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, Rovi

1		Daisy
2		Toxic
3		Deal With It
4		Slumber Party
5		Drunk With My Friends
6		Little Boy
7		Cry
8		L8r Boi
9		Good While It Lasted
10		Clitoris! The Musical

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