Photo by Ryan Maxwell
2018 has been a big year for Toronto rapper KILLY. In March KILLY dropped his highly anticipated debut project Surrender Your Soul, propelling his career forward. Immediately following the release of the ten track project, he also went on tour, reaching some of the biggest cities in both North America and Europe. Yet after tour, the elusive rapper seemingly disappeared. Apart from some features and snippets, fans were left with nothing for a couple months, but KILLY is finally back with the release of his latest EP KILLSTREAK.
The new project finds KILLY hot off of the success of Surrender Your Soul, both celebrating his life, and contemplating the lows of his current situation. KILLSTREAK has no features, with all of the vocal performances coming from KILLY himself, but does boast big names in the credits, with production coming from acts like y2k, Wondagurl, and more.
The first track “CHUPACABRA,” produced by both London Cyr and Wondagurl, is a thrilling anthem of KILLY’s success, as he raps lines like “So damn real like chupacabra, my come up so catastrophic” over the enthralling synths and blaring horns, which make up the majority of the beat. The track also has insanely fast trap drums, with incredibly hard hitting kicks and snares. Despite the incredible job that Cyr and Wondagurl did in creating the beat, one of the more exciting parts of the track is KILLY’s masterful cadence. He switches flows multiple times throughout the track, keeping listeners on their seat, never being able to predict how he’ll rap next. KILLY goes from rapping nonstop on the hook to slowing his pace down on the verses. “CHUPACABRA” succeeds entirely as an intro, as the adrenaline-inducing track braces listeners for what’s next.
Next on the tracklist is “ANTI EVERYBODY,” arguably the most anticipated track on the EP. For weeks KILLY had previewed the track, including a post on both his Twitter and Instagram, and for good reason. “ANTI EVERYBODY” is perhaps the best track on the entire EP, and is sure to stand out in KILLY’s already strong discography. The track finds KILLY celebrating and bragging about his recent success, as he raps “Foreign car, in a rari. Look at me, too fly for no thottie. Anti everybody, get high get more money.” He even finds spots to be comical with his bars as he raps, “Two hoes walking, bring to the yacht, feel like Noah’s Ark.” Once again, production is led by Wondagurl, who teams up with Vou to create the fast, blood pumping beat. The track opens with a flute segment, which finds itself recurring throughout the track, but combined with the insanely dark synths that Vou and Wondagurl choose to use, work in a way where the flute seems to actually work with the beat, rather than seem childish and gimmicky. Once again KILLY’s flow is the highlight of the track, especially on the hook, showcasing his ability to make catchy, vibrant hooks.
The third and fourth tracks, “EARNED IT” and “HELLRAISER,” have KILLY at his most comfortable. Both FrancisGotHeat and y2k find themselves in the production credits for these tracks, Francis for EARNED IT and y2k for “HELLRAISER,” but Wondagurl remains consistent, working on both tracks. Compared to the crazy, high energy of the first two tracks, “EARNED IT” gives a much needed break in the tracklist, right before “HELLRAISER” dives straight back in. “HELLRAISER” finds KILLY at his most aggressive on the tracklist, with a deep, guttural cadence, a welcome change from his regular delivery.
Killstreak ends on “BEAUTIFUL PT. 2,” the slowest and most emotional track on the EP. The track is a vulnerable and personal look into KILLY’s life, something that he normally chooses not to address on his songs. KILLY looks at how surreal his newfound success is now with lines like “My life so crazy, delusional, feel like a movie role. This movie come in my usual, tell me it’s mutual.” After all of the partying and craziness that KILLY raps about in the previous tracks, “BEAUTIFUL PT. 2” is the perfect outro to the EP.
Ultimately, Killstreak is only a five track EP. It has none of the nuances that Surrender Your Soul had, but is still a strong grouping of five tracks, all of which are brilliant on their own. Most importantly, Killstreak is a glimpse into the life of an artist who is just about to break from the underground into the mainstream. Listen to the full project below.