Dilly: So Xcel, How did you come
up with that name and who gave
it to you?
Xcel: I was going through the
process of picking rap names; I
had like ten wack [names]. One
day while I was cleaning my
room, I found a piece of paper
that said “eXcel” on it, so I just
chopped the “e” off and ran with
Xcel.
Dilly: Crazy — once you stopped
searching, it kind of found you.
Xcel: Yeah, that’s how it worked
Dilly: How long have you been
battling?
Xcel: I’ve been battling forever,
really; on the street, in cyphers,
doing the freestyle on the spot
battles — like, you’ve got to
torch a n***a right there. I am
from that era; I was the little
dude cooking older cats — but
with this new format — in July,
it will be a full year. People
compare me to [other] battlers
but I’m the first me — not the
next anyone.
Dilly: You had two battles
recently; one with CT and one
with Brooklyn Carter —
Xcel: Yes, they both were dope
battles. Brooklyn Carter was a
war. That man has neverending
energy. CT is a wordsmith, so we
had a good joint.
Dilly: You battled Daylyt. How
did you prepare for that?
Xcel: With Daylyt, I took my
time. I analyzed it, because
Daylyt is a wildcard; you never
really know what he is going
to do in a battle, so I didn’t
even stress and brought bars,
because trying to get personal
with Day or rap about his antics
is an overused angle and it’s
very ineffective. I tried to do
something nobody did — which
was bring straight bars — and
it worked out perfectly. He was
feeling it and he respected what
I did, so shout to him. He’s a
real n***a.
Dilly: Daylyt co-signed you. He
feels that you don’t need a PG to
make it. How does that make you
feel that a big battle rapper sees
your potential?
Xcel: It’s a wonderful feeling.
I mean, I got co-signs from
him, Clips, Swave, Ill Will,
Mickey Factz and Aye Verb. So
it’s crazy and amazing, because
I’ve watched these guys put it
down. I think they are great,
so when they come up to me
and say, “you’re that dude” or
“you’ve got it”, it’s motivation
to keep going. Daylyt didn’t
only co-sign me; he put me into
Krack City as well, so I’m in
good company.
xcel
rising star
Dilly: With all these top tier battle
rappers and vets backing you up,
do you deserve a battle on the big
stage?
Xcel: Based on skill level I could
say yes, but that is disrespectful
to the guys that put work in
before me. If I get to the main
stage I want it to be off my
work, not because of co-signs
or someone put the word in for
me. I want to work and earn my
spot, so t