, and I’m still experimenting, learning, and finding my sound. It’s been a long journey from writing rhymes in my elementary school journal to where I am today, and honestly, I’m just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest turning points in my life was getting kicked out when I was 18. I had to figure things out for myself for a while trying to get my money right, get my life together, and deal with a lot of personal challenges. I was also working on myself and going to therapy, which gave me a lot of time to reflect.
I think a lot of those experiences ended up influencing my music. I’ve always been experimental and interested in different sounds, but going through those things gave me even more reasons to express myself in different ways. I don’t think being different is a bad thing. I think those experiences helped make me who I am and put me where I am today.
After that, I went through a breakup, and I also found myself with fewer people around me. My family dynamic changed too. Everybody grows up, develops their own perspectives, and starts living their own lives. I don’t really hold any hard feelings toward anybody because of it. That’s just life.
Looking back, getting kicked out was probably one of the hardest things I’ve gone through, but it also forced me to become more independent and figure out who I wanted to be. I think that’s a big part of why I’m so serious about my music now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I feel like I’m known for my music, my confidence, and simply being myself. I’ve always been someone who likes to do things my own way, and that definitely comes through in my music. I’m very experimental and don’t like putting myself into one specific box. I enjoy making different types of sounds and pulling inspiration from a lot of different artists and genres.
I’m most proud of how committed and persistent I’ve been. I’ve been making music for years, and no matter what I’ve gone through personally, I’ve never stopped creating. I’ve continued building my catalog, developing my sound, and learning how to become a better artist.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m not really trying to make music based on what I think other people want to hear. I care about staying true to myself and seeing how far I can take my creativity. I’m very focused right now, and I’m excited about continuing to grow and seeing where my music takes me.
What’s next?
My plan for the future is to keep growing my community, doing more shows, and continuing to push myself creatively. I have some personal goals that I want to reach, but a huge focus for me right now is my music. I have a lot more music coming this year, and I’m planning to release two albums along with three or four more EPs.
I’m also building out different pages and spaces on SoundCloud, including my main page, Hunter, and Hunter Vault, so I can give different parts of my catalog their own space. I really want to build a bigger community around my music and keep giving people more to connect with.
Ultimately, my biggest goals are to get these projects out, perform more shows, grow my audience, and get my name further out there. I’m really just trying to keep building and see how far I can take this.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hunter_gng
- Twitter: https://x.com/hunter_gng
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@hunterxmm
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hunter-x2
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/hunter-vault
