MAN I SWEAR NO ONE TALKS TO US ABOUT OUR SONG "Lily and The Magpie" Yea it's a little different from our usual repertoire but CMON. The one person we had talk to us about the track asked if we collabed with another artist to make it. NOPE All us. In our emotional, non sarcastic, vulnerable forms. But man if yall think this track is emotionally vulnerable wait till you hear the stuff we got on our upcoming album. Oh and btw this vid was taken at @theatlantis_dc. We're legally obligated to mention that cause WHOO yall should've seen the paperwork we needed to sign to be able to record ANYTHING there. Oh and btw again, we're heading to @mikeweitman studio to record something unrelated to the album which will be releasing before the new album. To give yall something good to listen to while waiting. 📷 - @ktsimonian Edit by - @alex.menick SONG CREDITS XK Scenario Kaleab @ethioblacklion_ - Lyrics, Vocals, Piano Alex @alex.menick - Guitar Additional Musicians Ryan - Drums Engineers Ryan - Recording, Production, Mixing Pablo @pabloforhire - Recording, Production, Mixing, Master XK Scenario - Production All songs written and recorded by XK Scenario

This summer was 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Lotta moves made, lotta friends made, lotta SHOWS played. Def the best period of time we've had as a band yet. 630 ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT SHOW 🕡 MLK Punk Library Show 📚 THE ATLANTIS SHOW🔱 COMET PING PONG 🍕 Atlas Brew Works 🪦 Now with all this momentum yall think we'd chill out and catch a breather? HELL NAH. Son we rampin UP. The new ALBUM has INCREASED in scope. We're dumping MORE money into recording. We're losing SLEEP trying to balance writing+recording with our day jobs. AAAND. Yall are gonna be seeing even MORE of us. Mf we boutta pop up on your timeline like those local MILF in your area ads you get when you trying to torrent Oldboy [2003] off of untrustworthy websites. So FINAL WARNING. BETTER UNFOLLOW AND BLOCK US NOW IF YOU DONT WANNA BE IMMERSED IN ALL THIS GOODNESS. ⏸️ Ps. We didnt know this till the show but atlas was shutting down shows at that location. So we were the final band to ever play the spot. Was also our first time ever playing there. Grand Opening, Grand Closing. Photos by @lndustry47 @ktsimonian @thisdogllhunt @film_and_gender

LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!!! The @washingtonpost finally mentioned us in an article!!!!! Well not any actual text, but a Big Beautiful Colour photo is great too. The MLK Library show really was a special show. But that is why we need more of it, so it doesn't feel special or unique. Events like it should be normal. We all should be able to go out to shows that have great music, great people, and strangers from places we've never been. So we can learn from one another, and realize that even with all our differences and individualities we also got a lot in common. And that we can all mosh together. WHICH BTW, THAT MOSHPIT THEY MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE. WE STARTED IT. WITH OUR MUSIC AND SEXY MOVES. Photo by - @annaroselayden Article by - @sophia.solano

AMAZING SHOW LAST WEEKEND Thanks to @crushfund and @film_and_gender for sharing the stage with us. We all tore the roof off of @cometpingpong NEXT SHOW IS THIS SUN [AUG 31ST 7PM] @atlasbrewworks (Ivy City) With @whitebeastband @infinityknives x @brianennals and @ohvioletofficial This will be our last show till october. So if yall been meaning to catch us, or have some friends yall have been evangelizing to about us, this is your last chance to get in on the XK experience till then. TIX LINK IN BIO Photos and edit by @thisdogllhunt

You know when you're reading an article on a band and the journalist starts making all these wild ass statements about the music? Just GLAZING the hell outta them. Then you go to check out the band and it ends up being a double pack of straight ASS 🤮. WELL NOT US. Any amazing thing you hear about us is TRUE. VERIFIED. STANDS UP TO SCRUTINY. Wish we could say the same about other things in this country 🫣. If yall want more proof of our amazingness. ROLL THROUGH AUG 23RD ALL AGES SHOW @cometpingpong Playing with outta town homies @film_and_gender and @crushfund 9PM TIX LINK IN BIO XK SCENARIO ARTICLE IN BIO Footage by - @ktsimonian Edit by - @alex.menick Video text by - @izzerzz_

Can't speak for too long. In the middle of packing up for our show at @theatlantis_dc Aug 13th AKA TONIGHT 6PM WE ARE OPENING. SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU SHOW UP LATE AND MISS OUR SET WE WILL KNOW, AND WE WILL FIND YOU. Also excited to be playing alongside headliner @oceansleeper and support @garzi and @sagebandnj TIX IN BIO Shot by @alex.menick Edited by @ethioblacklion_ Starring @xk_scenario Thx to @theatlantis_dc for letting us roll thru and make this vid last second.

