LAZY BURNING is the latest EP from Rayhan, whose memorable hip-hop sound consumes in its visceral, heartfelt lyricism and dynamic productions, here embracing a dark, haunting allure. The Toronto-based artist has caught our ears with a variety of recent releases — including the albums uLove: Rayhan’s Version and June Was Something — and continues his prolific pace and high-quality output with this new EP.
Featuring Kataem & Navin, “So Goes It” opens the EP with moody immersion — infusing glistening keys, a steady bass line, and late-night guitar tones. The lyrics reflect the turbulent nature of navigating life, with experiences resulting in both bravado and vulnerability. Lines like “Used to be the other way around til I got it out the mud and I took my time” reveal a striving for survival and reinvention, while still acknowledging past darkness as partly fueling present confidence. Between rapid-fire boasts and stark admissions of being “dead inside,” the song captures the contradictions of ambition, self-destruction, and resilience — and the EP’s general focus on the duality between ego and fragility.
The highlights are consistent throughout — from the “life is precious” sentiments within the dreamy beat-making of “SUMMER TUNE” to the fantastic finale “This The Last Summer I Wanna Die,” which contemplates one’s Achilles’ heels and the power of lasting love — alongside an eclectic array of synth tones, from playfully spacey to hauntingly nocturnal.
“BONE MARROW” is another standout. “My bro got a prison sentence / We used to be stuck in detention,” Rayhan lets out, conveying a lived struggle, while confessions such as “all of my trauma changed, my brain don’t step to me” reveal an emotional weight alongside the confidence. Both “Barz” features also excel, exploring a tension between survival and intimacy. “I had to rot and decay / I had to make my own lane,” Rayhan delivers, stirring throughout in conveying a search for meaning in chaos, and how both ego and personal fragility can mold one’s experiences and direction forward.
