Following a string of quickly evolving EPs that left off with 2019's
Hi, It's Me,
Demidevil is the first fully formed mixtape from genre-bending rapper/vocalist
Ashnikko. The project's ten tracks nicely mix
Ashnikko's enormous personality and brazen confidence with infectious pop-trap production and hints of early-2000s nostalgia that range from subtle to overt. The mixtape starts strong with a trifecta of slickly produced anthems that put
Ashnikko's gift for hooks in full focus. "Daisy" and "Toxic" are similarly built with rapped verses that open up into huge and catchy sung choruses, and the pop angst of breakup song "Deal with It" orbits around a sample from
Kelis' similarly themed 1999 song "Caught Out There."
Princess Nokia contributes a verse to "Slumber Party" and
Grimes sings a reverb-coated hook on the jittery "Cry." There are multiple lyrical references to
Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera, and
Ashnikko takes the 2000s nostalgia even further by updating
Avril Lavigne's ubiquitous alt-pop classic "Sk8er Boi" note for note on "L8r Boi," adding trap hi-hats and altering the lyrics to denounce a parasitic relationship. While several tracks are less than essential, the mixtape's best songs are powerful enough to make
Demidevil the strongest showing of
Ashnikko's formidable skills and uncompromising energy to date. ~ Fred Thomas