Dax, a Nigerian-Canadian poet and rapper, calls from a phone number with a Wichita, Kansas, area code to speak with The Tennessean about his outsider-to-insider rise in country music's mainstream.

The rapper — who addresses societal expectations in his music — opens up in a new interview with PEOPLE about his latest single "A Real Man" Desmond K Ye Dax dives into the perceived gender role ...