Zaytoven: Trap Music Innovator

Xavier Lamar Dotson, professionally known as Zaytoven, has become synonymous with the sound of modern trap music. From his early days experimenting on cassette tapes in a friend’s studio to producing chart-topping hits for Gucci Mane, Future, and Usher, Zaytoven has shaped the sonic landscape of Atlanta and beyond. In an exclusive conversation with rollingout, he discusses the origins of trap, the intersection of music and church, and mentoring his son, Zayskii.

When did you first realize you wanted to produce music?

When I first realized I wanted to produce music was when I went to a friend of mine’s studio, JT the Bigger Figure. He took me in and let me use his equipment. I made a beat, put it on a cassette tape, and took it back to my house. I had a stereo system where you could put two cassette tapes in it. I plugged the microphone in, played the beat, and started rapping to it. That’s when I knew this was something I wanted to do.

When did you start focusing on trap music?

I started making my music to be trap music around 2001. I met Gucci Mane, and trap music was the sound of the South. You had T.I. and Young Jeezy just coming up. I started structuring my beats more to a trap-type tempo. When I got with artists like Gucci, me and Gucci were working every day, and my music started forming into its own sound of trap music.

How did you first meet Gucci Mane?

Me and Gucci met through a friend of mine named Andre Malik. He was an artist I was working with who used to come over to the house all the time. He did spoken word on the beat. He knew Gucci and brought Gucci over one time because Gucci wanted to meet me and wanted me to produce a track for his nephew. That’s how we met, and our relationship grew from there.

How do you define trap music?

What defines trap music is the heavy 808s and the testimonial or hustler mentality lyrics on top of the beat. At the same time, it’s energetic and turnt up. It makes you feel like getting up and going to get some money. That’s the formula of trap music.

What does “being in the trap” mean to you?

“Being in the trap” is your place of work, your workplace, what you do and what you hustle. When I was cutting hair, I was in a barbershop. That was my trap. That’s where I made my money and brought customers. I was selling a service. Any workplace, anywhere you get money and thrive, that’s your trap. People come to see you there and they want what you got.

How do trap music and church connect for you?

The worlds of trap music and church definitely go together. They complement each other. The trap is the world you’re living in, and the church is the hospital where you go get healed. Church is still the place where you get revived and refreshed to go back to your trap. There’s a soul in both places. The trap is how I make my living, and the church is where I get fed so I can continue to maintain.

Why is Atlanta considered the trap city?

Atlanta is the trap city. There are so many different hustles in Atlanta, with people doing so many different things. Atlanta is country and city at the same time. It’s the best of both worlds. Atlanta is slick, but there’s hospitality here too. People really show hospitality. That’s what makes the city special when it comes to trapping.

Who would be on your “Welcome to Atlanta” remix?

My new remix of “Welcome to Atlanta” would be Gucci Mane, Future, Migos, and Zayskii closing it out.

How did the Usher project come together?

The project came about when his people reached out to my people saying Usher wanted to do a project with Zaytoven. That was a dream come true. Even though we had a No. 1 song with “Papers” years before, I never really met Usher or got in the studio with him. Years later, for him to want to do a project with me was amazing.

What can listeners expect from the XMAN project with your son?

The XMAN project with Zaytoven and Zayskii is a father and son project, but musically it sounds like a great producer and a great artist working together. It’s new, fresh, swaggy, soulful, and easy to listen to. It feels like a new version of projects like Beast Mode, but with a young flavor. Zayskii makes me feel like one of the new guys coming in to take over.

What should fans expect from the orchestra show?

The orchestra show on Dec. 20 is full of surprises. It’s trap music presented in a real musicianship way with a 36-piece orchestra. I’ll be playing the keys, with strings, flutes, and trumpets behind the music. It’s a night to dress up, enjoy great music, and have a good time before Christmas. That’s what this whole orchestra experience is about. Fun and good music.

Zaytoven’s career illustrates a seamless balance between innovation and mentorship. By shaping the sound of trap while nurturing the next generation, he continues to define both the music and culture of Atlanta. His collaborations, from Usher to his son Zayskii, mark a legacy of artistry that blends tradition with a contemporary pulse, reflecting the city, the hustle, and the soul of his music.