Released May 9, 2025,
via Crazyman.
Like many in Atlanta in the 2010s, André Khaliel Jones recorded rap relentlessly from his teenage years on. One day, by sheer luck, his track “Quicktrip” caught the attention of Metro Boomin, who was then looking to set up his label. Going by the name SwaVay, he thus became the first artist to join Boominati Worldwide in 2017. Being taken under the wing of what was then Atlanta’s rising star producer was already a small victory. But it didn’t stop there.
Soon after, he met James Blake in the studio. And these two, different as they may be, took to each other. The American was invited alongside JID on a track by the Englishman, “Frozen,” from the album Friends That Break Your Heart. The two then pursued this collaboration. James Blake in turn appeared on a SwaVay album, Almetha’s Son, in 2022. And with his support SwaVay released Billy two years later, an EP that leaned conspicuously toward R&B.
Billy2 is its follow-up. The cover, incidentally, is the same as that of the previous project: it shows a staircase in a residential area of Atlanta. But the crowd of women featured on the first has been replaced here by an entire crew of men (another release from this year, No Deluxe, shows the same spot with no one there at all). This change in gender is, of course, significant. For where the very syrupy Billy – an EP whose languor and melancholy underlined its kinship with James Blake – gave way to a second installment that is decidedly more virile. SwaVay no longer sings; he raps. And it’s all the better for it.
The intro sets the record straight. While claiming to be the son of Prince and Michael Jackson, the rapper proclaims his integrity and seeks to show his dexterity with words. And the following track, “bean,” after a false start that – thanks to its sample of “Whole Lotta Something Goin’ On” by Raphael Ravenscroft (once popularized by Beanie Sigel) – suggests a return to the smooth vocals of the previous EP, suddenly veers into “real trap shit.” From there on out, it’s rough rap that we hear. SwaVay asserts his authenticity, as if his previous projects had called it into question. Life is devoted to the thankless grind of dealing (“dunn dunn”). Aggression and suspicion prevail (“im important”). Affairs with women are not love stories (“elroy”), except perhaps on the closing track “dem girls,” where the rapper shows a hint of vulnerability.
To be honest, it isn’t always sensational, but SwaVay delivers a few intense tracks with lines that really hit home. This one in particular, from the single “Bishop”:
2025. I don’t wanna hear a god damn thing no more,
About Drake and no Kendrick
We’re a long way from James Blake. And with all due respect to the Englishman, that’s not such a bad thing. Sometimes it’s better not to mix apples and oranges. All you need is some “real trap shit.”