This is the 2nd EP from Detroit, Michigan producer & rapper Blizzard. Aside from the 3 instrumental projects he’s already put out, his 2021 full-length debut from the Yung Fam Mafia co-founder Duel with Death had a few moments where the Middle Finger Music in-house producer hopped on the mic in contrast to letting a cast of guests handle the performances & Iron Tiger of Shaolin capitalized more on that last spring. A whole year later & Devilish Killer looks to take it a few steps further.
After the intro, the self-produced title track compares himself to the nuke following a 25 kill-streak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 whereas “Shadowboxing” carries over the boom bap vibes talking about catching hands or the blade from him. “Midas” observes those tryna get on his same level when it’s a difficult within itself & after Foul Mouth chops up a soul sample for “Deadly Venom” talking about being a walking guillotine, “The Executioner” closes the EP by grabbing the sticks & tearing shit up.
Iron Tiger of Shaolin was the most we’ve ever heard Blizzard on the MCing side of things & instead of fully producing Devilish Killer all by himself, he takes a backseat from behind the boards except for a couple songs & holds the fort on his own disregarding the need for any features to hone in deeper on his lyricism. The sample-lenient boom bap production is still there, but it’s refreshing to hear him at his best as a performer & I’m happy he’s showing this side of him more.
Score: 8/10