I wrote these lyrics back when I was 19 years old. Same age @nas was when he made Illmatic. Now all these years later looking back and seeing this through the lens of another person's analysis... I've def gotten WAY better. I mean I'm still proud of writing a song like this, it reflected a time of personal growth that still feels resonant even today. Plus I want to remind people that these lyrics were written in a 10/8 time signature. What 19 year old do yall know was doing some ish like this? But honestly the new stuff I've written, blows this and the other older songs out of the water. We been playing the first track from the NEW UPCOMING ALBUM live recently and seeing how yall been wilding out JUST TO THE FIRST SONG. Yea yall not gonna be prepared for the full experience. We'll be playing this AND the new stuff at our show on 8-13 at @theatlantis_dc TIX IN BIO Shout out @oceanwaves95 on youtube for making this lyric rhyme analysis vid.

THIS IS A GOOD MONTH FOR MUSIC We are playing the following shows Aug 13th at @theatlantis_dc with @oceansleeper @garzi and @sagebandnj Aug 23rd at @cometpingpong with @crushfund and @film_and_gender Aug 31st at @atlasbrewworks with @infinityknives and @whitebeastband Man, it's GOOD to be playing some DOPE ASS MUSIC, with some DOPE ASS BANDS, at these DOPE ASS VENUES. We've been slogging thru finishing up this album — yea it's not an E.P anymore, it's an album — and we're still playing whenever we can cause we got a good feeling about the immediate future. Like a wall that's been insurmountable for the longest time is about to fall. And we're ready for what that entails. Tix available in bio. Photo by @ktsimonian, flyer by @alex.menick

The age of XK Scenario is arriving ARE YALL HOPPING ON THE BUS WITH US? Cause we aint stopping till we get to where we want to be. And where is it that we want to be? We want a land of proud creatives, of proud artists, of proud people that make this world a more interesting place. And to make these fools, cowards, and weaklings — who try to destroy this sacred gift of creation — shrink back to the dirt where they belong. Yea this sounds combative, confrontational, maybe a little extra. But man what's the alternative? To chill out? To act in a more acceptable manner? Hell nah. That's boring. This is more fun. Footage by @ktsimonian Mosh footage by @rachel.d.latte Edit by @alex.menick

First things first. Thanks to @dcpubliclibrary @dcpunkarchive @mtpleasantlibraryfriends and @rediscoverfirebooking for having us. Was great to see all those different people from different walks of life all come together and mosh in one crowd. That was the type of audience we've always wanted to perform to. Second, we're used to bad things happening in clusters. For the first time in a LONG time we got the opposite happening. I guess someone put in a word to someone else after seeing our performance, but we got asked if we'd be able to perform at @theatlantis_dc with @oceansleeper @sagebandnj and @garzi on Aug 13th. And of course we said yes. Now this is a pretty big deal to us, cause we'll be real. We were NOT expecting a band like us, who makes music like us, who talks like us, and who acts like us to get offered even an opening slot at a venue like The Atlantis at our current level. The fact that the movers and shakers in this city saw what we did and said "yea we can def make money off of this" goes to show that it dont matter how weird your art is, as long as you believe in it hard enough, others will too. We got a hell of a lot of shows coming up in Aug. So we'll be making a full flyer for the show dates soon. TIX LINK IN BIO Pictures by @lndustry47

We are playing the @dcpubliclibrary Rooftop Punk Show alongside the VERY old friends @springsilvergram and new friends @petrichordc on Wed, July 23rd at 6:30PM FREE SHOW BTW. Now yes, some of yall might be thinking. Wait, arent yall playing with Spring Silver at Hice Mice like 3 days before the show? Yes we are. We didnt know that we were gonna be playing with each other at this show till today. Guess they knew that they needed to get the best bands in the DMV to start off this series of shows. And yes it's at a Library. I know the idea of reading, books, and knowledge terrify some of you. But don't worry, we don't insult people who arent educated — cause we all start off as uneducated. We only insult people who don't have any curiosity. Think about that 🤔

When you REALLY feeling the music. Nothing compares to the passion. I mean duh, what few things do we have on this earth that pleasure the soul like art? But art isn't just about those moments of enjoyment. It's also about connecting to the greater whole, the grand mystery, the strands that bind us to each other and something that can't be explained with words. Because there are no definitions that could contain that sublime truth. It's only something that can be felt, or experienced. Long story short we're trying to sell spirituality to yall for $10 cause we're playing at @thehicemice with @springsilvergram and @standbyct on July 18th. DM for address. 📷 - @ktsimonian Ps. Just cause we selling it for some $$$ don't mean it still aint the truth.

We can't wait to see people trying to dance to this song once it finally drops. One small piece of enjoyment we get from writing this type of music is having people try to dance to odd time signatures. Because we're so good at making odd time groove and feel like it's regular time, it fools people into thinking they can hit the ol reliable two-step. But when they get outta sync and start flailing around, we feel a smile spread across our face. 🙂 THE NEW E.P. IS ON THE WAY. STAY TUNED.

