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718Flako didn't set out to make a statement. He was just having fun, five songs a day on BandLab, freestyling whole tracks in one take, recording two of his best on shrooms in the same night. Now he's got an EP out, a genre he didn't know he'd coined, and a first interview under his belt. Born in New York, raised in Miami, currently locked in Virginia. This is the archive.
The Nachos Session
Q: You was telling me you recorded 'Nachos' off shrooms?
A: Yeah, "Like What" and "Nachos." Those two songs was made in the same night.
Q: How was that experience? Recording off shrooms and making a distinct song like "Nachos"?
A: When I first heard the two beats, I felt like I was floating. Like real deal floating. And I was like, "Yeah, I got to use these two beats." When I was recording the intros to the first two songs, like the "Babadookski," I was like, "Yeah, no. This going to be a hit, bro." With "Nachos," I was a little unsure at first because it sounded like I was more of a whisper. But then when I got to the point where I said, "It's not Xavier on this bitch, it's Luh Flacko," I was like, "Yeah, this the one." Out of all my tracks, that's my favorite.
The Process
Q: What's your process like when you record normally? Do you just punch in or do you have stuff written?
A: Honestly, I just go in there and punch in. Sometimes I'll freestyle the whole thing and I'll clip out certain parts and redo it. Sometimes it'll be like one take and I'll chop off the second half and just resay the bars in a better way.
Q: So mostly you're not really punching in, you're just freestyling.
A: Yeah. Pretty much.
A lot of artists have different processes. Like Travis Scott, whenever he records, a lot of it is just humming. He'll be saying a whole lot of nothing, but then later he fills it in with words.
Exit 718
Q: What is Exit 718?
A: I just wanted a catchy name that included my name in it. I was thinking about what includes numbers, and the first thing that popped up was exit signs on the turnpike or the highway. Exit 718 sounded pretty catchy.
Growing Up
Q: Tell me about growing up. You said you moved around a lot?
A: When I lived in New York, I lived in an apartment with my grandparents, my mom, and my uncles. It was about six of us in a little small apartment. I used to live in the projects, but then my mom met my stepfather and we moved to Miami. My mom pretty much got me out of that situation and I was able to grow up a pretty good life. The reason I came to VA is because I just needed a break. In Miami, there's something going on all the time. Sometimes you need that year break to really lock in.
How We Linked
Q: I tapped in with you late last year. How'd that happen?
A: One day on TikTok I heard this O2kai! song, "Hammertime." It was so catchy I played it for all my cousins. I followed him on IG, and one day he reposted one of your guys' posts promoing him. I was like, "Damn, if O2 Kai locked in with them, I got to lock in with them." So I followed you. Got my first promo with y'all for "Toaster" and it went up from there.
I remember that. I was bumping O2kai!'s album on SoundCloud when it first dropped like, "Bro, this is getting no play. I'm going to have to do it." It's a hard decision sometimes when you're that early to an artist. But I trust my ear, I guess that's what keeps me from being a full-fledged promo page and makes me a curator. That's what this website is. Glad to have you as part of it.
BandLab to the Vault
Q: Tell me about starting on BandLab.
A: Shout out to my boy Trackman2x, he's a producer. I met him working at a uniform store and he'd bring me to studio sessions. I installed BandLab and searched how to use it. If I'm being honest, I probably have 350 songs on BandLab. I was doing like five songs a day. I didn't think about getting famous, I was just having too much fun. I treat this like basketball. When I came to VA last August, my cousins were already making tracks on FL Studio. They told me to get a Scarlett interface and a mic. I got a Vault interface in December, got my presets, and we really started getting things going.
The Name
Q: Where does the "Flako" in your name come from?
A: My mom, growing up they called her Flaka. And I'm tall and skinny, so Flako fits.
Q: Are you Dominican?
I tracked Miami, NY, Flako. Wild guess. Was Spanish your first language?
A: Yeah actually [laughs] and yes, but once I learned English, I kind of let go of the Spanish. Recently I've been getting back into it. My Spanish ain't bad, I can survive out there.
Jerk Beats & EDM
Q: Jerk Beats, what's up with it?
A: Xaviersobased was blowing up off "Love Hate" and I really rocked with the beats. I saw the theme was bringing back jerk. I like the sound, I like to get wavy. I ain't trying to go too hard or be too sad. I want people to just bop their head for two minutes.
Q: Like that minute of silence at the end of the "Nachos" track? I thought that was a new method to make the song blow up.
A: Oh, no! I didn't mean to do that. It's actually delaying the release on platforms because I have to go back and clip the silence out.
I guess you can't monetize silence. I dead ass thought that was a new method I wasn't hip to. But that song is the one. You're not on that "evil rage" stuff. It's flex music but you're a chill, mellow guy. You're not being somebody you're not. That'll take you a long way. If I had to categorize it, I'd call it "Experimental EDM Jerk."
A: You're the first person to give me that. I'mma take that. Experimental EDM Jerk music.
Run with it.
What's Next
Q: Moving forward, what are the plans?
A: I want to do a love tape. Something like Next Stop: Love Terrace. It ain't that singing stuff, there's going to be bars. I'm drying out the jerk songs in me because there's way more in the vault, but I want to keep it real. Everybody has girl problems, you feel me?
Q: Would you be down to start doing videos?
A: Yeah, I'm actually down. I've been looking for a videographer in the VA area.
At this point, you don't have to wait. Just shoot yourself behind the camera. Don't be afraid to experiment with AI. You see how Edward Skeletrix or OsamaSon use it. Don't get discouraged. You just gotta reach new people with content, and when they turn the sound on, they'll hear it.
Just two people networking, trying to make it happen. You're part of the archive now. The Underising Archive.