slayr is a 18 year old recording artist & producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania introducing himself in 2022 off the Lost Files, Destruction & B34 My Creation extended plays. Chaos: B4Gaia, the entire Gaia series, Stay Safe, 17, Enter My Mind for a Second & the debut album HeavenTunes all followed. The latter of which up until this point was considered to be the finest entry in his discography. However, his 2nd mixtape has been getting a lot of love compared to his previous material & a couple of noteworthy guests made me want to give it a shot.
“Love Blur” gets things going with this self-produced digicore intro describing a love blur he had experienced yearning to be the one she wants forever whereas “Demigod” talks about being the son of Zeus over a rage beat & opposing everyone. “Sloppy Joe” colorfully breaks down the nickname for his love interest the way she gives him brain leading into “Never Go Down” shifting towards a sonically quirkier vibe talking about Nicki Minaj being his dream hoe, which isn’t the best look considering she’s been actively protecting predators & more recently burning bridges with the LGBTQ+ community when they’ve literally supported her from Day 1.
ezcodylee appears on “Wipe Yo Nose” so they can serve crack like it’s the ‘80s combining both rage & digicore while “24/7” interpolates the Playboi Carti outtake “XTC (Cartier Lens)” from the Whole Lotta Red sessions talking about a woman who’s in his sights every day & hour of the week. “Phone” feels like more of a TJAYY song despite the Graduation/808s & Heartbreak vibes considering that slayr only appears during the hook, but “Power 4” boldly flips “What I Believe” by Skillet to break down all the things that come with fame.
“Holding” references the Warner Bros.-owned DC Entertainment franchise Hellblazer in the midst of the Paramount Skydance Corporation outbidding Netflix regarding the monopolizing purchase of WB while “Death by MP3” fuses digicore & hypertrap once again talking about making the 808s lose their minds. “The Sky” confesses to his partner that he wants her to focus on her own goals rather than piggybacking or gold digging while “Set in Stone” explores pop rap, rage, rap rock, 16-bit, digicore & new jazz referencing former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena.
After the “If I Ever” outro, “Brain Fog” starts the deluxe run talking about his indecisiveness while “Hard Knock” interpolates both “On That Time” from Whole Lotta Red itself & “Holding” getting high whilst staying fashionably sharp. My only complaint regarding “Flashout” however would be him using a fascist regime when talking about the presidents in his pockets, which I suppose adds more context to the Nicki line near Half Blood’s opening moments. “Daytona” featuring Lucy Bedroque entertainingly unites 2 of digicore’s biggest artists within the last year to talk about their luxurious ways of living while “Toxic” comes through with a 2-parter admitting he has too big of a heart to fuck with the poisonous type of women.
“Eyesight” melodically reflects on his continued popularity & talking about following your heart while “Brand New” addresses someone who had him in his feelings for far too long as well as switching their energy now that he’s been going up. “Racks” produced by prettifun expresses his desire to see the light before it all gets worse for him & after “Paint a Picture” holds himself accountable for a previous breakup, the final bonus track “Died But Came Back” energetically sends off the tape taking inspiration from EDM to talk about his struggles with relationships & drugs.
HeavenTunes indicated a huge point in slayr’s career where his true artistic potential began to reveal itself & Half Blood takes it even further by crafting what will most likely be considered amongst the greatest mixtapes of this entire decade. The production refines his artistic range making rage, pop rap, digicore, electronic dance music, rap rock, new jazz & 16-bit transitioning into 1 another rather intricately & simultaneously upgrades his performing abilities whether it be the songwriting or vocally. Much like iiyrus, it wouldn’t surprise me if Lil Uzi Vert signs this guy to their newly formed Roc Nation imprint Cor(e) when the time’s right.
Score: 4.5/5
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