WE ARE THE NEW ROCK AND ROLL FOR A NEW WORLD YOU SEE ALL THAT SWEAT ON US? IT'S CAUSE WE BUSTING OUR ASSES TO PLAY THIS COMPLICATED ASS MUSIC WITH THESE COMPLEX ASS RHYMES FOR EVERYONE'S ENJOYMENT. YOU LIKE THIS STUFF TOO? CHECK US OUT. Our name is XK Scenario Footage by @jeremobie Edit by @alex.menick

Damn, guess this hater got proven wrong. 😂 Ay but in all seriousness. This amazing E.P. ANNOUNCEMENT show was only possible cause of everyone involved. The big man @id_singer and his team who set it up after we asked him. @taisha_estrada and @misc.rocks who both agreed to tear up the room alongside us. AND YOU 👉 the people who showed up for some good ass music. And not to be presumptuous, but we think yall got that good ass music. This "little" band is gonna keep working on that new E.P. and will be revealing more details like the name, slivers of the tracks, and the concept it's based on. Yea, this is a concept E.P. we trying to bring literacy back. Stay tuned for more.🫡 Photos by @ktsimonian

We got a weird thing with the date 6/28 moreso the 28th day of the month. 6/28/19 was when we dropped our first ever full length "The Art Of Attrition" where we made the first ever fully realized "Prog-Hop" song in history 6/28/24 was one of the worst days of our lives. 12/28/24 we released our first project in over 5 years "A Monument to All Our Tomorrows" And now 6/28/25...... we postpone the release of our E.P. cause we couldnt meet the deadline we set. WHOOPSIE🫣. BUT. NEW MUSIC IS STILL BEING PERFORMED AND PLAYED. And we will be playing as a 5 piece for the first time to play these tracks. IF YOU WANNA ROLL THRU. SHOW STARTS 7. TIX ARE $15. PLACE IS CALLED 6:30 CLUB. AND YOU GOTTA DM US FOR THE ADDRESS CAUSE IT'S A HOUSE SHOW AND FOR COOL PEOPLE ONLY. YOU CAN FEEL SUPERIOR TO OTHERS BY GOING TO AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT.

At least they aint calling us @limpbizkit Aite, inflammatory advertising aside. We are influenced by artists like The MC5, Flobots, King Crimson, The Mars Volta, Nas, Aceyalone, Ka, The Doors, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayehu Eshete, MAGMA, James Brown, Rakim, Pharoah Sanders, Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, Death, Bad Brains, Scream, Gorillaz, Gil-Scott-Heron, Hieroglyphics, Mos Def, early Eminem, and yes, even Rage Against the Machine. Now look at all those influences. We take from a wide history of musicians from different eras and genres. Of all the art we take from, is Rage the only one that deserve the focus? Like we said, we love em. But we're doing more than "just Rage." Song: Blank Tombstones Band: XK Scenario XK Scenario: Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video Additional Musicians: Ryan West - Drums Zack Be(@bezackbe ) - Bass Camera/Engineer: Brian Macdonald(@brianmacdp ) - Camera Keith (@filmic_standard ) - Camera Shesh Batni(@sheshnb ) - Camera, Video Ananth Batni(@ananthbatni ) - Camera, Recording, Mixing Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Mixing, Mastering

YES YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. This next show on June 28th at 6:30 Club in DC is our E.P RELE- actually, the E.P. is still being worked on. So instead, it’s an E.P. ANNOUNCEMENT SHOW. We are playing with the legendary @taisha_estrada and the boys from RVA @misc.rocks Doors 7 music 730. Tix $15 only available at the door. Dm for address. This E.P. is so unlike anything we’ve ever made before. And we’re excited to be debuting NEW SONGS from it at this show. Be there to see something special

Sincerity is a lost art. When you being REAL it makes people uncomfortable sometimes. This discomfort is a good thing. It gives you a chance to REFLECT. To find out more about yourself, and it makes you THINK about things you wouldn't usually THINK about. That's why we never worry about looking like "Tryhards" or being "Dramatic." Cause we'd rather be that than hide behind "irony" or "nonchalance." True strength comes from EXPRESSION. Song - "Loss of Sanctity" Band - "XK Scenario" XK Scenario - Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video Additional Musicians - Lucas Kirby(@conniptioh ) - Drums Jake Coasby - Bass Engineers - Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Recording, Mixing, Mastering Mike Weitman(@mikeweitman ) - Recording Recorded live at Weitman Studios

It's fun to constantly spit in the face of "normal music." What does NORMAL even mean? Is normal just something that is widely accepted/widely known? What if there's something EVERYONE didn't know that they always wanted? Wouldn't that be normal? But if it isn't known, or isn't accepted due to obscurity then it isn't normal. It's ABNORMAL, regardless of its potential to be accepted. Man, we don't wanna think about all of that, we just wanna make some GOOD ASS music. And hopefully the GOODASSEDNESS of the music can resonate with people. Song: "Drown Out The Hollow" Band: "XK Scenario" XK Scenario: Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video Additional Musicians: Lucas Kirby(@conniptioh ) - Drums Jake Coasby - Bass Engineers: Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Recording, Mixing, Mastering Mike Weitman(@mikeweitman ) - Recording Recorded Live at "Weitman Studios"

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