Trans lesbian rapper-producer Xóchitl Stauffer’s first solo rap full-length serves as a coming-out party for a relatively new artist whose artistry channels talent beyond her years. She juggles two gigs: rapping with an intense delivery akin to a spoken word poet as Locuust, over sample-based instrumentals cooked up as her producer alias YoursTruuly. The finished work, Apparent Incoherence, casts a vivid debut portraying more than a hip-hop of yesteryear cosplay.
Locuust’s introductory rap effort broaches a wide range of topics: gender dysphoria, the treacherously circuitous path many face on the road to self-love, wrangling with doubts about college, and an overall dissatisfaction with capitalism. Beats primarily resemble boom-bap with blotches of chill jazz while rap flows used feel like a surprising throwback to New York City in the Nineties. All concocted by an artist before she celebrated her 21st birthday, mind you. Production on the 11-song project in particular marks a switch from the experimental styles used on 2022 beat tape Subject to Change and her 2023 collaborative project with fellow trans rapper seina sleep, TRUUSLEEP. This new rap/production combo style was first seen on her enjoyable August 2024 collaborative mixtape with Free Hamze, FREETAPE 4: Renegade Rap, yet it’s lyrically evident that avid deep crate-digging wasn’t the only searching done prior to Apparent Incoherence’s release.
Minimalist album opener “Floriography” sets an impassioned tone for the album’s 33 minutes with fiery bars squeezed into a less than two-minute timeframe. “Damselfly” follows with a memorable boast of resilience: “God loves me the more I keep spittin’/I’m that fly you couldn’t kill in a kitchen/Stay hidden.” “Bonds” touches on the web of emotions felt while coming out as a trans person, but offers a decisive thesis statement to summate her sentiments as a whole: “This is who I want to be.”
“Impossible Feat” is the project’s most sociopolitical cut as the staunch supporter of Palestine teams with CENSORED Dialogue to speak on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, among other themes. The latter’s appearance is certainly an explosive one as they call out performative activists for worrying more about a fictional natural resource (vibranium referenced in the Marvel Universe) than making a supposed sacrifice for change (“If you really want peace what you givin’ up?/You got a pitbull grip on a Starbucks cup”). Palestine’s plight also remains on the mind of khxnid! during “Misshapen Memories,” which further demonstrates the united desire from all of the artists featured on Apparent Incoherence to speak on a variety of issues.
Powerful closer “Move With Peace” employs a beautifully therapeutic instrumental as if to symbolize some spiritual clarity after years of internal battles. Beginning with a playful “it’s ya girlâ”intro, the song soon segues into a series of impactful lines. “I move with peace/Not because the world deserves me, but because the world deserves what I offer/I hold myself in captivity, relax and release/I hold myself in an awkward posture,” Locuust states in the track’s refrain before ending the album with “I’m all the better for it” as parting words. It’s a fitting conclusion to a personal tale of finding self-love and reasoning within a world lacking much logic. Based on the rich quality of this standout initial offering, Locuust may eventually deserve consideration for recognition within the highest tiers of Austin hip-hop.
Locuust x YoursTruuly
Apparent Incoherence
(Constituant X)
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This article appears in October 18 • 2024.
