slayr

19-year-old North Philly rapper/producer slayr has already established himself as a vital voice in modern music, blending trap, EDM & metal to create a vibrant, maximalist sound that some have dubbed “colorful rage.” In a music landscape so often obsessed with artifice and posturing, slayr’s commitment to a no-frills appearance is unique & refreshing, but his addicting melodic vocals are anything but ordinary.

Born Evan McDonald, slayr began recording music at the age of 11, learning how to produce using instruments his mother got him and taking early influence from Japanese American rock band Crush40 and fellow Philly rapper Lil Uzi Vert. He first began to build momentum in the rage rap space in 2022 with debut project lost files (exclusives), gaining attention on TikTok with tracks such as “Snakeman” and “FOURTH GEAR CYPHER” with Yung Fazo. 

After releasing a steady stream of singles, EPs and mixtapes, it was his seventh tape Half-Blood that propelled slayr from relative obscurity into an underground favorite, in large part due to an outpouring of viral YouTube reaction videos. Half-Blood and its deluxe BloodLuxe received praise from Pitchfork, The FADER, HotNewHipHop, Anthony Fantano and more. So far this year, slayr has made his festival debut at Rolling Loud, was named SoundCloud’s Ascending Artist of April, shared a music video for “Eyesight” directed by Cole Bennett, and dominated Summer Smash with a standout performance and special guest appearances at Skrillex, Tiffany Day, ezcodylee and PlaqueBoyMax’s sets. Still to come for slayr in 2026 is the Fabula Nova mixtape & debut studio album Seventh Heaven.