slayr

Evan McDonald, the Philadelphia rapper, singer and producer who records as Slayr, makes music that blends trap, rage and digicore with EDM and the textures of video game soundtracks. Both of his parents are Jamaican immigrants, and his early listening ran from Crush 40, whose songs powered much of the Sonic franchise, to Lil Uzi Vert, who introduced him to rap around 2015. Mythology runs through his catalogue, from the Gaia series to Half Blood, and critics praised that mixtape and its reissue BloodLuxe for their execution, structure and range of genres.

His first viral song, "Fourth Gear Cypher", arrived in 2021 with Yung Fazo, OsmKapo and TheHxliday, and was followed by the mixtape Gaia in 2023 and Gaia 2 on October 4, 2024. Half Blood, his sixth mixtape, came out in 2025 and was later reissued as BloodLuxe, which Pitchfork reviewed in April 2026, awarding it a 6.7 and praising its commercially accessible take on rage rap. McDonald has since played Rolling Loud in Orlando on May 10, 2026, released the six-track EP Avant Nova on July 10, and put out the single Remember Them Days on September 25, 2026.