Brooklyn rapper
Sleepy Hallow crossed over from notoriety in the drill scene to mainstream success with his 2020 single "Deep End Freestyle." The song mixed hard drum programming and relentless bars with an ethereal vocal sample repeating hypnotically throughout, and it was a hit. The song garnered enough attention for RCA to sign
Sleepy Hallow, and debut studio album
Still Sleep? continues his expansions from standard trap and drill production into more musically adventurous territory. Standout tracks like "2 Sauce" and "Chicken" follow the formula of "Deep End Freestyle," employing samples that range from moody vocal coos to singsong nursery rhymes while
Sleepy burns full force over the loops, nervous hi-hats, and huge bass hits. "2055" is more melodic, with a sung vocal hook and a nuanced instrumental made up of smoky guitar phrases and thick synth bass. The embrace of more involved production on
Still Sleep? doesn't mean a softening of intensity in either the beats or
Sleepy Hallow's lyrical presence. He's still delivering visceral performances and raw imagery, but the upgraded production and lessons learned from the success of "Deep End Freestyle" just make the entire listening experience more interesting. ~ Fred Thomas