New Yorkers may not recognize Xavier “X” Jernigan walking past him on the street in Brooklyn —but they might do a double take if they heard him talking.
That’s because the 47-year-old is the deep voice and energetic personality behind Spotify’s AI-powered DJ —a feature rolled out to millions of premium subscribers in more than 68 countries, where each user becomes a radio audience of one.
Jernigan, who goes by X, comes across like so many other personable, colorful characters living in the concrete jungle. But his encyclopedic knowledge of music and distinctly charismatic and cool energy have all helped the affable host —who has everything from hip-hop to orchestral on his personal playlists, he said —on the path to becoming one of the music industry’s most famous voices.
“I’m your friend that’s a little cooler than you, but not too cool to hang out with you. Listeners feel a human connection with me,” X told The Post.
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X’s warm, welcoming AI alter ego seems almost excited to curate and guide perfect strangers through the soundtrack of their day. But the AI DJ isn’t just X’s personal suggestions — even though he did go viral on TikTok earlier this summer recommending songs to strangers after listening to their headphones for three seconds.
The tool analyzes individual listening habits to queue up old favorites, songs you have on repeat and new recommendations while also providing cultural commentary and explanations as to why the song was chosen for you.
“Let’s start off with some songs that make you want to celebrate,” the AI DJ enthused during a recent test session. “These are the songs that match your vibe.”
And curating a vibe is exactly what X loves to do.
“That’s the power of music. That’s the power of culture. It makes you feel something,” he added. “When you bring all that together, it just adds something to it rather than just getting a static playlist.”
Spotify feeds its AI model with recordings of X chatting about today’s top hits and up-and-coming artists to train the technology to replicate his speech patterns — winding up with a synthetic “X” that will be able to speak to individual users, giving each listener a wholly customized listening experience.
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The Spotify AI DJ was released in the US and Canada early last year, with the goal of providing listeners with a never-ending stream of songs, fun facts and casual chatter based both on their listening history and the recommendations of hundreds of music experts.
“You get the parts of radio that you related to: the voice that you trust, a person that you trust, a personality that you trust, serving up the music, giving you that context, giving you that storytelling,” he said.
And while the idea may be brand new,and some users might take a while to get into the groove, X thinks we’re in it for the long haul.
“I don’t see us going back,” X said of the advanced tech.
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Not anytime soon, anyway — Spotify recently announced the launch of “Livi,” a second AI DJ that will serve the vast Spanish language-speaking subscriber base. The voice is based on that of one of the service’s music editors, Olivia“Livi” Quiroz Roa.
“The DJ is a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you,” Spotify said in a statement. “This feature … will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you’ll like in a stunningly realistic voice.”
And since X was already a hit with audiences tuning in for Spotify’s first morning show, “The Get Up,” he wound up being the right man for the job.
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“I was already being called the voice of Spotify internally anyway. Let’s make it official,” said X, who has worked for the company for eight years.
“I love connecting with people. I love getting the crowd hype. I love curating a whole vibe,” he told The Post. “Being able to introduce music to the world — that’s something I connected with. That’s why I said ‘yes’ right away.”
While the AI DJ pulls from X’s upbeat and cool attitude and his extensive knowledge of music and culture — some of this gathered pre-Spotify during his time working at major label records, including Def Jam Records and Republic Records — the program is bigger than him.
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“We have a whole team of the greatest music and culture experts in the world that are boots on the ground, and we bring all of that experience and knowledge to make it come alive,” X explained.
He meets with a team of writers, music experts and data curators weekly to guarantee the AI model stays updated on trends and relevant commentary.
Of course, emergency meetings are held when needed, X said — the news of the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake diss track debacle couldn’t wait, for example.
“That’s something you needed to know about in real time,” he said. “Those songs were coming out so fast from both sides. Even my friends were texting me, like, ‘Yo, what song came out winning?’ So we knew we needed to put that into the experience.”
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His friends also help him in the recording studio. After a few lozenges and a steaming cup of throat-coat tea, X steps into the booth every week and pretends to chat with a friend while he records new lines of narration that the AI DJ can use and build from.
“I’m not broadcasting to millions of people. I’m having a conversation with one person,” X said.
“It’s humbling because that means people like me. They’re rocking with me. They like my voice. They like my personality.”
