Better in Person EP 002 featuring Lexa Gates
By Chief Editor | Approved by Will Nichols, Editor in Chief | 7/14/2026
BETTER IN PERSON · EP 002 · Watch the episode on YouTube
YouTube is #88 on the FO Pulse (2026-07-13 close), up 5 from the previous close.
In Episode 2 of Better in Person, Finally Offline's street interview series, host Savvy asks the Astoria rapper and singer Lexa Gates the show's one question: are you better in person or better online? Lexa Gates answers that she is better online, describing it as the best version of herself because online she controls the angles, the comedic timing and the music. She contrasts it with going offline on her apartment roof, where she leaves her phone and meditates. Her answer is the opposite of Episode 1's Angelo Baque, who chose charm and in person. The episode is live on Finally Offline's YouTube channel.
Key Points
- Episode 2 of Better in Person features Lexa Gates, the Astoria, Queens rapper behind the I Am album.
- The series asks one question, what makes you better in person, and Lexa flips the premise onto the online side.
- The episode is live on Finally Offline's YouTube, following Episode 1 with Angelo Baque.
For the second episode of Better in Person, Finally Offline's street interview series, we caught Lexa Gates at Complex's Family Style. The rapper and singer out of Astoria, Queens, behind the I Am album and the ten hour hamster wheel live art performance at Jeffrey Deitch, is one of the sharpest new voices to come out of New York.
The format is one question: are you better in person, or better online?
The first episode had Angelo Baque land on charm, the thing that does not survive a screen, an argument for in person. Lexa Gates goes the other way, and she does not hesitate. "I'm better online," she says. "Online is just the best version of myself." Her reasoning is control. "My angles, my comedic timing, the music. I get to curate everything. I get to control it."
Offline, she disappears. She leaves her phone in the apartment and goes up to the roof, a place she calls a sacred space, to read, to meditate, to talk to the moon. Does it talk back? "It does, but not with words."
Two episodes in, Better in Person has its first split. Angelo Baque is better in person. Lexa Gates is better online. The show is the argument. Watch it on Finally Offline's YouTube.
Transcript
Lexa Gates: I'm a winner, though. Winners are just losers that never quit.
FO: What's up guys, it's Savvy. We're here live at Family Style, and today we are here with Lexa Gates. Okay Lexa, quick question for you, very easy. Are you better in person, or are you better online?
Lexa Gates: I'm better online. People don't need to know me in person.
FO: See, that's actually an interesting one. Everybody always says they're better in person, but you say online.
Lexa Gates: Yeah, I'm better online. Online is just the best version of myself.
FO: What would you say makes you better online?
Lexa Gates: My angles, my comedic timing, the music. I get to curate everything. It's all going through channels I wanted to go through. I get to control it.
FO: Have you had anything to eat here at Family Style yet? I had the Sarah's pizza and the cinnamon roll from Losers. It's the best thing I have.
Lexa Gates: It's Losers, but you're a winner. I'm a winner, though. Winners are just losers that never quit. Can we get an amen in the chat?
FO: What do you do when you're offline?
Lexa Gates: I go on my roof and I leave my phone in my apartment. It's a sacred space, I never take my phone up there.
FO: When you're on the roof, what are we doing?
Lexa Gates: I'm tanning, I'm reading, I'm meditating. And the big one, I'm talking to the moon.
FO: Does the moon talk back?
Lexa Gates: It does, but not with words. If you know, you know.
FO: Is there anybody you want to give a shout out to, anybody you want to send love to?
Lexa Gates: Shout out to Liam. He's on stage right now.
FO: And that's it, guys. That's a wrap. Thank you so much.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Better in Person Episode 2?
It is the second episode of Better in Person, Finally Offline's street interview series built around one question, what makes you better in person. Episode 2 features the rapper and singer Lexa Gates.
Who is Lexa Gates?
Lexa Gates is a rapper, singer and producer from Astoria, Queens, known for her album I Am and a ten-hour hamster wheel live art performance at the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in New York.
What is Better in Person?
Better in Person is Finally Offline's street interview series. Each episode puts one question to a different guest: what makes you better in person? It lives on Finally Offline's YouTube channel.
How is Lexa Gates's answer different from Episode 1?
In Episode 1, Angelo Baque answered charm, the quality that does not translate online. Lexa Gates flips the premise and makes the case for the online version of a person instead.
Where can I watch Better in Person Episode 2?
The episode is live on Finally Offline's YouTube channel and on the Watch page at finallyoffline.com/watch.
Topics: new-york, youtube, better in person, complex, angelo baque, rap, finally-offline, better-in-person, street-interview, focus-35-34, angelo-baque, rnb, queens, fo-tv, lexa-gates