Philly rapper/producer and 2026 XXL Freshman, slayr, shares new EP “Avant Nova,” a precursor to next mixtape Fabula Nova.

Coming right after a great showing at Summer Smash and getting picked for the XXL Freshman Class of 2026, slayr, the rapper and producer from Philadelphia, has just released a new EP called “Avant Nova.” “Avant Nova” is the latest addition to slayr’s myth-themed discography and an advance look at his next mixtape, Fabula Nova. The cover artwork was created manually by HunniGarden and was also used for the Half-Blood album. Visuals were created in the style of the Final Fantasy universe.

On “Avant Nova,” slayr collaborates with Chicago electronic musician underscores and Charlotte artist and producer prettifun. The track “promise” was produced in collaboration between slayr and underscores. And prettifun makes his debut on “switch my swag” alongside slayr. The EP is coming out before the Half-Blood tour, where slayr will be playing all across the United States and Canada for the first time in his career and at several international festivals.

For slayr, this EP means continuing an impressive 2023 after the release of BloodLuxe. He became SoundCloud’s Ascending Artist of April, put out videos directed by Reduciano and MONTREALITY, and was featured in Tiffany Day’s “CONSTANTLY,” which quickly went past two million streams.