N0rth4evr, the debut EP of pre-teen rapper-producer/blue-haired nepo princess North West, was always going to be polished. When the 12-year-old announced she’d partnered with Larry Jackson’s gamma for her February single “PIERCING ON MY HAND,” it was clear that the long-standing SoundCloud underground superfan was going to have all the studio time she wanted.
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What was less certain was whether that music would feel distinct, or simply mimic her older peers. But on N0rth4evr, North hones her own style of rage rap that pushes past inspiration to carve out her own niche.
That’s most apparent on title track “#N0rth4evr,” a blistering blast of straight up nu-metal that dissolves into a grandiose, Travis Scott-esque breakdown. “Everywhere I go feelin' like the wrong way,” North warbles through the din. “I can't even act my age, gotta call plays.” The closest comparisons would be “Flashout Freestyle” by slayr or the punk-rage synthesis of ezcodylee, but only partially – North’s Autotuned headvoice is mixed in a ghostly fashion, as if she’s haunting her own EP.