Xavier Capdepon is a native Dominican with a douse of Jamaican flavor. His, mother Courtney, was originally born in Negril, Jamaica. She was the youngest of three and daughter of two Rastafarian parents. The eldest of the three, Zaierra, fell in love with Xavier’s uncle, Jarvis, and moved to New York when they were 24 years old.

Today, Xavier Capdepon lives with his aunt and uncle in Queens, New York working on his music career. Xavier and his six siblings made quite the stir in the Dominican Republic with their music talents. They would often perform in city squares and gain a lot of attention from people walking by. His two older brother were able to make a career out of their merengue band in Santo Domingo. Two of his sisters now own a dance and singing instruction studio in Santo Domingo that has become very popular with the younger crowds. Xavier made it into the digital music industry at an early age. He made many friends in the industry early, and before he knew it, he was traveling around the Dominican Republic playing DJ gigs at some of the countries biggest music events.

Eventually Xavier decided that he wanted to pursue digital music more seriously, so he thought that he would move in with his aunt and uncle in New York City and use his experience as leverage to get gigs around the city. He is currently focusing on music production in his spare time. When he is not at the computer making music, playing DJ gigs, or helping out at his aunts Jamaican restaurant, Xavier is out and about in New York City exploring every nook and cranny that he possibly can.

Xavier Capdepon loves playing in Queens and Brooklyn because his music is catered to a more Caribbean style of electronic music and there is a large population of Caribbean islanders in Queens and Brooklyn. No matter where you find Xavier, he always seems to find his “new favorite spot” in the city. This blog will be devoted to Xavier’s favorite spots in New York City. Weather it be in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, or the Bronx, there is no area that Xavier does not want to explore and get to know.

Xavier Capdepon in New York City:

Xavier Capdepon has been living in New York City for almost 4 years. He thinks he feels like a native New Yorker, but actual native New Yorkers love assuring him that he is far from it. He likes to ask native New Yorkers how long it takes to feel like a native. He has run across a lot of different answers. Some people tell him that he will never truly feel like a native New Yorker, others tell him 15-20 years. Some people even tell him that there is no such thing as a native New Yorker because New York City is a melting pots of immigrants. This answer proves to be a little philosophical for Xavier.

No matter the number, Xavier Capdepon still feels at home in New York City. The convenience, attitude, and cultural diversity allow for a melting pot of cultures which culminates into the New York way of life. There are so many different types of people in New York City from so many different places, that it becomes difficult to pinpoint what exactly someone who lives in New York is like. A lot of people like to say that people from New York have a fend for themselves attitude and tend to be a bit more rude than your average American. Xavier tends to believe that this is somewhat true; however, he thinks that this has to do more with the result of cramping 8.5 million people into a small space than a characteristic of their person.

Because of this sense of crowd, Xavier believes that New York City really allows oneself to find themselves. Coming from a smaller community in the Dominican Republic, Xavier felt as if there were a lot more expectations of him because of how much the people around him cared about him. Everyone was involved in everyone else’s lives, and although the intentions might have been good, the advice as to what they should do with their lives might have been a bit biased. In New York City, Xavier Capdepon is able to be anonymous. He lives with his aunt, who cares for him dearly, but aside from that, he is on his own. He is not only on his own in the professional sense, but his is able to concentrate on what his passions are and find people who have similar passions with ease. This is part of the reason that Xavier loves NYC so much. The options are limitless. In the Dominican Republic there is a strong sense of culture, but it was really only one specific culture. In New York, you can almost pick your culture and live by their values and way of life.