Dallas’ own rookie Exhibit Von, a.k.a VON, has released his long-awaited debut studio album, FLEXSHIT, which was released on Friday, July 3. FLEXSHIT marks VON’s first major record, out on worldwide streaming services via his fully independent label MIT RECORDS. Listen to FLEXSHIT here: (insert link to streaming services)
The 18-year-old rapper has also shared the album’s promotional single “8 (eight)”, serving as a follow-up to 2024’s “4 (four)”. The song opens with a soulful string sample, followed by a beat drop that ushers in boom-bap, East Coast-adjacent drums. VON brought his bars, with subject matters ranging from relationships to flexing to his own over-the-top braggadocious style we’ve seen in previous works.
VON began promoting the album after its announcement in April, posting a photo with the humorous slogan: “I JUST FLEXED SH*T WITH VON!”, and the project was originally slated for a May 2026 release date. Later, he announced the album would be released on July 3.
The debut album of the Dallas native brings an ironic exploitation (and critique) of modern flex culture to the listener through 9 solo tracks, all written and produced by VON. The album’s main point VON tries driving home is his belief that flex culture has become adulterated by mainstream hip-hop, like in the tracks “A COURSE IN MICROPHONE MIRACLES” and “WHEREFORE ART THOU?”, the latter of which employs a mixture of critical and self-blaming lyrics.
Exhibit Von’s debut album is, all-in-all, a brief, thoughty, and intriguing debut album that taps into pieces of the modern hip-hop listener’s psyche few other debuts do.
BIOGRAPHY
Vaughn Adams, known more notably as Exhibit Von or simply VON, is a Dallas-based songwriter, producer, and rapper. He began his music career in 2022 at just 15 after becoming inspired by a classmate to make trap beats. In 2026, he is releasing his debut studio album, FLEXSHIT.
Born in Tempe, Arizona, VON grew up listening to a variety of music, ranging from local acts such as Gin Blossoms to Hip-hop giant Juice WRLD in his early teen years. In regards to his musical pursuit, Adams recounts creating songs on an iPad as early as 10 years old, often using loops or recreating popular songs.
By 2021, VON moved to a desktop computer to create original beats on the free, online music creation software SoundTrap. It wasn’t until 2024 that VON began using FL Studio, a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that is widely used by top-tier producers. He taught himself the process of creating loops, along with drum beats and sampling through just YouTube and trial-and-error.
Adams credits his involvement in extracurriculars, specifically high school football, as a considerable motive for his work ethic and belief in discipline, which he claims pushes him for creative output. VON says:
“Football taught me discipline. Not so much the game itself, but our training. The 6 AM workouts, practice before the sun came out, all of it. I don’t think I’d be so ambitious or passionate about staying motivated and disciplined as I am now if I hadn’t played, because now I know what I want, and I know how to get it. Hard work, keeping your head down, and not caring about what anyone says, good or bad.”
By 2026, VON has shown that he is a talented prospect in the underground Hip-hop scene, with his album FLEXSHIT serving as a thought-provoking debut record with abstract and multi-layered satire and irony in his critique of modern “flex culture”.
- Spotify Page: Exhibit Von
- Apple Music Page: Exhibit Von
- Instagram: @exhibitvon