Albuquerque rapper Khalisol gave the nation a taste of New Mexico rap during his April performance on the TV show “American Song Contest.”
Khalisol performed his new song on the show while competing against singers from 10 other states and territories for a spot in the semifinals. He wrote the song before he knew about the contest.
“I came with the song that was dedicated to my wallflowers,” he told KOB 4. “So, I presented it in storytelling like I'm getting ready, going downtown, painting the scene, painting the atmosphere around me. But ultimately, my goal is to get all the wallflowers dancing."
Khalisol went all out during his performance. “Just being able to be free on stage and display my talent and inspire those back home to be like, ‘Yo, this kid was just in our neighborhood a month ago, I have seen him up the street.’ So that's like, the coolest part about it,” Khalisol said.
Singers from 22 states and territories will move on to the semifinals, and viewers will vote on who makes the cut.
“I hope New Mexico got my back,” Khalisol said before voting occurred. “I mean, we come in from the underdog state. So, you know, everybody loves a good underdog story.”
Colorado and Texas secured spots in the semifinals. Khalisol is hopeful New Mexico joins that list.
“I want to tell everybody in the 505 and the 575 that this is for you,” he said. “Nothing gonna stop us from knocking the door off this mug, so it's dedicated to y'all.”
