XCENTRiC® – The Story Behind the Movement

Before the clubs, crowds, and lights, there was a kid in his parent’s living room who couldn’t stay away from the stereo. Before he could even walk, Joseph Grala — now known worldwide as XCENTRiC® — would crawl toward the speakers, pressing every button he could reach, captivated by sound.

By 13, he was curating playlists for family gatherings, tuning into the room’s energy and choosing tracks that moved people. His mom noticed something special about the way he picked music — that he seemed to know exactly what to play to catch people’s attention — and she often wondered how he even knew so many of the songs he’d choose. “You’re really eccentric,” she’d tell him. Together, they brainstormed spellings for the word, and that name stuck. Over time, it evolved into the identity and brand we know today: XCENTRiC®.

🎶 Early Roots and First Company

Around 15, Joseph was discovering the underground rave scene — experiences that left a lasting imprint on his creative direction. The raw energy, hypnotic rhythms, and sense of freedom at those events sparked a deeper curiosity about production and shaped the way he approached sound design and arrangement.

Sitting in his mom’s kitchen, Joseph spent countless hours on the family computer experimenting with breakbeat and house tracks, shaping his ear for rhythm and groove. He’d stay up late learning, often being told to turn the volume down after hours, or eventually having to give up the computer so someone else could use it.

From 15 through his late teens, Joseph continued producing and learning everything he could about the process — while also working alongside his father, learning electrical work. After high school, electrical work became his full-time job, but music never left his side.

By 19 or 20, Joseph made a life-changing decision: to fully commit to DJing and make it a career. He left behind the stability of his electrical job and co-founded a successful EDM company with a close friend, bringing underground dance music culture to life.

But at the time, hip hop dominated the U.S. music landscape, and EDM was still struggling to gain traction. To stay behind the decks and keep music at the center of his life, Joseph made the tough call to step away from the company and pivot into hip hop. This wasn’t about abandoning his dream — it was about sustaining his path as a DJ while keeping his long-term goal alive: one day returning to electronic music on a bigger scale.

Ironically, that pivot became the foundation of the unique sound XCENTRiC® is known for today — gritty, groove-driven, and laced with the raw energy and rhythmic attitude that hip hop gave him.

🎧 Hip Hop Years & Scratch Battles

What started as a way to pay rent quickly became a defining chapter in Joseph’s life. He threw himself fully into hip hop DJing, holding numerous residencies across South Florida and keeping music at the center of his world. This era sharpened his technical skills and gave him the rhythm, grit, and attitude that still run through his productions today.

He took every chance he could to play EDM events, keeping one foot in the scene. Even during those years, he never stopped producing or remixing electronic music — regularly posting tracks and remixes on SoundCloud. To stay inspired, he created mashups that blended hip hop acapellas over electronic beats, bridging the two worlds and laying the groundwork for the hybrid sound that would later define XCENTRiC®.

What many don’t know: XCENTRiC is also a skilled scratching DJ. During this era, he wasn’t just playing parties — he was stepping into the competitive world of scratch battles, going head-to-head with some of the most respected turntablists in South Florida. Each battle pushed him to level up technically and creatively, earning him respect in the hip hop community and proving he could hold his own in a scene built on skill and showmanship.

That competitive energy and precision would become core to XCENTRiC’s style. While scratching was a big part of that era, today his focus is entirely on delivering tightly mixed, high-energy Minimal Tech House and Tech House — channeling that same intensity, but on a global dance floor.

🏆 The Turning Point

By 2019, Joseph had already been quietly building the XCENTRiC® persona for years — producing tracks, posting remixes, and keeping one foot in the electronic scene — all while using hip hop DJing to keep music his full-time focus. The hip hop years gave him technical precision, grit, and the ability to move a crowd, but his heart was always in electronic music.

By this point, he was financially stable and finally able to go all-in. He began turning down hip hop DJ offers, investing heavily in branding, marketing, and building the artist career he’d been working toward all along. Those kitchen production sessions that started it all became full-on studio marathons as he refined his sound and dialed in the unique style that would define XCENTRiC®.

At the same time, he doubled down on XCENTRiC RECORDS™ — turning it into a home for forward-thinking underground music across Tech House, Minimal Tech House, Breaks, Drum & Bass, Progressive House, and Melodic Techno. By 2021, he was officially releasing original tracks under the XCENTRiC® name — stepping into the next chapter with years of experience, a dialed-in sound, and a clear vision for the future.

🎛 The Rise of XCENTRiC®

With over 15 years in the music industry, XCENTRiC has gone full force. He trademarked his name, started opening for huge acts in the scene, and built a catalog of tracks that have gained serious traction — including Exodus, NASA, What You Got, Get Down, Rockstar, and more. Along the way, he caught the attention of key players in the scene, releasing music under Droptone Records™ and Rave Nation Records, and officially signing with Droptone Records™, a dedicated Tech House and Minimal Tech House label.

All the years of practicing and learning have put him squarely in the professional-quality bracket. XCENTRiC mastered the craft of mixing and mastering, becoming a full-fledged mastering engineer for his own music. From those first experiments as a kid in his mom’s kitchen to countless late-night studio sessions, he built the knowledge, control, and discipline he has today — allowing him to progress into the scene at a true pro level.

Those early rave and hip hop experiences still echo in his music, giving his productions a gritty, unique, and intricate underground energy that stands above the crowd in today’s electronic music scene.

🚀 The XCENTRiC® Movement

Today, XCENTRiC is more than an artist — it’s a movement. He produces original Minimal Tech House and Tech House with an urban twist, blending underground energy with bold rhythmic textures. He runs XCENTRiC RECORDS™, a label designed to support forward-thinking artists in the electronic music scene, and is signed to Droptone Records™ for select releases.

🌌 The Vision

XCENTRiC® believes music is the purest form of energy transfer — something that can shift moods, unlock memories, and bring people together without a word. Every track, every set, every release carries that intention.

This isn’t just music. This is a lifelong obsession turned into a global mission. This is XCENTRiC®.