slayr’s Avant Nova is Pretti Fun

There are always artists who blow up off one album and then plateau from there. In some cases, they’ll release a deluxe for said album, and it’ll keep the brand going until the “moment” has passed. But once an artist has done both of those things and then dropped an EP to the same level of praise, you know they’re here to stay.

The 6-track EP titled “Avant Nova” is only a precursor to slayr’s upcoming album “Fabula Nova,” and what it lacks in runtime, it makes up for in absolute bangers. As with his previous project “Half Blood,” there are grand transitions between every song, top-notch artwork to compliment the music, and iconic samples interwoven throughout. What keeps Avant Nova so interesting, is how he plays with production styles, vocal pitching, and flow switches he hasn’t quite shown the world yet, all the while reeling us in with the catchy world slayr fans know so well.

The EP opens with “promise,” a track built around underscores’ song “The Peace,” which I got to hear when she previewed it while DJing the Elsewhere rooftop on release night. “Shoutout April for the sample, we should do some more” leaves fans excited for the future of their sound together.

The transition from that opener to “switch my swag,” featuring rapper prettifun, will leave you with a stank face only slayr’s excellent team of co-producers could pull off. “They said I should go Cor(e), ain’t get them papers, you see?” really makes you scratch your head as to why the Philly protégé himself didn’t get a co-sign, yet 2slimey did.

“nova” brings the project’s thesis to life with the lyric “Blowin’ up, I feel like a nova, you can’t keep up,” showcasing how impressively quick his rise has been, yet, just like a nova itself, his momentum had been building right under our noses for years.

My personal favorite is “i got taste”: from its XXL Freshman Freestyle origins to its evolution in cadence, delivery, and instrumentation, it’s truly the best combination of everything the 19-year-old has shown to date. And if the deep vocal tones weren’t metal enough, the track ends with a kickass rock outro.

slayr gets personal on “having anxiety is annoying,” which is chock-full of lyrics on self-image, mental exhaustion, and digital distraction, opening up the conversation he began on “nova.” But before it gets too existential, we get an epic EDM buildup, drop, and guitar-driven send-out.

“raise my voice” is the final track, except it’s really two songs packed into one. Matching the pattern from “Half Blood”, where the most personal cut sits second-to-last so as to leave off on an upbeat note, slayr makes references to fidget spinners, One Piece, and “finger fucking” a gun. Shakespeare himself is cheering in his grave.

There’s no telling what progression of sound the 19-year-old is going to tackle next, but one thing’s for sure: he’s gonna stick around to show you, and to keep pushing the narrative of what being an underground rapper really means.