Dphrepaulezz signed an early record deal with Prince's former manager. In 1993, he signed with Interscope Records. On January 9, 1996, he released his first album, "The X Factor", under the mononym Xavier. The album was released on Lexington House Records and distributed by Interscope. He was in a near-fatal car crash in 1999, which left him in a coma for three weeks. He has said that he felt that this crash "released" him because Interscope terminated their contract with him, after which he set up an illegal nightclub in South Central Los Angeles. In 2007, he stopped making music, but he returned in 2014, describing his new musical style as "black roots music for everyone". In 2015, he won "NPR"s Tiny Desk Contest. In 2016, his album "The Last Days of Oakland" was released on the Blackball Universe label. Dphrepaulezz won his first Grammy in 2017, when "The Last Days of Oakland" received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. He won his second Grammy with his next album, "Please Don't Be Dead", which won "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the 2019 Grammy Awards.